Horns Up
A season on the mat
An original documentary series
A six-part documentary series following the Gardner Edgerton High School girls wrestling team through the 2026–27 season.
Gardner Edgerton finished second at the 2026 Kansas Class 6A state tournament and enters the new season with five returning state finalists. Expectations are high, but the months between November and February will decide what this team becomes.
Horns Up is a six-part documentary series following the athletes and coaches through the 2026–27 season. Filmed inside practices, competitions, team meetings, and the quieter hours surrounding them, the series will document the repetition and pressure behind a season measured by what happens at the state tournament.
New chapters will be released throughout the season, beginning in fall 2026.
Why this story
Girls wrestling became a sanctioned high school sport in Kansas during the 2019–20 school year. Two years earlier, 112 girls from 60 schools competed in the state. By the 2021–22 season, participation had grown to more than 1,500 wrestlers across 178 schools.
That growth has changed the scale of the sport. The athletes competing now inherited opportunities that did not exist for many of the women who came before them, along with stronger programs and higher expectations. Horns Up follows one team competing within that change.
Gardner Edgerton enters the 2026–27 season after placing second in Class 6A, with five returning state finalists and a championship within reach. The result will matter. The season required to reach it is the larger story.
Inside the program
Documentary access is built on trust, particularly inside a high school athletic program. I previously coached alongside Gardner Edgerton head coach Tyler Cordts, and our relationship began years before this project. He knows my understanding of wrestling, schools, and the responsibility that comes with bringing a camera around teenage athletes.
That history creates access to the parts of a season that spectators rarely see. The camera will remain with the team through ordinary practices, difficult conversations, long tournament days, and the time between competition. Staying that close allows the series to document how the team changes over several months.
Access also carries an obligation to the people being filmed. Student participation is voluntary, and athletes may ask to stop filming or interviewing at any time. The production will approach injuries, personal circumstances, and vulnerable situations with care.
About the production
Horns Up is an independently produced six-part documentary series from JZlatPhoto. Production began in September 2026 with research and preliminary conversations. Principal photography will follow the Gardner Edgerton girls wrestling team from the beginning of official practice in November through the Kansas state tournament in February.
The series will combine season-long observational filming with interviews conducted before, during, and after the season. Wrestlers and coaches will provide the central perspective, supported by people who can place the team within the history and continued growth of girls wrestling in Kansas.
Episodes are planned for release throughout the 2026–27 season. Release information and production updates will be added to this page as they become available.
About the filmmaker
Joe Zlatnik is a Kansas City-based photographer and filmmaker whose practice includes commercial visual communication, documentary projects, and editorial photography.
Before working full time in photography and film, Joe spent fifteen years in public education as a history teacher, school administrator, and wrestling coach. That background shapes his approach to Horns Up. He understands how schools operate, what a wrestling season asks of the people inside it, and how much trust is required when documenting a team.
His documentary approach is grounded in research, sustained access, and attention to the context surrounding what happens in front of the camera.
Media resources
Horns Up is currently in production. Project information, approved logos, and a filmmaker biography are available for coverage related to the documentary and the 2026–27 Gardner Edgerton girls wrestling season.
Interview requests, media inquiries, and requests for approved images may be directed to:
Joe Zlatnik
Filmmaker and producer
joe@joezlatnik.com
joezlatnik.com/hornsup
Project details
Title: Horns Up
Format: Six-part documentary series
Status: In production
Principal photography: September 2026 through March 2027
Primary location: Gardner, Kansas
Production: JZlatPhoto LLC
Filmmaker and producer: Joe Zlatnik