Coach Steinbacher is a native of New Jersey. He grew up in Ridgefield NJ which is just outside of NYC. He began wrestling while in 5th grade. His High School career record was 90 wins (64 pins), 12 losses, and 1 tie. The Royal grappler is a 3x District 16 champ and one time runner-up, regional champ, bronze medalist, and two time state qualifier finishing top 8 in his senior year, three time first team all conference and twice was named to the second team All County squad.
Steinbacher attended Div 1 Central Conn. State Univ which was ranked 38th nationally. He redshirted his freshman year due to knee surgery. He transferred back to NJ to attend Div 3 Kean University.
Chris Steinbacher ’95
Wrestling 1990-1994
When Chris Steinbacher concluded his career on the mats, he did so as the Cougars’ all-time winningest wrestler with a 113-32-2 career mark. During his time at Kean, Steinbacher was a model student-athlete as a two-time All-American wrestler who also earned distinction as a two-time academic All-American.
Steinbacher was a four-time national qualifier, and ended the 1994 season as the top-ranked 134-pound wrestler in the nation. That year, he was 35-8, and finished third at the NCAA Championships. In his junior year, he led the Cougars to the 1993 New Jersey Athletic Conference by notching 30 victories and was seventh at the NCAA Championships. He won back-to-back Metropolitan Conference Wrestling Championships in 1993 and 1994, and he holds three of the top-10 highest single-season win totals with 35 in 1994 and 1992, and 30 wins in 1993. Steinbacher was also honored as the recipient of the 1994 D’Angola Award, presented annually to Kean’s outstanding male student-athlete.
Steinbacher completed a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Kean in 1993 and completed his eligibility while he earned a master’s degree in behavioral science and organizational psychology in 1995. Selected to Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges for 1994-95. On October 20, 2000 Chris Steinbacher was inducted into the Kean University Hall of Fame.
A Special Thanks to my college coach and mentor Craig Spencer ( All-American Montclair/wrestled for NYAC and qualified US Olympic Trial Finals in 1972 & 1976
also my assistant coach Wali Muhammad (All-American Upsala)
Steinbacher began his coaching career in 1995 as an assistant at Ridgefield Memorial HS. The team finished 7-7. The prior year the team had a losing record of 5-9. The next year the team climbed to 9-6. The following four years Steinbacher helped the "Royals" to four consecutive Group 1 sectional finals. The team went 12-6, 11-5, 10-7, 13-5. In 2001, Steinbacher became the head coach where he coached Kevin Tedesco 215lbs (32-6) to a 7th place in the state. This was the schools first state medalist which was earned at the Continental Area in Northern NJ.
Steinbacher was hired as the Lee-Davis head coach in 2003 where the team compiled a 24-4 record and was named Central Region "Coach of the Year". In 2004, the team went 24-14. That year the C-Feds saw the best competition across Virginia and some more than once. While coaching 2 years at Lee-Davis, his teams did not lose to a Central Region opponent. He and his staff coached 3 State place winners in Thomas 6th 215, Hall 6th 119/3rd, Jones 4th 135/2nd. Steinbacher has worked and had instructional influences with Horst 5th 135, Jackson 6th 130, Ellis 5th 103 before their prior year of attaining state medals. He also dedicated time with Hermitage's Ridge 2nd 152.
John Goodbody
(Manchester Class of 2005)
2x Dominion District Champ (2004/2005) (2x Placer 2002 (4th) 2003 (2nd))
2x Regional Runner-Up (2004/2005)
6th AAA State Championships (2005)
113 Career Wins (first in school history to reach 100 win mark)
Recruited by; Carson-Newman College (TN), Campbell University (NC), and Springfield College (MA)
Current-Manchester H.S. Asst. Coach
Bob "big boy"Harris
the name stands alone as a champ
year and Edinboro's first.
