Matt Murray from Colby High School and now colby community college. Is absolutly tearin it up this year. He is ranked #2 in the nation right now in d1 njcaa and there regionals are this weekend at chanute. Matt Murray has beat a high school nationals champion this year, he also tore up Dusty May he was ahead 6-0 and pinned him in the second period. Just proves that 4 a is alot tougher, he didnt even place as a freshman in 4a and won state twice. I also heard that this past weekend he also beat dusty spaulding i dont know if this is true but thats just what i heard. Please write back with your comments. I think that murray has only lost one match this year and it was to a 30 year old or something like that romanian olympic wrestler and it was only by one point.

I have seen Matt wrestle several time this year. I don't think he ever quits moving. He is on the go all of the time. It will interesting to see how he does when he takes it to the next level.

Matt was also beat by Roderick Ratcliff from UNO

Don't hang your hat on Dusty May. The kid was good, but you can not claim him as the ambassador of 6A (or larger classes. I have heard that Matt Murray is doing really well this year. What I want to know is where is he going after Colby? I had heard a couple of rumors but wasn't sure.

Yes, we all know that Matt Murry is a stud, but thanks for the update. I also want to thank you for a good laugh for making one of the dumbest statements I've heard on here! Saying that 4a is better because Murry beat May, and Spualding in college is absurd. Yes 4a is tough but so are the others.

Matt is planning on going to Stanford next year I think. Yeah thats right he lost to radcliff by one in the finals at kearny and thats his only other loss.

I've coached for nearly twenty years in Kansas, and in that time been privileged to work with some outstanding young men. It's pleasing to see Matt Murray recognized for his achievments. I had him on the team in middle school, and four years in high school. Beyond his wrestling accomplishments, it should be pointed out that he is an outstanding student, and for those of you who have met Matt, you know that he is a modest individual who understands what it takes to succeed.

I seen Matt Murray a whole bunch this year, being from a rival school and all. I would have to say that he is not exceptionally, stronger, faster, or smarter when he wrestles. He is very consistent, with his technique. He really never gets himself into bad situations with his hips. His body is developed to where he has alot of leverage on most people. kind of like a really tall person. I did see him wrestle Spaulding at the Worthington open. He did win 3-0 in that match. I am not taking anything from Murray's win, but spaulding had a cast on his left hand that prevented him from using his hands in nay king of pin combination. It was king of like a club, to tell you the truth.

Told you that he beat spaulding Mr. Lane so not that obsurd after all, no disrespect to you though Mr. Lane you prolly know way more about wrestling than i do but i know matt and hes just an outstanding wrestler and person might i add hes never had a B in school his entire life
, matt is on fire this year.

Ahh, the time tested, age old question and arguement of which class is the best in the state, let me first start out by saying it is definatly not 5A, no disrespect to Mr. Lane but you know better! Once again this year I think its a toss up between 4A and 6A, both have lots of great wrestlers, although 6A lost a few due to some problems on a certain team. But all in all im thinking its 4A at the top, Think, Fort Scott, Clay Center, Norton, and of Course Abilene Look at the results of the Beloit Tournament and it will give you an idea. Anyway just my two sense, take it for what its worth

I never have said 5A is better than any other class and at the same time I am quite happy with 5a, feel it is quality competition, and am a proud representative. One thing I will point out, and this is off the top of my head from my observations, quality and depth are two issues. The quality runs deep in 4A. I can't say anything about 3-2-1A because I have not competed with any of these teams---with the exception of maybe Minneapolis and Ellsworth, two great small schools who seem to do a wonderful job of getting kids out for wrestling and having very competitive kids. In 5A the depth is not as strong as it is in 4a, however, I feel the quality is as good in 5/6A as there is in any class. The really neat thing is when you get all these classes together in certain tournaments and you see the best wrestle the best. I really enjoy that. I enjoy wrestling with Abiline, Clay Center, Norton, Hoxie, Manhattan, Junction City, and many other traditionally strong teams. I heard someone mention the idea of cutting 5/6A regionals down to 2-16 team regionals. Then the arguments of losing records and being tougher to make it to state in the lower classes do not/may not exist. Is this the best thing for kids? I don't know. It is a neat idea. No, I will not say that one class is better than another, I like them all. I can remember a time where a 6A state champ had beaten the 4a, 5a champ previously in the year. I am sure that there are countless examples vice versa. You just gotta love the competition and the increasing level of wrestling in the state of Kansas. 4-1A, I do feel for you. It is a tough thing the state of Kansas asks you to do. There are some grand schemes out there to try and right what you feel is wrong. Be proud of who you are but understand, quality and depth are two issues.

