A strapping 197 pounds, Matt Miller entered his senior year in a battle for the starting slot with Troy Hansen. He finished it as a national champion. The Muncy, Pa., native was an underdog all season long after never finishing higher than third at any NCAA-qualifying tournament in his career. Still, the signs were there that he would break through as a junior, posting a 25-8 record, but an injury at the NCAA Regionals dropped him to fifth-place in the weight class. He entered his senior year with a 57-28 career record, making that final season all the more incredible. Miller, who struggled to stay healthy throughout his career, was even injured during a tournament in mid-December after pinning his first two opponents. He came back healthy after the holiday break and made an immediate impact at the Budd Whitehill Duals, pinning his opponent in the second period to give the Warriors an upset over John Carroll in the first round. He continued his hot stretch, winning three matches at the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference Championships to join Chris Dahlheimer as the first Warriors to win ECWC Conference individual champions. He followed that by earning the No. 6 seed at the NCAA Championships and he won a stretch of three decisions to reach the national title match, where he faced defending national champion T.J. Miller of Wartburg. A first period takedown helped the Montgomery High School graduate take control and after riding T.J. Miller through the second period, he stayed on bottom in the third, but never gave up any points to win the ninth national title in program history, 2-0. He was named the ECWC Wrestler of the Year after completing the perfect 20-0 season. Since graduating, Miller has been a continual presence in the wrestling program, serving as both an assistant and volunteer assistant coach.
