Y2CJ41

We go over the weights 190, 106, 120, 285, 113, and 215. Another great state preview.

By JEREMY HINES Thehines7@gmail.com This Valentine’s Day Max Amberger has a lesson for all the fellas out there. Nice guys don’t always finish last. Amberger, whom coach Matt Linkel says is one of the nicest kids he knows, is getting the royal treatment in Batesville this week. On Saturday he became the first Bulldog wrestler to advance to the state tournament since 1993. “This has been a pretty awesome week for him,” Linkel said. “The wrestling program has really come to life through this. He got a police escort in town when he returned from semistate. The school has posters of him up. The administration is overly thrilled for him and are trying to get as many people as possible that want to go see him wrestle at state the ability to do so. They also announced him at the basketball game. The whole town seems to be behind him.” For Amberger, who’s a reserved and quiet person, the sudden popularity has been fun to take in. “Everyone has been congratulating me,” Amberger said. “A lot of people I don’t normally talk to have been coming up and telling me good job.” Amberger wasn’t exactly a favorite to reach the state tournament. The junior heavyweight is unranked in the state and was ranked just 8th in the New Castle semistate. He won his sectional, but then lost in the regional championship the next week. “I like being the underdog,” Amberger said. “But I knew what I was capable of. I knew I could beat some of the kids in the semistate. I was excited for the opportunity to prove what I could do.” Amberger took on Frankton’s Ty Everson in the opening round of the New Castle semistate. He controlled the match and won 9-1 to set up his ticket round match. Entering the ticket round there was a lot of pressure on Amberger. Since the beginning of the season coaches had told Amberger that it had been 31 years since a Bulldog wrestler had advanced to state – and they thought he could be the man to end that drought. “For a high school kid, that’s a lot of pressure,” Linkel said. “He’s handled that well. We kept telling him about how it was 31 years since anyone punched their ticket to state. But Max is always so calm and composed, I don’t think he felt that pressure. He just said he wasn’t doing this for himself, this is for his team, his friends and his family.” Amberger went up against Greenfield Central senior Brayden Flener in the ticket round. The two battled back and forth, but Amberger emerged with a 5-2 victory to punch his ticket. “I knew he was a big guy that would try and throw me,” Amberger said. “I was keeping my hips back and trying not to get thrown. I ended up putting him on his back and they called the pin – but the call got reversed because it was an illegal headlock. I was, thankfully, able to still secure the win. “It was a great feeling winning that match. I had a lot of friends and family there and the best moment was walking up and seeing all of them. That was one of the biggest crowds I have ever wrestled in front of.” Friday night Amberger is matched up with Center Grove senior Nate Johnson. Johnson is ranked No. 4 in the weight class with a 23-1 record. “All of my family and friends and some of my teammates are going down to watch me,” Amberger said. “I should have a lot of supporters there. I can’t wait to see how it is and to wrestle in front of that crowd.” Amberger is on the smaller side for the heavyweight division. He relies on quickness rather than on brute strength. But, he’s also a concrete worker during his free time for his father’s company. He has endurance and can outlast a lot of his opponents. “Max is a quiet, loyal kid,” Linkel said. “He’s a great team leader by example. A lot of kids look up to him. He has great grades and he works hard in every aspect of his life. He’s one of the hardest workers I know. He works in a concrete business anytime he can. I know a lot of his toughness comes from that.” Amberger’s favorite sport is football. He helped lead Batesville to a sectional championship as a starting lineman. “I love football because it’s a team sport,” Amberger said. “I always put the team first. I guess that’s just part of my personality.” After high school Amberger plans to either go to a trade school or join his father’s business.