I particularly care about kids having losing records going into state. The biggest point I think I can make is that you can tell which classes are tougher than others quite simply. Bigger schools have more kids to "recruit" from. If smaller schools are beating bigger schools that pretty much sums up which classes are the toughest. Unlike football where you would be hard pressed to see a small school ever beat a large school. I do think that 5A is a good class with teams like Goddard, Ark City, ect. but I don't believe they have the competitor of 4A or 6A. In any case this will be my last post on this subject becuase the issue never dies and I don;t want to get dragged into it beucase it is not all that important.

you are right the subject never dies and while I believe 4A and then 3A are the toughest, and can provide documentation to prove it. Someone else can also counter with different results and make a different case. Since there isn't a grand state can't everyone just be happy to do well in there own class and use the competition against other classes to prepare.

Thought I might share a little information on Matt Murray. Matt earned a West-Central Zone Championship over the weekend and added yet another Outstanding Wrestler award to his list of accolades.

Matt's official record for the 2001-02 season now stands at 33-1. His sole loss was a 9-7 decision to Roderick Ratcliff, a junior from NCAA DII powerhouse Nebraska-Omaha. Mr. Ratcliff has already earned two college All-American honors and will likely earn two more.

Matt did have an "un-official" loss in the early season to Neosho County Community College's Bogdan Cuifulescu. But the loss is not counted in official NJCAA win-loss records because it was in a best 2 out of 3 takedown tournament and not a standard sanctioned match - by the way that match ended in a sudden victory takedown for Cuifulescu after 4 1/2 minutes of competition.

Bogdan Cuifulescu is a 30-something year old from Romania and was the Juco national champion at 133 pounds in 2000 - he redshirted last season because NJCAA sanctions kept Neosho from competing in the national tournament a year ago. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that Mr. Cuifulescu competed in the Olympics for his native Romania.

By the way, can you guess who Matt beat to win his West-Central Zone Championship???? You guessed it, Matt beat Cuifulescu in an exciting 1-0 match on the strength of an escape in the second period.

Other big wins for Matt this season include two wins (both by fall) over last season's 125 pound champion at high school nationals in Delaware - Steven Esparza, who currently competes for Oklahoma State University. He pinned Montana State-Northern's Dusty May (formerly of Derby, KS) - Matt was ahead 7-0 when he recorded the fall. He beat a 4-time state champ from Nebraska named Kasey Kohl by a 7-0 score at the Kearney Open. And he also beat another Kansas 4-time state champ - Dusty Spaulding who wrestles for the Univ of Nebraska. Yes, Spaulding was sporting a cast to protect an injured thumb, but that should not have impacted his ability to escape from Matt, who recorded just short of five minutes of riding time in the match and kept Spaulding from scoring until an escape in the closing seconds of his 4-1 win.

Matt has earned six tournament championships this season and was the outstanding wrestler at four meets.

As for next year, unless he did so over the weekend, Matt has not yet publically committed to compete for anyone yet.

It would be tough to choose Matt's most impressive attribute. His athletic prowess, his 4.00 GPA in an engineering curriculum and his modest demeanor are all impressive. But his current coach, Steve Lampe, indicates that it is all of those qualities, plus Matt's unyielding desire to improve his technique each day that makes him so special on the mat and in life.

Good luck at NJCAA Nationals Matt. All of us associated with Colby College wrestling hope you - and the five other CCC national tournament qualifiers (Derek Jones, Bryan Miller, O.T. Johnson, Antonio Sepulveda and Rafael Ruiz) - earn your national championship(s). We also wish you the best next year - whether its for Colby or someone else. We are truly better for having known you.

Go Trojans!

Great job Matt! Heres akid that has paid his dues, has wrestled off season and just put the time in. Its great to see Matt is at the topof his game. Good luck at nationals.

Congrats to matt. I think that all your hard work has really paid off. Hes a great wrestler i know from 1st hand experience. I lost to him my sophomore year in the finals 9-1.