Murray Makes Her Move, Climbs Wrestling Ranks

Kennedy Murray has been an impact player as an athlete --- on the track and on the flag football field --- ever since she first suited up at Evanston.

But now that the Evanston senior has found another sport, she’s turned into a game-changer.

Murray continued to rise to prominence as a wrestler Saturday at the prestigious Conant Invitational and stamped herself as a contender to watch when the Illinois High School Association state tournament series starts in a couple of weeks.

Murray ruled the 145-pound bracket with three straight victories via falls, pinning Lyobosa Odiase of Oak Forest in the third period in the championship bout. She’s the first ETHS female grappler ever to win titles at multiple major invitationals after capturing the crown at Maine East earlier in the season.

Classmate Coco Herro joined her at the top of the awards podium Saturday, winning the Class B bracket at 125 pounds with three falls to her credit. The Wildkits also counted a 6th place finish from sophomore Samantha Albaugh at 110A, a 6th from freshman Brenda Ramirez at 110B, and a 6th from freshman Samantha Gipson at 120A.

Murray delivered a statement Saturday with her impressive showing. She dominated one of the tournament’s toughest brackets as the No. 1 seed --- the other seven wrestlers in the field entered competition with a combined overall won-loss record of 123-48 --- and improved to 26-3 on the season.

The ETHS standout opened with a pin of Grant’s Cassidy Graham in 3:31, then used her unique blend of strength and athleticism to nail Glenbard South’s Alex Arquillo in 4:37 before waiting until the final period to solve Odiase with a pin in 5:03.

Not bad for someone who is in just her second season competing in the sport. Now, there might not be any real ceiling as she continues to rise on the mat.

“My goal? It’s definitely to do everything that I can to secure a state championship title,” Murray proclaimed. “I’m very proud of all the work and extra effort I’ve put in so far. I’ve learned more about technique --- and staying true to that technique --- since last year and I love everything about this sport.

“Being a champion in anything I do is important to me.”

“I didn’t get the chance to work with her last year, but just from the beginning of the year to now, she’s improved on her technique and she’s more confident,” said Wildkit assistant coach Ariana Flores. “She’s very coachable and she applies everything you tell her on the mat. It’s so great when you see someone who listens (well) like that.

“Kennedy is pushing herself and we definitely have high hopes for her this year. I really do believe she can make it to State.”

Murray had interest in the sport as an incoming freshman but didn’t follow through until last year, concentrating on track and flag football. She posted a solid 14-5 won-loss record with the second most victories among the girls grapplers on the squad, and took a big step forward after that.

Now, she’s become a serious student of the sport.

“What got me into the sport was the self-defense aspect of it, because of the way the world is today, that women are seen as weak,” Murray said. “That doesn’t mean you can’t apply yourself and appear to be a strong woman. I’m definitely proud that I’ve been able to succeed in another sport.

“What I like about wrestling is that it’s such a unique sport. Your mind gets pushed and challenged every day and so does your body. I feel like I’ve grown as a person because of wrestling. When I first started wrestling last year I just tried to use my strength and push through in matches. But I learned freestyle wrestling over the summer --- I also lifted (weights) a lot --- and now I’m able to apply what I’ve learned to where it feels like it’s second nature to me. And I think I learn from my mistakes pretty quickly, too.”

Saturday, Murray took her foe down early in the third period in a match that was a scoreless draw until then. She then found a way to turn and pin the Oak Forest grappler, who had eliminated No. 2 seed Joscelin Ritthamel of Lake Forest with a major decision in their semifinal matchup.

“I had seen her (Odiase) before, but I still had to figure her out in the first period,” Murray explained. “I usually have more of a defensive mindset before I figure out what my go-to move is. It was a great match, and I’m definitely proud of my performance. That was one of my best matches of the season.”

Herro could have made the same claim Saturday. She prevailed in the Class B bracket at a tournament where officials created separate brackets --- sometimes as many as four in a given weight class --- instead of limiting schools to one entry per class as typically happens in a major invitational.

She doubled her win total on the season with falls against Jocelyn Cortes of Round Lake (2:24), Megan Sibigtroth of Lake Zurich (3:30) and Briana Benninger of Yorkville (1:02) on her way to her first career tournament title.

“It feels great to have this medal,” beamed the diminuitive ETHS senior, “It feels great to have all the hard work I’ve put in every single year pay off.

“Today I listened to the coaches (Flores and David Sanchez). I didn’t do the moves I wanted to do, I listened to them instead --- and I won.”