No. 12 Illinois wrestling will compete against No. 17 Rutgers in a dual meet at Huff Hall in Champaign, Illinois, on Sunday, January 25 at 2 p.m. Central Time.
The Illinois team recently split its matches, defeating Michigan State 31-12 and losing to No. 10 Michigan 18-14. Wrestler Lucas Byrd maintained his unbeaten record this season by adding two more victories, bringing his current season tally to 12-0 and his career record to 108-16. Byrd is now tied for the 15th most wins in program history and needs eight more wins to enter the top ten.
Byrd has not lost since January 17, 2025, and currently leads the team with 43 dual points. He earned his 100th career win on November 15 against Mason Ziegler of Lehigh and holds the fifth-highest win percentage in program history.
Chris Moore had a successful weekend with a major decision win over Michigan State’s Ryan Boucher (14-4) and an upset victory over No. 8 Brock Mantanona of Michigan (4-2), which moved him up four spots in the national rankings for the 184-pound weight class.
Braeden Scoles achieved a technical fall against Jack Conley of Michigan State and a major decision over Justin Gates of Michigan during last weekend’s matches.
Rutgers comes into Sunday’s dual with a season record of seven wins and four losses overall, including one win and two losses in Big Ten duals. The only shared opponent between Illinois and Rutgers so far is Michigan; Rutgers lost that match-up by nine points while Illinois lost by four points.
The all-time series between Illinois and Rutgers is even at three wins each. Their first meeting took place on January 9, 2015, with Illinois winning decisively, while their most recent contest occurred on January 26, 2025, resulting in a narrow victory for Rutgers.
“Lucas Byrd leads the team with 43 dual points scored on a perfect 12-0 overall and dual record while he’s 3-0 in Big Ten duals.
Earned his 100th-career win on Nov. 15 against Lehigh’s Mason Ziegler.
Fifth highest win percentage in program history (106-16, .869).
1. Isaiah Martinez 157/165 2013-17 116-3 .975
2. Matt Lackey 165 2000-03 120-14 .896
3. Mike Poeta 157 2006-09 105-14 .882
4. Alex Tirapelle 157 2003-06 128-18 .877
5. Lucas Byrd 133 2020-pres. Â 108-16 .871
His win over Minnesota’s Brandon Morvari was his 50th career dual win (now 52-3).
His 108 wins are tied for 15th most in program history, eight wins away from moving into top-10 in program history.
Has four top-20 wins on the season.
Has not lost since Jan. 17, 2025, (Drake Ayala [IOWA], 4–2 decision).
Owns the fastest fall amongst the starters (1:13).”
Other notable performers include Braeden Scoles with an overall record of eleven wins and four losses; Colin Kelly who has twelve wins; Kannon Webster who leads the team with five technical falls; Luke Luffman who has recorded four major decisions; Michael Gioffre who finished second at Midlands Championships; and Chris Moore who also earned silver at Midlands Championships.
Illinois fans can follow updates through various social media platforms or watch live coverage as listed by the university athletics department.
