NCAA Championships
2005-Matt Murray went 1-2 at 141 pounds in his senior year at the NCAA Championships. Murray recorded an opening-round victory over Nate Gullosh of Navy. He lost a close 8-6 decision to Michael Keefe of UT-Chattanooga, before injury forced him to default his final match against Jordan Leen of Cornell.
2004-In his first appearance in the NCAA Championships, Murray finished second to Iowa's Cliff Moore. The No. 7 seed, Murray started his run with a 9-0 major decision over Joh Manarte of Hofstra. In the second round, Murray defeated Penn's Doug McGraw 8-5. The quarterfinals match was a rematch of the 2004 Big 12 Championship final. Murray scored an overtime upset victory over second-seeded Nate Gallick of Iowa State, defeating him 4-3 on riding time after the fourth overtime period. In the semifinals, Murray beat defending national champion and No. 3 seed, Oklahoma's Teyon Ware, 5-4. In the finals, Murray fell to Moore, the No. 5 seed, by a score of 5-2 after Moore recorded two third-period takedowns.
Big 12 Championships
2005-Murray entered the conference tournament ranked No. 3, but an opening-round loss to No. 2 Teyon Ware of Oklahoma put Murray into the consolation bracket. Murray battled back with a 5-4 overtime victory over Chris McCormick of Missouri. Murrary finished fourth with a loss to Daniel Frishkorn of Oklahoma State, but earned his second consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships.
2004-After missing the 2003 Big 12 Championships with a jaw injury, Murray finished as the runner-up to Iowa State's Nate Gallick to earn his first big to the NCAA Championships. In the semifinals, Murray defeated Teyon Ware of Oklahoma, 4-3, in the fourth overtime. In the final, Gallick defeated Murray 2-1.
Career Notes
2005-Murray's senior season saw him finish with a 24-6 overall record, including 15-2 in duals. Murray earned 57 dual points for the Huskers, while allowing just six. Murrary recorded two pins, three technical falls and three major decisions.
2004-Murray recorded an overall record of 24-7, with a 15-4 dual record. Murray won his last six matches of the regular season, including a 5-1 victory over Missouri's J.P. Reese, who was ranked 13th at the time. Murray also defeated Reese in double-overtime at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. His victory over the then 10th-ranked Reese was the second of three straight victories over ranked opposition. He also knocked off No. 16 Tommy Owen of Minnesota, 7-2, and 13th-ranked Clark Forward of Michigan, 4-1. Murray finished second at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, falling to unranked Robert Becker of George Mason, 6-3, in the finals.
2003-Murray recorded a 14-7 overall record and an 11-3 dual mark despite missing the last two months of the season after suffering a broken jaw in practice. Of Murray's 14 wins, three came by technical fall, two by fall and one by major decision. His three technical falls tied him for the team lead with Travis Pascoe and Jacob Klein. At the Mat Town Invite, Murray posted a fifth-place finish after defeating Ron Tarquino of Pittsburgh, 2-0.
Before Nebraska-Murray came to Nebraska after placing sixth at the 2002 NJCAA Championships with a 34-4 record for Colby Community College. Also a standout at the high school level, Murray finished his career with a 138-12 record, including a state championship as a senior in 2002 and a third-place finish as a junior for head coach Mitch Beims. Murrary was also named an All-American Greco-Roman wrestler along with lettering three times in cross country and tennis in high school.
Personal-The son of Jim and Bernice Murrary, Matt was born on July 15, 1982. Matt has a brother, Scott, and a sister, Melissa. In high school, Matt was a member of the National Honor Society. He is a mathematics education major.