Wrestling: Lane’s Max Schneider chases history

Every once in a while, Lane senior Max Schneider comes across a video of himself in his first wrestling season three years ago.

‘‘I kind of laugh at them,’’ he said. ‘‘ ‘What was I thinking there? Why did I do that? Why did I think that was OK to do?’ ’’

Apparently, Schneider wasn’t doing everything wrong. He went 41-4 and was a Class 3A state runner-up just a few months
after wrestling his first competitive match. A lot has happened to him since then, mostly good and some bad, but one thing’s for sure: He and his Lane teammates could be embarking on a historic season.

Finally healthy after battling nagging shoulder injuries the last two seasons, Schneider aims to become the first Public League wrestler to win two state titles since Tilden’s Jack Monroe in 1952-53. And he hopes to help the Indians become the first Public League team to win a state trophy since Lane was fourth in 2000.

The Indians, ranked 15th in Class 3A by Illinois Best Weekly, swept their first six duals, including wins over Batavia, Naperville Central and Downers South.

‘‘We got on a roll and the team really started to feel some confidence,’’ Schneider said. ‘‘I liked to see that because last year our team didn’t wrestle with much confidence.’’

That’s not the only change Schneider has noticed. Though the Indians graduated some talented seniors, including Matt Finnegan, Joey Riamo and Hiathem Hamdan, they are deeper and more experienced this season, with no freshmen starting.

‘‘We have just as good a lineup, if not better,’’ Schneider said. ‘‘With that and the attitude of the team being better, I feel that we could place at state this year.’’

On the individual side, just placing won’t satisfy Schneider, who was an unbeaten state champ as a sophomore before a shoulder injury prevented him from defending the title last year. Schneider actually won his title in 2010 with just one good shoulder, and he wound up wrestling just three matches after the holiday break a year ago when the injury flared up again. Now, he says, it’s all good.

“I found a type of therapy that has worked well,’’ he said. ‘‘Power lifting has really helped to strengthen the shoulder.’’

And Schneider, who came into the season 105-5, is a better wrestler as well as a healthier one.

‘‘I am able to escape with more ease,’’ he said. ‘‘I don’t feel like anyone in the state can really hold me down. Before it was kind of a question.’’

Said Lane coach Mark Miedona: ‘‘I’m excited to see where he goes this year with [the shoulder] being 100 percent and what he’s learned the last four years.’’

It should be a better-looking picture than those old videos, anyway.

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