Two Wins Don't Add Up To Medal For Murray

BLOOMINGTON --- If she had it to do all over again, maybe Kennedy Murray would have chosen wrestling instead of track as a freshman entering Evanston Township High School.

But hindsight is always 20-20. Close didn’t count here Saturday for Murray at the Illinois High School Association girls individual wrestling tournament.

The Evanston senior took the program’s next step --- becoming the first female grappler to score two victories at the state finals --- but won’t have a medal to show for it.

Murray fell one win short of a medal haul at 145 pounds, losing via second period pin to Dempsey Atkinson of Rochelle in a loaded weight class. That loss gave her a split of four matches over the two-day test held at Grossinger Motors Arena.

Murray, in only her second year competing in the sport, finished with a 28-7 overall record that included 24 triumphs via falls. But Murray’s crash course in the sport didn’t leave her with enough experience under her belt to beat the state’s elite.

Atkinson, who went on to place sixth, caught her with a headlock in the second period Saturday, flipped her to her back and pinned her in 3 minutes, 23 seconds.

“She was waiting for me to make a mistake, and because I’m new, I’m mistake-prone,” admitted Murray through a veil of tears following the season-ending loss. “I’ve always known I had a wrestling IQ imbalance compared to a lot of these other girls. I tried to rush the process this year, and it paid off, but the small things matter when you get this far. So many of those small things really matter here.

“I’ve had a lot of girls I’ve gone up against try to get me with headlocks and it didn’t really work. I thought I had a chance to get out of it, but I couldn’t breathe because she had me too tight. I could have been better in that situation.

“My biggest regret was that I didn’t start earlier. I’d always been interested in combat sports, but I felt deep down that I wanted to run track. I actually thought I could do both at first, but a coach told me I really couldn’t, and I went with what I was comfortable with.”

Murray’s growth as a student of the sport could only propel her so far.

“What a great journey it’s been for Kennedy!” exclaimed Evanston head coach Rudy Salinas. “She has such dynamic prowess on the mat and she’s been such a great athlete to coach. I’m just sad she didn’t reach her goal of being on that (awards) podium.

“In the matches she won, she was able to execute her moves. But in the matches she lost it was a wrestling IQ situation. I don’t know how many headlocks she’s seen, but that girl went for a big move, swung for the fences and pinned her.

“Everyone in Kennedy’s bracket has experience wrestling in the spring and the summer. I think Kennedy really maxed out for the time she was able to put into the sport.”

Murray, who earlier this season became the first Wildkit female to win a title at the Central Suburban League tournament, scored the best program finish ever in the postseason by beating out current assistant coach Ariana Flores (1-2 in 2022 at State, 1-2 in 2023), Ashland Henson (1-2 in 2023) and Alize Ramirez (1-2 in 2022).

Two challengers in the 145-pound bracket racked up more than 40 victories this season alone, and five others posted at least 35 wins. Natalie Beaumont of Cumberland, the eventual champion, finished 30-3 after blanking Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevi of Schaumburg 5-0 in the title bout.

Beaumont advanced with a second round triumph --- a disqualification --- over Zion-Benton’s Naomi Foote, who was responsible for four of Murray’s losses this season.

Murray was hoping for one more shot at the Zee-Bee standout but didn’t even look at potential matchups in the bracket until after Friday’s matches.

“My Mom and my coaches wouldn’t let me look at it,” she smiled. “I did look at it last night and maybe the fact that she (Atkinson) only had one loss got into my head a little bit. But regardless of anyone’s record, I know what I can do out there, so I didn’t really dwell on it.”

Murray nailed Wheeling sophomore Krystal Diaz in 4 minutes, 4:44 seconds to open her medal bid, but in the second round Jenna Tuxhorn of Chatham-Glenwood thwarted those hopes with a 2-0 victory thanks to an escape and a stalling point. Murray then advanced in the consolation bracket, pinning Oak Forest’s Iyobosa Odiase in 3:20.

“In my second match it was really frustrating the way the points went,” Murray noted. “I was actually out there trying and they called me for stalling. That first girl I wrestled against was gret --- that was a nice win --- and I beat that Oak Forest girl for the third time this year.

“After I lost, I really wanted to get third place. I still feel I deserved to be on that podium.”