McMurray Became Real King of Ring at El Camino Real

Greg McMurray formerly was Hulk Hogan. Or was it Jake (The Snake) Roberts? Brutus (The Barber) Beefcake?

Pick a name. McMurray was the self-proclaimed World Wrestling Federation champion of his block. He was the king of atomic drops and body slams.

“Me and my friends would always be wrestling in the living room or the back yard,” McMurray said. “Eventually, we’d be flying through the air screaming ‘Ahhhhh, The Flying Souffle’! “

McMurray was king of that puffy pounce. And his battered friends suggested that he attempt real wrestling as a freshman at El Camino Real High.

Perhaps McMurray’s WWF reputation had not preceded him. But Coach Milt Goffman knew McMurray was a good athlete who, at 5 feet and 100 pounds, wasn’t big enough for football and basketball.

Therefore Goffman persuaded McMurray to wrestle.

On a mat.

In a gymnasium.

“I waited a week for him to come to practice, then finally ran into him playing volleyball on the blacktop with his P.E. class,” Goffman said. “I asked him where he had been, and he said he intended to come out to practice but didn’t know how to go about it.”

That is about the only difficulty McMurray has had with the sport. McMurray, a 5-foot-5, 120-pound senior, is 120-13 and has won two City Section championships. He won his second City title last Saturday, pinning Fremont’s Hector Cervantes in 4 minutes 43 seconds in the 119-pound title match. The win earned McMurray a trip to University of the Pacific in Stockton for the state meet.

McMurray prepared for the match by listening to a Metallica tape at an ear-splitting level on the headphones of his portable stereo. It would not be music to the ears of Cervantes, who had lost to McMurray earlier this season on a technical fall.

“I was so psyched up,” McMurray said. “I knew there was no second chance, and I felt like I wanted to destroy him. I’ve never been that pumped for a match.”

He led, 8-0, before pinning Cervantes early in the third round. McMurray, named most valuable wrestler at the El Rancho tournament and in the lower weights of the Quartz Hill tournament, won the same award in the City championships.

But awards are nothing new to McMurray. Last year, he was the 112-pound City champion and placed fifth in the state meet, the highest state finish of any L. A. City Section wrestler in history.

He was 11-2 as a freshman and 36-6 as a sophomore when he finished second in the 105-pound division in the City meet. McMurray continued to improve as a junior (44-4) before going 29-1 this season.

“Greg is an outstanding athlete with very good balance,” Goffman said. “If he makes a mistake, he knows what it is and he’s quick enough to get out the jam. In four years, he’s picked up a lot.”

McMurray--who beats his 132- and 138-pound teammates--also has a hold on his textbooks. He scored 1,110 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test, has a 3.4 grade-point average and has met the academic requirements to attend USC and UC Santa Barbara.

Stanford and Columbia also have shown interest, but he has not decided on which school he will attend--or if he will wrestle.

“If the school has a program, I’ll wrestle,” McMurray said.

If not, his buddies might have to seek cover.