From NYU Athletics

The New York University wrestling team competed at the New York State Championships on Sunday, November 18, in Ithaca, NY. The event was hosted by Cornell University.

James Murdoch won the 157-pound title on Sunday and became just the second-ever NYU wrestler to win a championship at his weight class at the NYS Championships.

"Awesome effort from James today," said NYU Senior Assistant Coach Corey Luce. "He's off to a great start this season."

Murdoch was one of eight NYU grapplers to place in their respective weight class and the squad finished with 85 points to put them in fourth place of 24 teams despite bringing just 10 wrestlers to the event. 

A sophomore, Murdoch won four bouts en route to the title to improve to 13-2 this season.

The United States Military Academy Prep School (99 points), Ithaca College (89.5 points) and Army West Point (87 points) were the only teams to finish ahead of NYU. 

"We are a little beat up and only brought 10 wrestlers this weekend," added Luce. "We still finished just 4.5 points behind Ithaca, which is ranked number three in the nation and had more than 20 wrestlers down here."

In addition to Murdoch, Cole Karam (second place; 157 pounds), Jack La Corte (third place; 197 pounds) and Evan Drill (fourth place; 149 pounds) all finished within the top four in their respective weight classes.

"Cole is off to a great start to his NYU career," concluded Luce. "He's 9-2 this season and has place among the top three at each event he's competed in. I'm excited to watch him continue to improve."