Chambana Sun

Lucas Byrd secured his first Big Ten Championship title at 133 pounds during the Big Ten Championships held on March 9 at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois. Byrd is the second wrestler from Illinois to win this title at 133 pounds since Mark Jayne's victory in 2004. He becomes the program's 79th Big Ten Champion, placing Illinois fourth among schools in conference history.

Byrd, seeded second, faced off against top-seeded Drake Ayala of Iowa. Ayala had previously defeated Byrd earlier in the season. However, Byrd turned the tables by pinning Ayala just over three minutes into their match. This achievement marks a significant milestone for Byrd, who had not placed higher than third in previous tournaments.

Illinois head coach Mike Poeta praised his team's performance over the weekend: "Regardless of wins or losses, you're proud of your team if they compete the way our guys did this weekend," he said. Poeta also highlighted Kannon Webster's strong showing and noted that several wrestlers finished with impressive performances.

Illinois scored 105.5 points during the championships—the most they have scored in this tournament in 14 years—and finished fifth overall. This result ties them with their teams from 2011 and 1997 and is their highest finish since placing fifth in the 2012-13 season under Jim Heffernan.

Webster competed for a championship belt but fell short against Ridge Lovett of Nebraska, resulting in a second-place finish. Meanwhile, Danny Braunagel (174 pounds), Edmond Ruth (184 pounds), and Zac Braunagel (197 pounds) each secured bronze medals after winning their respective third-place matches.

The team saw seven wrestlers qualify for the NCAA Championships: Lucas Byrd, Kannon Webster, Braeden Scoles, Danny Braunagel, Edmond Ruth, Zac Braunagel, and Luke Luffman—marking their largest group of qualifiers since sending eight athletes to nationals during the 2019-20 season.

The Illini will take a break before heading to Philadelphia for the NCAA Championships scheduled from March 20-22.