Boys wrestling: St. Charles East’s Murray brothers set for a memorable weekend at state

St. Charles East senior Brody Murray is looking to end his career on a memorable note.

He already has a special family member in his corner – and in the wrestling room with him.

Murray (39-8) punched his ticket to this weekend’s Class 3A state wrestling tournament at Champaign’s State Farm Center by winning the 175-pound weight class at the Conant Sectional.

His younger brother, sophomore Cooper Murray, will join him at the state tournament via a second-place showing at 190 pounds.

The Murray brothers are part of a large contingent of Saints making the trek to Champaign, headlined by, of course, the No. 1 wrestler in the country and three-time state champion, Ben Davino, at 132 pounds.

“Misson accomplished,” Brody Murray said of advancing to state. “That’s the expectations from my coaches and as a team we want as many guys downstate as possible, so I was happy to do my part.”

Brody Murray, who placed sixth at state at 182 pounds last season, said the advancement of his younger brother adds to the excitement of this weekend.

“It’s pretty cool to go because we do everything together, but I would say my mom is the most excited to have two of her boys downstate together,” Brody Murray said.

Cooper Murray (29-17) said he was happy to seal his state ticket in his first varsity season, plus admitted the opportunity to share the downstate experience with his brother is priceless.

“It felt good and also relief because I wanted to go very badly,” Cooper Murray said. “Last year I didn’t have the opportunity to go because I wasn’t on the varsity. I made it to frosh/soph state, but I didn’t get very far, so it’s pretty cool having someone that you are so close with and having wrestled your whole life with, whether at home or in the wrestling room. To have both of us have this opportunity at the same time is crazy.”

St. Charles East coach Jason Potter said having brothers in the same room brings a different dynamic to a wrestling program. Potter said he has first-hand knowledge of the bond through his own wrestling background.

“It’s a blast to have two brothers on the team at the same time,” Potter said. “Wrestling builds a brotherhood between teammates, but it’s even more special when you can go through this with your family. My older brother, David, and I were on the (same) team together in 1997, so I know the experience brought us closer together as siblings. The challenges and struggles of this sport create a bond like no other. The Murrays might not realize this now, but they will someday look back and realize how special this opportunity is.”

Potter said Brody and Cooper have unique wrestling styles.

”As wrestlers, they have very different styles,” Potter said. “Cooper is physical and uses solid traditional techniques. Brody on the other hand is extremely flexible and uses nontraditional attacks. The thing they have in common is they are both very tough in the top position and their work ethic is always at the forefront of what they do. They both have had a major impact on the success of our team this year.”

Although older than Cooper, Brody Murray started his wrestling career later than his younger brother. He started attending Cooper’s matches with his dad, and soon was hooked on the sport. For a change, Cooper Murray said he was happy to lead the way for his older brother.

“I started wrestling when I was seven years old because my dad had me to do because I wasn’t playing any sports at the time and he wanted me to try something different, and wrestling was that thing,” Cooper Murray said. “Having my brother has helped me a lot because there’s always a partner around me. My goal for this weekend would be to place at state, which would be awesome.”

One of eight Saints headed to state, Brody Murray, a three-time sectional champions, said his two previous state trips will help him prepare for this weekend.

“I (plan on) wrestling hard every match start to finish because that’s all I can control and good things will come from it,” Brody Murray said.