The Wagner Red Raider wrestling team began their season with a triangular in Avon against Bon Homme/ Avon and Vermillion. Their next upcoming meet will be Thursday, December 12th in Winner against Winner/ Gregory.The Raiders will once again be coached by Head Coach David Kocer, who is in his fifth year of coaching. Team members include juniors Gannon Knebel, Octavian Kocer, and Trey. Sophomore team member is Kingston Brunelle. Bennet Kuhlman, Richie Turner, Wade Kreeger, Jaylen Drapeau, Bodie Chafin and Khalil Segura are freshmen on the team. Eighth graders on the team are Frank Krcil, Hunter Wiechmann, Jaxton Hill, Thane Tjeerdsma, Colin Brown Bear, Wesley Holzbauer, Grady Bartunek and Tom Krcil. Seventh graders that are a part of the team are Luke Holzbauer, Mason Turner and Tristan Cournoyer. Sixth graders include Hayes Bartunek, Weston Koupal, Finnigan Hopkins, Grayson Knebel, Rider Insko and Witten Holzbauer With this year’s team being very young, having several up and comers and one upper classmen with state tournament experience anything can happen. Gannon Knebel is the most experienced wrestler that the Raiders will have. Knebel is only a junior, but shows great pois and will be looked at as one of the team’s leaders. Knebel is a returning state runner-up and has his sights set on the top of the podium come the end of February.

This season will have the most kids in the program since Coach Kocer began coaching, so he is excited about what the future holds for the Wagner wrestling program. This season, Kocer knows that the team will have a lot of young talent in both junior high and junior varsity competition getting more matches and experience, while a handful of these athletes will also be competing on the varsity team. As the team is so young, Kocer plans to focus on developing and improving fundamentals. According to Kocer, “We may not see the results we are looking for in the dual competitions, but we will shine in tournament action.”

Best of luck on your upcoming season! Go Big Red!