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The Red Raider wrestlers had a great season, finishing in 5th place at the state tournament and having five out of six of their state wrestling qualifiers place in the top four individually in their respective weight classes. Karstyn Lhotak, Riley Roberts, Jhett Breen, Gannon Knebel, Timothy Bouza and Kahle Hill all qualified for the state wrestling tournament.

Karstyn Lhotak

Karstyn Lhotak is the son of Brad and Jen Lhotak. He wrestled in the 132-pound weight class and is a senior at Wagner High School. Karstyn has been wrestling for the past 13 years. He got into wrestling because his dad was a wrestler in high school and his older brother also wrestled. Brad was also an AAU youth wrestling coach and Karstyn’s first coach; Brad has always been his coach. His brother was Karstyn’s first wrestling partner before he even started wrestling. Both his dad, Brad, and his high school wrestling coach, David Kocer, have been very inspiring and integral to Karstyn’s wrestling career.

When asked what he enjoys the most about wrestling, Karstyn said it was the strong bonds that can be made with teammates and the feeling of accomplishment when a goal is reached. His favorite wrestling move is the Easton tilt. Karstyn’s career highlights and accomplishments include being a three-time state finalist, a past state champion and getting his 100 career wins. The best experience/highlight was achieving one of his goals by placing in the top five as a team at the state tournament. To get prepared for a wrestling meet, Karstyn gives it his all when it comes to wrestling and conditioning in practice. The most challenging match that Karstyn faced this year was in the state semi-finals match which went into overtime. Even though he was exhausted and he managed to get a takedown to win.

To get prepared for the wrestling season, Karstyn went to the gym and worked out five days a week. The last few summers, he attended multiple wrestling camps and competed on a national dual team. The hardest part of being a wrestler is the long season with hard practices along with having to cut weight. Karstyn ended his 2023-2024 season with a 44-4 record and a high school career record of 178-39. After graduating from WCS, Karstyn will be attending Northern State University and will continue wrestling at the state level. Karstyn would like to thank everyone for all the support throughout his high school career.

Riley Roberts

Riley Roberts is the son of Mark and Linda Roberts. He wrestled in the 150-pound weight class and is a senior at WCS. Riley has been wrestling since second grade. He decided to join because all of his friends were wrestling and they convinced him to join. Brad Lhotak, David Kocer, and Alex Kocer all played big roles in Roberts’ wrestling successes. Even though Riley does not have a family background of wrestling, he was well accepted into the Wagner wrestling community.

When asked what he enjoyed the most about wrestling, Riley said the companionship of the team. Riley’s favorite wrestling move is the sweep single. His career wrestling highlights have been making it to state as a 7th grader, placing 8th his freshman year, placing 4th his sophomore year and coming back from his junior year with a torn ACL to place 3rd his senior year. To get prepared for a wrestling meet, Roberts would get a good night’s sleep and just stay mentally calm. The best experience of Roberts season was winning the last match of the year because he had never won his final state tournament match until this season. The most challenging match for Riley was the state semi-finals match where he lost. The hardest part of being a wrestler is the amount of work that is needed to be dedicated throughout practice and weekend tournaments. Riley ended his season with a 46-10 record. He would like to thank everyone for all their support during his high school wrestling career.

Jhett Breen

Jhett Breen is the son of Pat and Becky Breen. He wrestled in the 165-pound weight class and is a senior at WCS. Jhett has been wrestling since he was five years old. Breen got into wrestling after watching his older brother wrestle and his dad also wrestled. Breen knew from a young age that he was going to be a wrestler. His entire family has helped and inspired Jhett through their support and encouragement. With Jhett’s dad and older brother both being past wrestlers, they have helped coach Jhett from the beginning of his wrestling career whether it be as practice partners, coaching or giving advice on what he could do better.

When asked what he enjoys most about wrestling, Jhett said being with friends and being around good people. Breen’s favorite wrestling move is the chicken wing-half. To get himself prepared for a wrestling meet, Jhett would hang out with friends and try to relax and just have some fun. The most challenging wrestling match for him would be his finals match at Miller against Jackson Remmers. Winning a state title along with placing 5th as a team would be the highlights of the season for Jhett. In the offseason, Breen did a little bit of offseason wrestling but otherwise just attended the team wrestling camp. The hardest part of being a wrestler are the practices. Jhett ended his 2023-2024 season with a 43-3 record. He ended his high school career with a win/ loss record of 192-34.

