Local grapplers advance to semistate
Feb. 6—RICHMOND — Needing just a win in the first round of the wrestling regional at Richmond to advance to the semistate, 11 local wrestlers took the mat at Richmond. At the end of the day, three remained as semistate qualifiers.
Rushville's Tuff Tackett, Batesville's Max Amberger and Greensburg's Preston Merritt all won opening round matches.
Tackett opened the day at 132 with a 5-4 win over Sam Hinshaw of Shenandoah. In the regional semifinal, Tackett defeated Greensburg's Merritt 3-1. Eastern Hancock's Cameron Volz defeated Tackett in the title match 11-1.
"I am very proud of Tuff, and am inspired by his determination to succeed when the odds were against him. This has been Tuff's biggest strength throughout his wrestling career," Coach Tush said. "Every time he walked onto the mat, he did it with the intention of winning. This quality will serve him well next weekend at semistate and for the rest of his life."
Batesville's Amberger placed second at 285.
Amberger opened the regional with a pin against Eastern Hancock's Joseph Hollenbaugh. He followed up with a second pin against Chase Sutherland of Hagerstown to propel him to the championship match. Amberger faced a familiar opponent in Lawrenceburg's Colton Roth in the finals. The BHS sophomore suffered a tough 1-0 loss to Roth.
Greensburg's Merritt took fourth at 132. Merritt posed a 10-1 victory in the opening round over Centerville's Kale Creech. Merritt lost his last two matches to take fourth.
Contact Aaron Kirchoff at aaron.kirchoff@greensburgdailynews.com
