Detroit, MI – Fighting Illini 133 pounder Lucas Byrd capped off his second straight All-American season with a pin (6:59) of No. 4 Korbin Myers of Virginia Tech to place fifth at NCAA Wrestling Championships inside Little Caesars Arena on Saturday. Byrd finished his weekend with a 6-2 record, including four wins over top-10 seeds.
Matching his finish from 2021, Byrd clinched his spot on the podium Friday night to become the 40th Illini wrestler to earn multiple All-America honors and securing a 30th straight season of at least one Illini All-American.
After four wins on Friday, Byrd had his five-match winning streak snapped in the consolation semifinals against No. 5 Austin DeSanto (Iowa). Wrestling for fifth place later in the morning, Byrd rebounded with a pin of Myers in the third period. The Illini 133 pounder took an early lead on a takedown, but the match remained close into the final seconds. Byrd scrambled out of danger and wrapped up Myers for a late takedown and then put him on his back just before time expired.
Prior to Saturday's medal round, Byrd dropped his first match of the tournament before rolling off five straight victories in a span of 24 hours. After his first win on Thursday night, Byrd defeated three top-10 seeds on Friday. Byrd clinched his second straight All-America honor with a pair of wins over Big Ten foes – a 6-5 win against Michigan's No. 6 Dylan Ragusin and a 2-1 decision No. 10 Chris Cannon of Northwestern.
The two-time All-American finishes his 2021-22 season with a 27-5 overall record, finishing fourth at Big Ten Championships and fifth at NCAA Championships.
Three other Illini competed at NCAA Championships this weekend – No. 9 Zac Braunagel advanced to the 184-pound quarterfinals and finished 2-2, while No. 14 Luke Luffman (285 pounds) went 1-2 and No. 27 Justin Cardani (125 pounds) finished 0-2.
Match by match:
125: (27) Justin Cardani (0-2)
Champ Round 1: Lost by major dec. to (6) Eric Barnett (WIS), 9-0
Cons. Round 1: vs. Lost by decision to (22) Ryan Miller (PENN), 5-1
Justin Cardani eliminated.
133: (7) Lucas Byrd (6-2)
Champ Round 1: Lost by fall to (26) Matt Ramos (PUR), 2:27
Cons. Round 1: Won by decision over (23) Anthony Madrigal (OU), 3-1
Cons. Round 2: Won by decision over (9) Michael Colaiocco (PENN), 7-5 (SV-1)
Cons. Round 3: Won by decision over (18) Joseph Heilmann (UNC), 6-1
Cons. Round 4: Won by decision over (6) Dylan Ragusin (MICH), 6-5
Cons. Quarterfinal: Won by decision over (10) Chris Cannon (Northwestern), 2-1
Cons. Semifinal: vs. Lost by decision to (5) Austin DeSanto (Iowa), 10-6
5th Place Match: Won by fall over (4) Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech), 6:59
Lucas Byrd places 5th
184: (9) Zac Braunagel (2-2)
Champ Round 1: Won by decision over (24) Caleb Hopkins (CAMP), 11-4
Champ Round 2: Won by fall over (8) Marcus Coleman (ISU), 6:47 (SV-1)
Quarterfinals: Lost by decision to (1) Myles Amine (MICH), 12-5
Cons. Round 4: Lost by decision to (11) Jonathan Loew (COR), 3-1 (SV-1)
Zac Braunagel eliminated
285: (14) Luke Luffman (1-2)
Champ Round 1: Won by major decision over (19) Luke Surber (OKST), 10-2
Champion Round 2: Lost by major decision to (3) Tony Cassioppi (Iowa), 12-3
Cons. Round 2: Lost by major decision to (20) Joe Doyle (BING), 14-4
Luke Luffman eliminated
