At a young age, Joe Klock wanted nothing more than to accompany his older brothers to their wrestling practice.

Klock’s father Jerry gave into Joe’s wishes once he was able to find a partner more his son’s size. Klock immediately took to the sport, tossing around his training partner and gaining a quick edge.

The initial skills learned during his first practices planted seeds deep
within Klock. He was always goal oriented, but now that drive had a passion to follow.

Through countless hours in the gym, overcoming injuries, and proving to himself he belonged, Klock reached the finals of the PIAA Class AA 132-pound championship and won. Teammates, coaches, and eventually his parents greeted Klock as he was named the top wrestler after defeating Benton’s Cole Rhone.

The win might have been a little extra special for Klock, who wrestled his first three years in high school at Benton. He knew Rhone well and delivered with a 4-3 decision to take home one of wrestling’s top prizes.

“It’s all the same match no matter what,” Klock said “We knew more about each other going into it. It was hard to wrestle because we had been training together since we were little.”

Regardless of difficulty, Klock won the match and quickly congratulated his former teammate. He then went into his own celebration.

“There’s no words to describe the feeling, to be honest,” Klock said. “My mom didn’t even watch the match. She was told I won, but there was a lot of pressure taken off my shoulders after the win.”

Klock’s mom, who was more worked up than Klock himself, paced nervously as the championship bout got underway. She couldn’t watch as her son, who started out barely heavy enough for the 106-pound class, started the biggest match of his career up to that point.

“My dad was a wrestler in high school,” Klock said of his father, Jerry. “He took my two older brothers to wrestling practice when I was in kindergarten, and they came back and kept telling me how much they loved it. I then told my father I wanted to go.”

At first, Klock’s father was hesitant to give him the go-ahead to start attending practice. His son’s persistence paid off when his father told him he could attend the next practice.

“I was in kindergarten, I was five,” Klock said. “There was another kid at the next practice who was the same size as me. My father decided then I could start going to practices.”

Klock was instantly thrown into the fire as the practice featured a small tournament called “King of the Mat.” The first wrestler to record takedowns on five different opponents would be declared the winner.

Again, there might have been some hesitation on his father’s part. There was no hesitation for Klock, who was declared the winner after five takedowns in five consecutive matches.

“You had to take down five different kids, and I won that first night,” Klock said. “It all started from there. I’ve loved wrestling ever since.”

The next step for Klock was to join Benton’s SlaughterHouse wrestling program. It’s a youth organization that helps develop young werestlers who want to take the next step.

The program was perfect for Klock, who quickly found a home with the group.

“It was cool,” Klock said of the Slaughterhouse. “There were a lot of good kids from all over the area. They gave me some good competition.”

After training for years in the Slaughterhouse, Klock was finally able to join the high school team as a freshman.
“Going into my freshman year I only weighed 92 pounds,” Klock said. “I didn’t get very many matches my freshman year. I still got better.”

Klock ended his freshman season with just nine matches but proved he was improving going 7-2 over those bouts.
Despite only seeing nine matches his freshman year, Klock headed to Fargo, North Dakota for a tournament. It was there that he finally had the big moment he needed.

“My freshman summer I went to Fargo and wrestled with some high level guys,” Klock said. “I realized I could be out there on the mat with the best. It was nationals for freestyle and Greco. It was kind of my breakthrough where I realized I could be out there with those guys.”

At the start of his senior year, Klock relocated to Muncy and quickly adapted by joining the football team. Klock didn’t get through the season unscathed after he sustained an injury to his pinky, which delayed his start to the wrestling season.
“I started off with a broken pinky, so I was out for two weeks,” Klock said. “It was messed up from football, but the goal was always top of the podium at Hershey.”

He was able to go over strategies with his teammates. It made getting to know his new partners much easier. Klock officially regained form for the first tournament of the season at Williamsport.

The Top Hat Tournament always gives wrestlers a chance to open the season strong and Klock delivered. He moved through the brackets and proved his pinky wasn’t going to be an issue throughout the season.

“The Top Hat was my first competition,” Klock said. “I was feeling good and ready for the season. Starting off the season and winning the Top Hat gives you confidence. With each win it just continues to grow.”

His confidence grew with each win as his journey came full-circle at the conclusion of this season when he took on Rhone of Benton. After moving it was a fitting way for Klock to end the season. He claimed a 4-3 decision and returned home a State Champion.