To win a state title his senior year, was the best feeling in the world to know that all the hard work that he had done had finally paid off. The finals match was the toughest match of the state tournament. Jhett is thankful to finally be up on the state championship wall that he looked at everyday during practice. That wall has been one of his biggest motivations throughout his wrestling career. His goal was to be up there on the wall with the other champions.

Jhett would like to thank everyone who has supported him and the wrestling team from businesses to fans coming to watch. The wrestlers appreciate the support that Wagner as a community has shown the team. He would also like to thank Coach Kocer for helping them all become the best wrestlers that they could be. Most of all Jhett would like to thank his family.

Gannon is the son of Jason and Stacey Knebel. He wrestled in the 190-pound weight class is a sophomore at WCS. Gannon has been wrestling since he was four years old. Gannon started wrestling after his dad asked him if he wanted to stay and play in the weight room one day. David and Alex Kocer have been very inspirational and helpful throughout Gannon’s wrestling career even as a kid. Jagger Tyler also played a big part in helping Gannon get to where he is today. Gannon and Tyler were partners in AAU wrestling and they always went all out during practice which only made each other better.

When asked what he enjoys most about wrestling, Gannon said his teammates. He also enjoys the culture of the sport; the emotions and pride that it brings to oneself and teammates. Wrestling is definitely a sport that builds relationships not only with teammates but also with opponents. Gannon’s favorite wrestling move is the crossbase cradle which throughout the season became known as the “Knebel Cradle”. Career highlights and accomplishments for Knebel include 2x All AAU State Champ, AAU Middle School Champ, he has been a state qualifier twice, had 100th career win, placed 7th his freshmen year at the state tournament, and placed 2nd this year as a sophomore at the state tournament.

To get prepared for a wrestling meet, Gannon mentally goes through all the possible outcomes, hydrates, tries to relax and stay loose. Gannon’s highlight of the season would be placing 5th as a team at the state wrestling tournament. The most challenging match for Gannon was his finals match where he lost 7-2 by points. There was a lot of pressure in his final match because it was done on a big stage and there were a lot of people watching. In the offseason, Knebel spent a lot of time in the weight room lifting, did speed training, and attended both team and individual camps. For Gannon, the hardest parts about being a wrestler are the physical parts with the long practices, cutting weight and overcoming the losses.

Gannon’s 2023-2024 season win/ less record was 36-2. His current high school career record is 11342. He would like to thank the community and fans for all of their support, and the Wrestling Boosters Club for providing great equipment for the wrestlers. Gannon would like to thank his parents for always being there and supporting him. Wrestling is a family affair for the Knebels with his dad, Jason, coaching, his brother, Grayson, as the team manager, his sister, Madi, taking stats, and his mom, Stacey and other sister, Taelyn, cheering him on from the stands.

Tim is the son of Justin and Ruth Bouza. He is a senior at WCS and wrestled in the 215-weight class. Tim joined the wrestling team in 7th grade, so he has only been wrestling for the past six years, but picked up the sport fast and has excelled. He joined wrestling because all his friends were wrestling and he decided to try it. Coach David Kocer has been the most inspirational and helpful to Bouza during his years wrestling.

When asked what he enjoys most about wrestling, Tim said that the hard work that one puts into wrestling is very rewarding. His favorite wrestling move is the Hi-C. Wrestling career highlights and accomplishments for Tim include being a three-time state qualifier, he placed 7th and 4th at the state wrestling tournament, and he achieved his 100th career win. The most challenging match for Tim this season was in his finals match against Caleb Rickenbach at the state tournament. The highlight of Tim’s season was going to the state tournament. In the offseason, Tim spent a lot of time in the weight room lifting and attended team camps. The hardest part of being a wrestler are the practices. Tim’s win/loss record for the season was 27/13 and he ended his high school career with 102 wins. Tim would like to thank everyone for all of their support throughout his wrestling career.

Coach David Kocer has a few end of the season words that he would like to share as well. For Kocer, it was a great season with a great group of guys. There was a big senior class this year and it has been such an honor to coach them throughout their high school career. It is going to be hard to watch the seniors leave, but there will be relief in knowing that they have left a legacy of hard work and dedication for younger generations to follow. Even though team numbers have been down, the team was still able to make some noise at the state level. Overall, Kocer is very happy with how the team performed this season and wishes the seniors the best of luck moving forward.

Congratulations to all the wrestlers and coaches on a great season!