Wrestlers · Career complete
Stephanie Murata
2001 World silver medalist; 8x U.S. World Team member; 3x Pan American champion; first woman to coach a women's college wrestling team
Minden, NV · Mercy HS · UC Davis
By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 23, 2026
Stephanie Murata attended Mercy High School in California and graduated from UC Davis in 1994.
She made her first U.S. World Team in 1996 and placed seventh in Sofia, Bulgaria. She won the U.S. Nationals every year from 1996 to 2002. At 51 kg, about 112 pounds, she placed fourth at the World Championships in 1998 and 1999. In Boden, Sweden, in 1999 she lost a 4-3 semifinal to Erica Sharp of Canada and the bronze match to Yanchi Gao of China in overtime. Her points helped the U.S. women win their first World team title, by one point over Japan.
In March 2000 Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Kentucky, hired her to lead its women's program. USA Wrestling reported she was the first woman to coach a women's college wrestling team. At the 2001 World Championships in Sofia she beat Lyndsay Belisle of Canada 4-1 in the semifinal. She lost the final to Hitomi Sakamoto of Japan, the defending World champion, and took silver.
In 2002 she moved up to 55 kg and won the Pan American title in Caracas, Venezuela. She lost the 55 kg World Team Trials series to Sunkist Kids teammate Tina George-Wilson. She then won a 51 kg wrestle-off with Jenny Wong, also of the Sunkist Kids, and placed 10th at the World Championships in Greece. At the 2004 Olympic Trials she lost to Tela O'Donnell of the Dave Schultz WC in the Challenge Tournament semifinal and placed third.
Back at 51 kg in 2005, she won U.S. Nationals, swept Mary Kelly of Illinois for the World Team spot and placed seventh in Budapest. In 2007 she placed fifth at 48 kg in Baku, Azerbaijan. In 2009 she took silver at the No-Gi Grappling World Championships.
In 2013 she worked on the medical team at the Junior and Cadet Nationals in Fargo. She is an eight-time U.S. World Team member and a three-time Pan American champion.
Results
| Season | Level | Event | Weight | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Senior | World Championships, Sofia, Bulgaria | 116.5 lb | 7th | Her first U.S. World Team. USA Wrestling's World Team history lists the class in pounds only. |
| 1997 | Senior | World Championships, Clermont-Ferrand, France | 123 lb | Did not place | USA Wrestling's World Team history lists her as a non-placer and gives the class in pounds only. |
| 1998 | Senior | World Championships, Poznan, Poland | 51 kg | 4th | |
| 1999 | Senior | World Championships, Boden, Sweden | 51 kg | 4th | Pinned both first-day opponents. Lost the semifinal 4-3 to Erica Sharp (Canada) and the bronze match to Yanchi Gao (China), 2-1 in overtime on a referee's decision. The U.S. won the team title, 47 points to Japan's 46. |
| 2001 | Senior | U.S. Nationals | 51 kg | 1st | Listed as the national champion at 112.25 pounds among the World Team Trials qualifiers. She won the U.S. Nationals every year from 1996 to 2002. |
| 2001 | Senior | World Championships, Sofia, Bulgaria | 51 kg | 2nd | Won her pool, beat Lyndsay Belisle (Canada) 4-1 in the semifinal, lost the final by technical fall, 12-1 at 4:59, to Hitomi Sakamoto (Japan), the defending World champion. Her first World medal. |
| 2002 | Senior | Pan American Championships, Caracas, Venezuela | 55 kg | 1st | 3-0. Technical falls over Marcia Andrade (Venezuela) and Livanis Rivera (Puerto Rico), then pinned Janet Sovero (Peru) in 1:53. She repeated as Pan American champion from 2001. |
| 2002 | Senior | U.S. Nationals | 55 kg | 1st | Her seventh straight U.S. Nationals title, in her first season at 55 kg. |
| 2002 | Senior | U.S. World Team Trials, Saint Paul, MN | 55 kg | 2nd | 1-2. June 23, 2002. Won the first match of the finals series 5-4, then lost 6-4 and 8-5 to Tina George-Wilson (Sunkist Kids). |
| 2002 | Senior | World Championships, Halkida, Greece | 51 kg | 10th | USA Wrestling's World Team history lists her at 112.25 pounds. She lost the 55 kg Trials series that June, then won a special wrestle-off with Jenny Wong (Sunkist Kids) at 51 kg to make the team. |
| 2004 | Senior | U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Indianapolis | 55 kg | 3rd | 3-1. Wrestled for Sunkist Kids. Beat Marcie Van Dusen 3-2, lost the Challenge Tournament semifinal to Tela O'Donnell (Dave Schultz WC), then beat Erin Tomeo 4-1 and Van Dusen 6-2 for third. Van Dusen and Tomeo also wrestled for Sunkist Kids. |
| 2005 | Senior | U.S. World Team Trials, Ames, IA | 51 kg | 1st | 2-0. Entered as the 2005 U.S. Nationals champion. Swept Mary Kelly (Mahomet, IL) 3-0, 3-1 and 1-0, 5-2 in the best-of-three finals. |
| 2005 | Senior | World Championships, Budapest, Hungary | 51 kg | 7th | Her seventh World Championships. |
| 2007 | Senior | World Championships, Baku, Azerbaijan | 48 kg | 5th | Lost in the second round to World champion Chiharu Icho (Japan) 1-0, 1-0, then wrestled back. Her eighth Senior World Championships. |
What we could not confirm
Anything not on this page, a high school record, a final score, a season, was left out because no primary source stated it when this was written. If you have a bracket, a program, or a clipping, send it to the operator, Joe Spisak, at joe@spisak.co and the page gets the number.