Our latest edition of this annual article will always garner lots of responses from everyone. The simple fact is, we have coaches that have a lot of success of Friday night. Winning on Friday gets the kid to the award stand and they get to take home a nice souvenir. This year's list has the usual suspects at the top in Sean McGinley, Darrick Snyder, Branden Lorek, and the pride of Osceola Jerimiah Maggart. Obviously these guys do not do it alone and are surrounded by great assistants, but the bottom line is when these guys are the leaders good things happen on Friday night. Over the course of Indiana history only two coaches have reached 100 state placers during their career. Sean McGinley heads into the state finals with 97 state placers and he has seven chances to get three to the podium. Not too far behind is Brownsburg's Darrick Snyder who is at 87 and will have a shot to hit 100 next year with a good Friday evening. Check out our coaches history page for more information on the top coaches https://indianamat.com/index.php?/history/coachingstate.html/ Remember this is strictly data driven analysis and we will all have our own opinions based on who we want in the corner. If you want to see all the data here is the link. Click here for all of the data Current coaches with 10+ state qualifiers from 1992-2023 Coach Qualifiers Placers Fri % Current School Sean McGinley 127 97 76.38% Indianapolis Cathedral Darrick Snyder 115 87 75.65% Brownsburg Branden Lorek 52 39 75.00% Crown Point Jerimiah Maggart 12 9 75.00% Jimtown Zach Whickcar 11 8 72.73% Elkhart Alex Johns 10 7 70.00% Avon Chris Cooper 42 29 69.05% Columbus East Joshua Holden 19 13 68.42% Greenfield-Central Maurice Swain 36 24 66.67% Center Grove Greg Schaefer 94 61 64.89% Evansville Mater Dei Jake O'Neill 14 9 64.29% Warren Central Gary Black 11 7 63.64% New Castle Pat Dowty 11 7 63.64% Indian Creek David Maldonado 93 59 63.44% Merrillville Jim Tonte 112 71 63.39% Franklin Community Matt Schoettle 43 25 58.14% Perry Meridian Bill Flatt 23 13 56.52% South Bend Riley Dan Briggs 25 14 56.00% Carroll (Fort Wayne) Tony Abbott 36 20 55.56% Cowan Bob Harmon 63 34 53.97% Castle Mike Runyon 25 13 52.00% Bloomington South Chad Shepherd 29 15 51.72% Western Ed Pendoski 82 42 51.22% Carmel Doug Welch 14 7 50.00% Zionsville Louie Kuzdas 29 14 48.28% LaPorte Dennis Lewis 27 13 48.15% NorthWood Jim Pickard 44 21 47.73% Goshen Gabe Cook 13 6 46.15% Terre Haute South Clint Gard 24 11 45.83% Rochester Jason Cook 11 5 45.45% Wheeler Eric Myers 32 14 43.75% Jay County Scott Ferguson 39 17 43.59% Evansville Reitz Brandon Sisson 21 9 42.86% Floyd Central Brad Harper 82 33 40.24% Penn Dan Mikesell 15 6 40.00% Mooresville Luke Triveline 10 4 40.00% Lake Central Adam Wolf 10 4 40.00% East Central Andy Hobbs 43 17 39.53% Peru Danny Struck 21 8 38.10% Jeffersonville Dean Branstetter 16 6 37.50% Attica Tony Currie 19 7 36.84% Adams Central Dave Cloud 