Biography
At Columbia: Finishes career 87-26 and 17-1 in the Ivy League…only Columbia wrestler ever to be a two-time All-American…placed eighth at 2007 NCAA Championships, going 3-3…finished second at Easterns, losing the title bout in overtime to Navy’s Matt Stolpinski…took first place at the New York State Championships at 174…was a perfect 5-0 in the Ivy League as a senior…earned first team All-Ivy League honors...defeated Matt Herrington of Penn 11-1 to clinch team victory over the Quakers…earned Ivy League Wrestler of the Week honors after his performance against Penn…third place at 174 at 2006 EIWA Championships … went 3-2 at NCAA Championships but fell one bout short to become a repeat All-American … second team All-Ivy League … five pins among 18 wins in 2005-06 … had two pins at home in under 30 seconds (25 and 21 seconds, respectively) … made history in 2005 when he finished eighth in the NCAA Championships at 165 pounds, the first Columbia wrestler to become an All-American since Dave Galdi 23 years earlier, in 1982 ... earned his second trip to the NCAA's when he finished second in the EIWA Championships, winning three straight bouts before losing a 7-2 decision in the championship bout to Lehigh's top-ranked Troy Letters ... unseeded, he opened the NCAA's with a 7-3 win over Justin Nestor of Pitt ... in the consolation bracket, he reeled off three straight victories, all against seeded 2004 All-Americans, to assure himself no worse than an eighth-place finish ... defeated 11th-seeded Nate Yetzer of Edinboro, 4-2 and 9th-seeded Dave Bolyard of Central Michigan by medical default ... clinched eighth with a 2-0 defeat of Nebraska's 7th-seeded Jacob Klein; Klein had defeated Palmer in the Las Vegas Open in December ... was forced to take a medical forfeit the next day due to an injury ... determined to become an NCAA champion and Brendan Buckley likes his chances -- "Matt has a bigger heart and more will than any person I have ever coached," Buckley says. "His goal to be a national champion is fully within his grasp" ... in 2004-05, wrestled sporadically in first half due to injuries, but caught fire at Lone Star Duals in January, winning decisions over wrestlers from Purdue, Air Force and Eastern Michigan ... they were the first of eight straight wins, including five straight in Ivy League dual meets, earning him first team All-Ivy League ... enjoyed outstanding rookie season, but suffered a season-ending injury in the first action of his sophomore season and left school for a semester ... took eighth in that opening tournament, the Michigan State Open, despite the injury ... fine athlete, with strength and moves ... in his first year as a Lion, earned first team All-Ivy League honors after going 5-0 ... placed third at the Easterns and went to the NCAA Championships, where he upset the seventh seed, Nick Passolano of Iowa State (ranked fourth nationally), in the first round ... named to the All-Rookie Team by Amateur Wrestling News ... EIWA Wrestler of the Week after winning the East Stroudsburg Open and earning Outstanding Wrestler honor ... placed first in the Aggie Open ... was ranked fourth in the nation before competing in the EIWA's.
Blair Academy: Asics High School First Team All-America for the nation's top-ranked team of 2002 ... NHSCA No. 1 ranking at 171 ... New Jersey State Prep School champ ... two-time champ and two-time runner-up at national prep championships ... three-time Maryland Independent School Champion ... national champ at 2002 Senior High School Nationals ... 190-8 career record ... compiled an unblemished 40-0 mark as a senior ... 2002 N. J. All-Star Wrestling Team ... magna cum laude three times on the National Latin Exam.
Personal: American studies major ... plays chess ... son of Robert and Barbara ... Matthew Scott Palmer, b. July 14, 1983 in Germantown, Md.
2002-03: 28-4, 5-0 Ivy League
2003-04: 3-1, 0-0 Ivy League
2004-05: 21-8, 5-0 Ivy League
2005-06: 18-8, 2-1 Ivy League
2006-07: 17-5, 5-0 Ivy League
Career: 87-26, 17-1 Ivy League
