ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Lucas Byrd and Dylan Duncan both earned fifth-place finishes on Saturday at the 2021 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships in St. Louis, Missouri. Byrd took fifth at 133-pounds, defeating Arizona State's Michael McGee, and Duncan took fifth at 141-pounds with a win over Nebraska's Chad Red. With their fifth-place finishes, Byrd and Duncan both earn All-America honors for the first time in their respective careers.
"Really happy for Byrd and Duncan," said head coach Jim Heffernan. "They fought hard and competed at a really high level all weekend. Great way to start a career for Byrd and a great way to end a career for Duncan. Really proud of them."
Redshirt freshman Lucas Byrd had an incredible run during the tournament, winning his first and losing his second match before winning four consecutive matches to secure All-America honors at 133-pounds on Friday night. Byrd defeated #5 seed Micky Phillippi of Pitt in overtime to advance to Saturday morning's medal round for a chance at competing for third place.
Byrd lost in an 8-5 decision to Virginia Tech's Korbin Myers on Saturday morning, putting him in the 133-pound fifth-place match. Byrd capped off an impressive week, pinning Arizona State's Michael McGee (6:17) in the third period of the fifth-place match. Overall, he went 6-2 on the week, taking home a fifth-place medal and first-time All-America honors for the redshirt-freshman.
At 141-pounds, senior Dylan Duncan had a similar run to Byrd, winning his opening-round bout, losing his second, then rattling off four consecutive match wins to earn All-America honors and a spot in Saturday morning's medal round matches. Duncan took down Dresden Simon of Central Michigan on Friday night to earn All-America honors, followed by his fourth win of the day, beating Clay Carlson of San Diego State to advance to Saturday morning's medal round and a shot at third place.
Duncan secured fifth place after losing to Rutgers' Sebastian Rivera in his first match Saturday morning but defeating Chad Red in a 3-0 decision to end a great week for the senior. Duncan also went 6-2 on the week, picking up All-America honors and taking home a fifth-place medal at 141-pounds to cap off a great tournament run and senior campaign.
With the two grapplers earning All-America honors after finishing in the top eight of their weight classes, the Illini extend their streak of having at least one All-American to 28 years.
Danny Braunagel, Zac Braunagel, and Luke Luffman each competed for the Illini as well. Each lost their opening-round matches, putting them in the consolation bracket from the start. Danny Braunagel went 0-2 on the week, dropping his first two matches, both by decision. Zac Braunagel went 1-2 at 184-pounds, with his victory coming against Gregg Harvey of Pitt in a 5-2 decision. Luke Luffman also went 1-2, defeating Campbell's Taye Ghadiali, 7-2.
Illinois Results
#7 Lucas Byrd (133)
Lucas Byrd (ILL) over Darren Miller (Bucknell) (Dec 8-3)
Louie Hayes (Virginia) over Lucas Byrd (ILL) (SV-1 6-4)
Lucas Byrd (ILL) over Jacob Rundell (Purdue) (MD 12-3)
Lucas Byrd (ILL) over Devan Turner (Oregon State) (MD 3-1)
Lucas Byrd (ILL) over Micky Phillippi (Pitt) (TB-1 6-2)
Lucas Byrd (ILL) over Chris Cannon (Northwestern) (D 4-1)
Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) over Lucas Byrd (ILL) (D 8-5)
Lucas Byrd (ILL) fall Michael McGee (Arizona State) (6:17)
#14 Dylan Duncan (141)
Dylan Duncan (ILL) over Lane Peters (Army) (MD 13-2)
Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) over Dylan Duncan (ILL) (D 10-4)
Dylan Duncan (ILL) over DJ Lloren (Fresno State) (D 4-1)
Dylan Duncan (ILL) over Grant Willits (Oregon State) (D 3-2)
Dylan Duncan (ILL) over Dresden Simon (Central Michigan) (D 8-6)
Dylan Duncan (ILL) over Clay Carlson (SDSU) (D 3-2)
Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers) over Dylan Duncan (ILL) (D 7-4)
Dylan Duncan (ILL) over Chad Red (Nebraska) (D 3-0)
#15 Danny Braunagel (165)
Izzak Olejnik (NIU) over Danny Braunagel (ILL) (D 6-1)
David Ferrante (Northwestern) over Danny Braunagel (ILL) (D 11-5)
#19 Zac Braunagel (184)
Caleb Hopkins (Campbell) over Zac Braunagel (ILL) (D 7-6)
Zac Braunagel (ILL) over Gregg Harvey (Pitt) (D 5-2)
David Key (Navy) over Zac Braunagel (ILL) (D 10-3)
#16 Luke Luffman (HWT)
Wyatt Hendrickson (Air Force) fall Luke Luffman (ILL) (2:12)
Luke Luffman (ILL) over Taye Ghadiali (Campbell) (D 7-2)
Carter Isley (Northern Iowa) over Luke Luffman (ILL) (D 7-5)