30 11 36.67% Pendleton Heights Nick Brobst 11 4 36.36% Hamilton Southeastern Jamie Welliever 14 5 35.71% Southmont James Linn 14 5 35.71% New Haven Doug Smoker 21 7 33.33% Eastside Andrew King 28 9 32.14% Oak Hill Brett Smith 13 4 30.77% Prairie Heights Johnny Henry 13 4 30.77% Harrison (WL) Jim Wadkins 22 6 27.27% Calumet Steven Sandefer 22 6 27.27% Mishawaka Bobby Whitenack 11 3 27.27% New Prairie Sam Riesen 11 3 27.27% East Noble Nick Kraus 21 5 23.81% Garrett Blane Culp 17 4 23.53% Columbia City Doug Deters 13 3 23.08% Franklin County Tom Miller 18 2 11.11% Lafayette Jefferson All coaches with 10+ state qualifiers from 1992-2023 Coach Qualifiers Placers Fri % Wiley Craft 12 11 91.67% Todd Kendrick 13 11 84.62% Frank Svarczkopf, Jr. 12 10 83.33% Wade McClurg 17 14 82.35% Travis Walls 26 21 80.77% Dan Gelarden 15 12 80.00% Brett Crousore 39 31 79.49% Nick Petrov 24 19 79.17% Perry Summitt 13 10 76.92% Sean McGinley 127 97 76.38% Darrick Snyder 115 87 75.65% Branden Lorek 52 39 75.00% Jerimiah Maggart 12 9 75.00% Brian Weaver 12 9 75.00% Al Smith 26 19 73.08% Zach Whickcar 11 8 72.73% Justin Smith 11 8 72.73% Rod Wartman 11 8 72.73% Alex Johns 10 7 70.00% Keith Grant 10 7 70.00% Alan Goddard 10 7 70.00% Dennis Miesle 10 7 70.00% Duboris Dickerson 13 9 69.23% Grodie Crick 13 9 69.23% Chris Cooper 42 29 69.05% Joshua Holden 19 13 68.42% Mike Atwood 19 13 68.42% Paul Nicodemus 19 13 68.42% Lance Rhodes 31 21 67.74% Mike Goebel 111 74 66.67% Maurice Swain 36 24 66.67% Paul Voigt 15 10 66.67% Kevin Blundell 12 8 66.67% Bill Kelly 26 17 65.38% Greg Schaefer 94 61 64.89% Lance Ellis 17 11 64.71% Jake O'Neill 14 9 64.29% Zach Errett 28 18 64.29% Chad Red 25 16 64.00% Gary Black 11 7 63.64% Pat Dowty 11 7 63.64% Joe Virgin 11 7 63.64% David Maldonado 93 59 63.44% Jim Tonte 112 71 63.39% Matthew Behling 19 12 63.16% Brian Seltzer 40 25 62.50% Robert Emerick 29 18 62.07% Bob Jarrett 13 8 61.54% Jack Grimaldi 13 8 61.54% Rob Willman 18 11 61.11% John Kopnisky 10 6 60.00% Brent Faurote 109 65 59.63% Kevin Troy 32 19 59.38% David Walpole 17 10 58.82% Russel Feigert 41 24 58.54% Dave Thompson 24 14 58.33% Matt Schoettle 43 25 58.14% Royce Deckard 64 37 57.81% Steve Balash 52 30 57.69% Bob Read 26 15 57.69% Keith Hoffar 28 16 57.14% Kyle Poyer 28 16 57.14% Mike Smorin 14 8 57.14% Jim Nicholson 14 8 57.14% Bill Flatt 23 13 56.52% Larry Tharp 23 13 56.52% Trent McCormick 103 58 56.31% Bobby Howard 16 9 56.25% John Cook 16 9 56.25% Dan Briggs 25 14 56.00% Bob Hasseman 68 38 55.88% Tony Abbott 36 20 55.56% Lance Beehler 18 10 55.56% Danny Williams 20 11 55.00% Jamie Wingler 11 6 54.55% Jason Warthan 11 6 54.55% James Colias 11 6 54.55% Kenny Wallace 11 6 54.55% Clarence Warthan 24 13 54.17% Israel Blevins 37 20 54.05% Chris Joll 63 34 53.97% Bob Harmon 63 34 53.97% Mike Ester 26 14 53.85% Jake Harreld 13 7 53.85% Bob Brennan 15 8 53.33% Jared Williams 40 21 52.50% Rex Peckinpaugh 73 38 52.05% Mike