EPHRATA – As the winter sports season approaches, Ephrata boys wrestling looks to build on last year’s successes while nurturing a blend of returning talent and new faces.  

“I’ve got a really good, hard-working bunch of boys,” head coach Joe Knox said. “How that will manifest itself into wins and losses, I don’t know, but I couldn’t be any happier with the effort I’m getting from them in the first week of the season.” 

With practices just underway and matches commencing Dec. 5, Knox is pleased with the team's early commitment and enthusiasm. 

“The kids are working hard. They’ve got a great attitude. It’s a really fun bunch of guys to coach,” Knox said.  

Ephrata's squad retains much of last season’s roster, having graduated only five wrestlers from a pool of approximately 35. This continuity is pivotal, Knox said. 

“We’re still pretty young… with just a couple seniors on the roster, everyone else is still an underclassman,” Knox said.  

Among the returning athletes is Micah Sandberg, a standout 215-pound wrestler, who is expected to play a crucial role this season. Other key wrestlers include juniors Tavone Mantese and junior Payton Woods Hartt, senior Dominic Fuhrman, along with brothers Mike and John Ramirez. Collectively, their success will hinge not just on skill, but on the unity and teamwork emphasized by Knox.  

“The strength of this group is their unity. They really care about each other and support one another,” he said. 

As the competition intensifies with the addition of teams like Toppenish and Quincy to the league, Knox is focused on fostering a resilient mindset among his wrestlers.  

“The biggest challenge is trying to keep kids healthy and excited throughout the course of the season,” he said.  

This year’s squad incorporates around a dozen newcomers, and Knox is dedicated to their development.  

“We try to bring along the younger guys so they understand what we’re trying to accomplish,” Knox said.  

Ultimately, Knox’s philosophy rests on continuous improvement.  

“The goal every season is to continually improve,” he stated. “So that we’re better at the end than we were at the beginning.”  

Knox said there is a good community surrounding the athletics in the Ephrata School District and he wants to remind people to come out and support the athletes. The boys and girls wrestling teams will also be holding a pancake breakfast on Feb. 8 at the Ephrata Pita Pit to raise funds for the athletes.  

“The school district is really supportive,” Knox said. “We have excellent facilities, we have excellent administration and so I think the entire community rallies around all these kids and gives them the best opportunity to be successful.” 

The coach sees the wrestling program not only as a means to develop athletes but also as a way to create exemplary members of the community.  

“That’s really the goal: to develop wrestlers that become really good people,” Knox said.  

    Ephrata junior Tavone Mantese, left, returns for another year on the Ephrata wrestling team and his coach Joe Knox said he is one of the wrestlers to keep an eye out for.
  

    Ephrata wrestling has begun their practices with Joe Knox saying the boys are putting in a good amount of work. The first match will be Dec. 5 against Prosser at home.