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Top-ranked Klock forfeits with meniscus tear

The way he felt after his morning semifinal match, Muncy’s Joe Klock could have wrestled in the 132-pound final Saturday at the District 4 Class AA Championships. For as much as he wanted to compete, though, he knew the smart move was not to wrestle.

It took a little convincing from his coaches to realize that, but it was a realization he came to nonetheless. The senior who is ranked No. 1 in the state, medically forfeited his final to Benton’s Cole Rhone to rest his ailing left knee.

Klock tore the meniscus in his knee Monday during practice, and although it’s not painful enough to prevent him from wrestling in the remainder of the postseason, he and his coaches wanted to give his knee as much time to heal as they could before next week’s Northeast Regional tournament.

“Obviously, I don’t like having to sit out the finals, but it’s what needed to happen,” Klock said. “You always want to be on top of the podium, but what’s going on in the future is more important than what’s going on here.”

Klock, a Bucknell recruit, didn’t appear to be hampered by the knee in either of his two matches in the tournament. He was in position for a technical fall against Mifflinburg’s Clayton Reed on Friday night before scoring a third-period fall. Saturday morning in the semifinals he dispatched of 12th-ranked returning state qualifier Devin Pietkiewicz of Shamokin, 16-2.

He said following a break between rounds that the knee was sore, but he could definitely wrestle if he needed to. But with the outcome of the district final not meaning much in the grand scheme of the postseason, he decided to forfeit to Rhone.

“It feels good until I get in certain positions,” Klock said. “And then once the adrenaline of the match wears off, that’s when it really starts to kill me.”

The diagnosis of a torn meniscus was actually a relief for Klock. He felt something in his knee pop as he tried to work through a funk roll in practice Monday. But as his workout partner rolled, Klock’s body didn’t and that’s when he felt the pop.

He said as soon as it happened, his eyes opened wide and he had so many thoughts flashing through his mind. He said the moment of shock was similar to what Penn State’s Jason Nolf experienced when he hurt his knee wrestling in a January dual against Rutgers.

“I started freaking out,” Klock said. “Once I calmed down, it started feeling a bit better. I had trust in my coaches and my trainer and it started feeling a bit better, but it still isn’t 100 percent.”

Klock’s wide open, high-paced style of wrestling wasn’t compromised at all during the two days of the district tournament. He said he’ll use this week to continue to let the knee heal as much as it can, while also putting in the work he knows he needs to prepare himself for regionals and beyond.

“I’m still positive mentally, for sure,” Klock said. “I’m pleased with how I wrestled.”

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