Runyon 25 13 52.00% Chad Shepherd 29 15 51.72% Andy Simon 35 18 51.43% Scott Vlink 76 39 51.32% Ed Pendoski 82 42 51.22% Leroy Vega 43 22 51.16% Randy Kearby 34 17 50.00% Jim Ledbetter 28 14 50.00% Doug Welch 14 7 50.00% T. Howard Jones Jr. 22 11 50.00% Todd Sacksteder 20 10 50.00% Kevin King 18 9 50.00% Frank Bumgardner 16 8 50.00% Chris Campbell 14 7 50.00% Bill Yozipovich 14 7 50.00% Mark Bruner 12 6 50.00% Mark Kirchgassner 12 6 50.00% Lee Fry 10 5 50.00% Chris Svarczkopf 10 5 50.00% Larry Hazuga 10 5 50.00% Christopher Kern 10 5 50.00% Henry Wilk 43 21 48.84% Mark Kerrn 39 19 48.72% Louie Kuzdas 29 14 48.28% Dennis Lewis 27 13 48.15% Jim Pickard 44 21 47.73% Terry O'Neill 19 9 47.37% Scott Dehart 17 8 47.06% Cale Hoover 26 12 46.15% Gabe Cook 13 6 46.15% Rod Williams 13 6 46.15% Tony Boley 24 11 45.83% Clint Gard 24 11 45.83% Jason Cook 11 5 45.45% Bud Palmer 11 5 45.45% Steve Wewe 11 5 45.45% Bo Henry 11 5 45.45% Eric Myers 32 14 43.75% Phil Smith 16 7 43.75% Scott Ferguson 39 17 43.59% Brandon Sisson 21 9 42.86% Rick Stenftenagel 14 6 42.86% David Caple 14 6 42.86% Lou Silverman 40 17 42.50% Scott Schwarz 26 11 42.31% Eric Highley 19 8 42.11% Jim HIttler 12 5 41.67% Ryan Wells 17 7 41.18% Steve VanderAa 17 7 41.18% Larry Mattingly 37 15 40.54% Brad Harper 82 33 40.24% Mark Line 20 8 40.00% Dan Mikesell 15 6 40.00% Luke Triveline 10 4 40.00% Adam Wolf 10 4 40.00% Scott Raypole 15 6 40.00% Ryan Landis 10 4 40.00% James Binkley 10 4 40.00% Sam DiPrimio 10 4 40.00% Gene Backes 10 4 40.00% Murray Miller 10 4 40.00% James Phillips 10 4 40.00% Kevin Taylor 10 4 40.00% Andy Hobbs 43 17 39.53% Steve Pugliese 23 9 39.13% Al Hartman 36 14 38.89% Ed Fox 13 5 38.46% Greg Gastineau 13 5 38.46% Danny Struck 21 8 38.10% Dean Branstetter 16 6 37.50% Tony Currie 19 7 36.84% Dave Cloud 30 11 36.67% Nick Brobst 11 4 36.36% Gary Fox 11 4 36.36% Gary Schliessman 11 4 36.36% Tony Grater 11 4 36.36% Tony Starks 11 4 36.36% Derek Bocock 14 5 35.71% Jamie Welliever 14 5 35.71% James Linn 14 5 35.71% Mark Scott 20 7 35.00% Paul Gunsett 20 7 35.00% David Errett 20 7 35.00% Barry Humble 18 6 33.33% Robert Freije 18 6 33.33% Josh Dommer 15 5 33.33% Doug Smoker 21 7 33.33% Todd Fakes 12 4 33.33% Andrew King 28 9 32.14% Matt Koontz 13 4 30.77% Randy Pursley 13 4 30.77% Brett Smith 13 4 30.77% Johnny Henry 13 4 30.77% Chuck Fleshman 10 3 30.00% John Bennett 10 3 30.00% Lonnie Chamberlain 10 3 30.00% Nicholas Eckert 14 4 28.57% George Gardner 18 5 27.78% Jim Wadkins 22 6 27.27% Steven Sandefer 22 6 27.27% Bobby Whitenack 11 3 27.27% Tim Alcorn 11 3 27.27% Sam Riesen 11 3 27.27% Ron Anderson 11 3 27.27% Eric Burres 12 3 25.00% Nick Kraus 21 5 23.81% Blane Culp 17 4 23.53% Doug Deters 13 3 23.08% Byron Sweet 10 2 20.00% Kevin Wilkinson 10 2 20.00% Ken Houston 16 3 18.75% Denny Schwartz 16 3 18.75% Scott VanDerAa 15 2 13.33% Tom Miller 18 2 11.11% Al Thomas 10 1 10.00% Tim Sloffer 12 1 8.33% Doug Schultz 13 1 7.69%