Standout senior wrestler Michael Murphy announced his commitment to the University of Virginia on Tuesday via Instagram.
Weighing in at 157 pounds during the past wrestling season, Murphy has had an impressive high school career thus far. Murphy held a 38-4 record in his junior season. He also qualified for the state tournament in both his sophomore and junior seasons, and placed seventh in the tournament last year. Another standout accolade for the future Cavalier is that he was named Union County Wrestler of the Year for the 2021-2022 season.
Virginia, competing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), finished with a 4-6 record last season and finished fifth out of six teams in the ACC standings. They will be looking to improve upon that record with additions such as Murphy, who is a top 10 wrestler in New Jersey for his respective weight class according to nj.com. Murphy will look to immediately impact the Cavaliers, wrestling in the 174 weight class.
When it came down to deciding what school was for Murphy, he felt UVA was an obvious choice. “It has the perfect balance of athletics, academics, and social life.” He also added, “The coaches really care about you as a person and not just a wrestler. All the guys on the team were super humble and outgoing. It was just the clear cut choice.”
Before heading to Virginia next fall, Murphy will have one more season for the Blue Devils where he hopes to not only succeed and win the county tournament as a team, but also the individual county and state tournaments.