Sources
- https://www.themat.com/news/2000/march/29/stephanie-murata-hired-as-wome-2504 · USA Wrestling, March 2000. Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Kentucky, hired her to lead its women's program, the first woman to coach a women's college team. Fourth at the 1998 and 1999 World Championships at 51 kg, four World Teams, four U.S. Nationals titles, Pan American gold, a 1994 UC Davis graduate who attended Mercy High School in California.
- https://www.themat.com/team-usa/world-team-history · USA Wrestling's World Team history. Her eight Senior World Championships and each finish: seventh in 1996, a non-placer in 1997, fourth in 1998 and 1999, second in 2001, 10th in 2002, seventh in 2005 and fifth in 2007.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2015/march/04/womens-feature-1999-world-team-champions · USA Wrestling, March 2015, on the 1999 team that won the first U.S. women's World team title. Her fourth straight World Team, the 4-3 semifinal loss to Erica Sharp of Canada, the overtime bronze-match loss to Yanchi Gao of China and the 47 to 46 team win over Japan.
- https://nwhof.org/news/50-u-s-women-s-wrestling-milestones-to-celebrate-50th-anniversary-of-title-ix · National Wrestling Hall of Fame, women's wrestling milestones. The 1999 U.S. team won the World team title in Boden, Sweden, with her fourth place at 51 kg.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2001/april/18/2001-women-s-world-team-trials-2092 · USA Wrestling, April 2001. The 2001 World Team Trials qualifiers list her as the national champion at 112.25 pounds.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2001/november/27/murata--eggum-claim-silver-med-3931 · USA Wrestling, November 2001. Her silver medal at 51 kg at the World Championships in Sofia: a pool win, a 4-1 semifinal over Lyndsay Belisle of Canada and the final lost to Japan's defending World champion.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2002/october/17/2002-women-s-world-championshi-5714 · USA Wrestling, October 2002, previewing the 51 kg World Championships in Halkida, Greece. Hitomi Sakamoto of Japan beat her in the 2001 final, and a special wrestle-off with Jenny Wong put her back on the World Team at 51 kg.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2002/june/03/2002-world-team-trials-preview-5116 · USA Wrestling, June 2002, previewing the 51 kg World Team Trials. Jenny Wong of the Sunkist Kids entered as the 2002 U.S. Nationals champion at 51 kg.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2002/march/21/us-takes-first-with-three-gold-4800 · USA Wrestling, March 2002. Her 55 kg Pan American title in Caracas with two technical falls and a pin, repeating her win from the year before.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2002/june/05/themat-com-interview-with-step-5127 · USA Wrestling interview, June 2002. Her seventh straight U.S. Nationals title, the 2001 World silver medal, the move up to 55 kg and her late start in the sport.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2002/june/24/sanderson--gruenwald--george-w-5212 · USA Wrestling, June 2002. The 55 kg World Team Trials finals series in Saint Paul, won 2-1 by Tina George-Wilson after Murata took the first match 5-4.
- https://www.recordcourier.com/news/2004/may/20/murata-advances-in-trials/ · The Record-Courier, May 2004. She beat Marcie Van Dusen 3-2 in the Olympic Trials quarterfinals to reach the semifinals against Tela O'Donnell.
- https://www.recordcourier.com/news/2004/may/21/murata-takes-third-in-olympic-trials/ · The Record-Courier of Minden, Nevada, May 2004. Her third place at the Olympic Trials in Indianapolis, with wins over Marcie Van Dusen and Erin Tomeo and a loss to Tela O'Donnell.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3JTL7kohTE · USA Wrestling video of the 2004 Olympic Team Trials. Her 55 kg match with Tela O'Donnell was the Challenge Tournament semifinal.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2005/may/25/national-champions-q-a--stepha-12411 · USA Wrestling interview, May 2005. She won the U.S. Nationals every year from 1996 to 2002, moved to 55 kg for the 2004 Olympic run and won the 2005 U.S. Nationals back at 51 kg.
- https://www.recordcourier.com/news/2005/jul/06/murata-in-world-event/ · The Record-Courier, July 2005. She swept Mary Kelly of Mahomet, Illinois, at the World Team Trials in Ames for her seventh World Championships, and held three Pan American titles.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2007/september/21/daniel-cormier--tommy-rowlands-17193 · USA Wrestling, September 2007. At the World Championships in Baku she lost to Chiharu Icho of Japan at 48 kg and went to the repechage.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2020/september/01/match-of-the-day-stephanie-murata-defeats-mary-kelly-to-make-the-2005-world-team · USA Wrestling, September 2020. Her 2005 World Team Trials win over Mary Kelly, eight Senior World Teams and a 2009 silver medal at the No-Gi Grappling World Championships.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi4b_vb_nsM · USA Wrestling video, July 2013. She worked on the medical team at the Junior and Cadet Nationals in Fargo.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2004/may/22/live-time-results---semifinals-9964 · USA Wrestling live results, 2004 Olympic Team Trials Challenge Tournament semifinals. Tela O'Donnell of the Dave Schultz WC beat her by technical fall at 55 kg.
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