Chambana Sun

The Illinois wrestling team, ranked No. 10, faced its first defeat of the season against No. 5 Ohio State with a score of 24-9. The match took place at Huff Hall on January 10.

Lucas Byrd, ranked No. 2 at 133 pounds and a redshirt senior, continued his undefeated streak by winning an overtime match against Nic Bouzakis from Ohio State. "Byrd was trailing 5-4 heading into the final period where he chose to go on bottom and get the escape to tie it up at five," stated the press release. He secured victory in overtime with a swift takedown.

Jason Kraisser, ranked No. 27 at 157 pounds and a graduate student, achieved his most significant win of the season by defeating Paddy Gallagher with a score of 16-9. Kraisser's performance included nearly pinning Gallagher in the second period and scoring eight points to extend his lead.

Edmond Ruth, ranked No. 10 at 184 pounds and also a redshirt senior, won over Ryder Rogotzke from Ohio State with a decision of 7-3. Ruth maintained control throughout the match, securing an early lead and concluding with a decisive takedown.

The full results from each weight class were detailed as follows: At 125 pounds, Brendan McCrone (OSU) defeated Caelan Riley (ILL) with a score of 5-0; Lucas Byrd (ILL) overcame Nic Bouzakis (OSU), SV-1 8-5; Jesse Mendez (OSU) pinned Danny Pucino (ILL); Dylan D'Emilio (OSU) won against Kannon Webster (ILL), scoring 2-0; Jason Kraisser (ILL) defeated Paddy Gallagher (OSU), finishing at 16-9; e'Than Birden (OSU) bested Braeden Scoles (ILL), ending at 9-6; Carson Kharchla (OSU) won over Danny Braunagel (ILL), closing out at 11-5; Edmond Ruth triumphed over Ryder Rogotzke with a score of 7-3; Seth Shumate from OSU narrowly defeated Zac Braunagel from ILL with an outcome of 11-9; Nick Feldman from OSU finished off Luke Luffman from ILL with a final score of 7-3.