No. 10 Illinois’ (9-4, 4-4) most successful season since 2019-20 culminated in an impressive outing at the Big Ten championships this past weekend.
All four of Illinois’ conference losses this season came against top-15 opponents, two of which were on the road. Illinois won three top-25 duals for the first time since 2020-21. Its ranked record stood at a respectable 6-4, and most of Illinois’ wrestlers put on a show throughout the season.
The Illiniʼs wrestlers are ranked in the top-15 in seven of the 10 weight classes. The regular season is one thing, but Illinois also converted when the lights were bright in the Big Ten championships.
Magic number 7
Illinois will send seven wrestlers to the NCAA championships in Philadelphia from March 20-22. Freshman standouts Kannon Webster at 149 pounds and Braeden Scoles at 165 pounds continue to impress. They placed second and fifth, respectively, to secure their spots at nationals.
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While Illinois will showcase its young talent in Philadelphia, experience will also be a key factor. Four redshirt seniors — Danny Braunagel at 174 pounds, Zac Braunagel at 197 pounds, hometown heavyweight Luke Luffman at 285 pounds and two-time NCAA qualifier Edmond Ruth at 184 pounds — will bring veteran leadership to the tournament.
They will be joined by redshirt senior standout Lucas Byrd, who has established himself as one of Illinois’ all-time greats. He is fresh off his first Big Ten title at 133 pounds. Byrd spoke about the opportunity to compete alongside his teammates on college wrestling’s biggest stage.
“I’m proud of everybody that is going and proud of everybody that is waiting for a bid,” Byrd said. “I am looking forward to getting to Philly with my friends. Brothers who I bleed with and give blood, sweat and tears with. So, getting the opportunity to see them achieve their goals as well as achieve my goals is something I am really excited for.”
Byrd’s Midas touch
Byrd was crowned Illinois’ first 133-pound Big Ten champion in 21 years and continued his high-flying run. No. 2-seeded Byrd crushed Wisconsin (5-12, 1-7) and Maryland (9-10, 3-5) wrestlers in the quarter and semifinals with 9-2 and 5-1 decisions, respectively.
After success on the first day of the championship, Byrd faced a familiar foe: No. 2 Iowa’s (14-1, 7-1) 133-pound, No. 2-overall Drake Ayala in the championship bout.
“It’s awesome to keep scratching my name in Illinois wrestling history,” Byrd said. “We have had a long line of success with people that have won Big Ten and national titles. It’s nice to keep putting stones in place of just listing my accomplishments that I’ve done so far.”
Byrd avenged his loss against Ayala from earlier in the season and made a statement with a pin defeating the first-seeded Hawkeye in 3:16. Before Sunday, Byrd’s best finish in the Big Ten tournament was third. This time, he managed to march his way to the top, rounding out a successful collegiate career.
“It always feels good to avenge a loss from the season,” Byrd said. “I didn’t really have a game plan. The whole weekend, I was looking to go out and score points, not force anything, and take the opportunities when they are there. When I pinned him in the final sequence, the opportunity was there and I needed to take it.”
His name will hang in the rafters as one of the most dominant forces Illinois has seen. Admittedly, there were nerves; he was up against someone who bested him earlier this season. More than that, Ayala stood between Byrd and a perfect dual record for the season — he handed him his only loss. But on the big stage, Byrd proved his championship mettle.
“Not that I don’t get nervous,” Byrd said. “But when you start to get nervous, and it starts taking you out of the match, you just have to be present at the moment to compete. I was told a long time ago that when you get nervous, it’s your body prepping to do something really exciting. When you start thinking about big matches or even just matches in general, I want to think my body is just really excited to go out and compete.”
Podium finishers
In addition to Byrd’s first-place finish, the Illini had four podium finishers.
First, Webster pulled off the biggest upset of the day. Webster defeated No. 1 Penn State (15-0, 8-0) junior Shayne Van Ness in a 10-second takedown. Before the upset, Van Ness previously ranked No. 2 in the country and was 20-1 on the season. Webster came close to the title, but dropped the final to now-No. 2 Ridge Lovett, a senior from Nebraska (11-3, 6-2).
Both Danny and Zac Braunagel pulled off upsets in the second round before losing in the semifinals. But, they went on to win their consolation matches and each secured bronzes. Danny Braunagel had an impressive first-round fall, flipping Indiana (8-5, 3-5) redshirt senior Derek Gilcher on his back in just five minutes.
Lastly, Ruth has started to show his form from last year. He qualified for his third-straight NCAA Championship with an upset over Nebraska’s No. 3-seeded junior and 2023 Big Ten champion Silas Allred.
Outside of Illinois
Wrestlers at the top of the rankings dominated the majority of the event. Top-seeded wrestlers took home the crown in the 165-, 174-, 184- and 285-pound categories. The 174- and 285-pound rounds saw massive victories with 12-1 and 10-3 wins, respectively. Danny Braunagel and Luffman finished close behind in those categories and will have formidable matchups on their hands at nationals.
Nationals time
The Illini’s performance at the Big Ten championships highlighted impressive individual and team success. As they prepare for the NCAA championships, the Illini are motivated to build on their momentum and show their dominance on the national stage.
“We’re just going to keep rolling,” Byrd said. “We’re not going to make any drastic changes. I’m gonna keep my head down, keep moving forward, keep doing the right things and putting the right things into my body, making sure I’m healthy and I feel good.”
