LINCOLN, Neb. – Zac Braunagel (third place, 184-pounds), Lucas Byrd (fourth place, 133-pounds), and Luke Luffman (sixth place, 285-pounds) each earned top-eight finishes at the 2022 Big Ten Championships at Pinnacle Bank Arena this weekend. The three Illini wrestlers also each earned automatic bids to the 2022 NCAA Championships with their respective finishes on Sunday. The Illini finished in 11th place in the team standings with 34.5 points.
Zac Braunagel tallied five-straight wins after losing his opening-round match to notch third place and punch his ticket to the NCAA Championships for the third-straight year at 184-pounds. Braunagel went 5-1 overall over the course of the two days, defeating multiple top ten-ranked opponents en route to a third place finish. Lucas Byrd went 3-2 on the weekend and earned fourth place at 133-pounds, qualifying for his second-consecutive NCAA Championships. Luke Luffman was the third and final Illini to medal this weekend as he went 2-3 and took home sixth place. He also qualifies for NCAA's for the third-consecutive year.
Justin Cardani placed ninth at 125-pounds, also punching his ticket to the NCAA Championships. This is his second time qualifying for NCAA's, but he has not yet competed as the 2020 NCAA Championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dylan Duncan, Christian Kanzler, Joe Roberts, and Matt Wroblewski each went 0-2 on the weekend, while DJ Shannon went 0-3. Danny Braunagel had to medical forfeit both of his matches.
TEAM STANDINGS
| 1 |
Michigan |
143.0 |
| 2 |
Penn State |
141.5 |
| 3 |
Iowa |
129.5 |
| 4 |
Ohio State |
91.5 |
| 5 |
Northwestern |
90.5 |
| 6 |
Minnesota |
78.5 |
| 7 |
Nebraska |
75.5 |
| 8 |
Wisconsin |
68.0 |
| 9 |
Rutgers |
41.0 |
| 10 |
Purdue |
36.5 |
| 11 |
Illinois |
34.5 |
| 12 |
Michigan State |
33.0 |
| 13 |
Maryland |
15.5 |
| 14 |
Indiana |
4.0 |
ILLINOIS INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
125 - Justin Cardani
- Champ. Round 1 - Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern) won by decision over Justin Cardani (Illinois) (Dec 3-1)
- Cons. Round 1 - Justin Cardani (Illinois) received a bye () (Bye)
- Cons. Round 2 - Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) won by decision over Justin Cardani (Illinois) (Dec 3-2)
- Quarterfinal - Justin Cardani (Illinois) received a bye () (Bye)
- Semifinal - Justin Cardani (Illinois) won by decision over Tristan Lujan (Michigan State) (Dec 5-3)
- 1st Place Match - Justin Cardani (Illinois) won by medical forfeit over Drew Hildebrandt (Penn State) (M. For.)
133 - Lucas Byrd
- Champ. Round 1 - Lucas Byrd (Illinois) won by decision over Dylan Koontz (Ohio State) (Dec 6-2)
- Quarterfinal - Lucas Byrd (Illinois) won by major decision over Brock Hudkins (Indiana) (MD 10-2)
- Semifinal - Austin DeSanto (Iowa) won by decision over Lucas Byrd (Illinois) (Dec 4-3)
- Cons. Semi - Lucas Byrd (Illinois) won by decision over RayVon Foley (Michigan State) (Dec 5-2)
- 3rd Place Match - Dylan Ragusin (Michigan) won in sudden victory - 1 over Lucas Byrd (Illinois) (SV-1 3-1)
141 - Dylan Duncan
- Champ. Round 1 - Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) won by decision over Dylan Duncan (Illinois) (Dec 13-8)
- Cons. Round 1 - Dylan Duncan (Illinois) received a bye () (Bye)
- Cons. Round 2 - Dylan D`Emilio (Ohio State) won by decision over Dylan Duncan (Illinois) (Dec 5-1)
157 - Joe Roberts
- Champ. Round 1 - Peyton Robb (Nebraska) won by decision over Joseph Roberts (Illinois) (Dec 4-0)
- Cons. Round 1 - Joseph Roberts (Illinois) won by decision over Lucas Cordio (Maryland) (Dec 13-8)
- Cons. Round 2 - Chase Saldate (Michigan State) won by major decision over Joseph Roberts (Illinois) (MD 8-0)
165 - Danny Braunagel
- Champ. Round 1 - David Ferrante (Northwestern) won by injury default over Danny Braunagel (Illinois) (Inj. 0:01)
- Cons. Round 1 - Gaven Bell (Maryland) won by medical forfeit over Danny Braunagel (Illinois) (M. For.)
174 - DJ Shannon
- Champ. Round 1 - Troy Fisher (Northwestern) won by decision over DJ Shannon (Illinois) (Dec 4-3)
- Cons. Round 1 - DJ Shannon (Illinois) received a bye () (Bye)
- Cons. Round 2 - Dominic Solis (Maryland) won by decision over DJ Shannon (Illinois) (Dec 3-2)
- Quarterfinal - DJ Shannon (Illinois) received a bye () (Bye)
- Semifinal - Andrew McNally (Wisconsin) won by decision over DJ Shannon (Illinois) (Dec 4-3)
184 - Zac Braunagel
- Champ. Round 1 - Abe Assad (Iowa) won by decision over Zac Braunagel (Illinois) (Dec 6-4)
- Cons. Round 1 - Zac Braunagel (Illinois) won by fall over Max Lyon (Purdue) (Fall 1:41)
- Cons. Round 2 - Zac Braunagel (Illinois) won by decision over Christopher Weiler (Wisconsin) (Dec 7-5)
- Cons. Round 3 - Zac Braunagel (Illinois) won by decision over Isaiah Salazar (Minnesota) (Dec 9-6)
- Cons. Semi - Zac Braunagel (Illinois) won by decision over Taylor Venz (Nebraska) (Dec 6-5)
- 3rd Place Match - Zac Braunagel (Illinois) won in sudden victory - 1 over Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) (SV-1 3-1)
197 - Matt Wroblewski
- Champ. Round 1 - Cameron Caffey (Michigan State) won by major decision over Matt Wroblewski (Illinois) (MD 15-3)
- Cons. Round 1 - Jaron Smith (Maryland) won by decision over Matt Wroblewski (Illinois) (Dec 6-1)
- Quarterfinal - Jaron Smith (Maryland) won by major decision over Matt Wroblewski (Illinois) (MD 9-0)
285 - Luke Luffman
- Champ. Round 1 - Tate Orndorff (Ohio State) won by decision over Luke Luffman (Illinois) (Dec 3-2)
- Cons. Round 1 - Luke Luffman (Illinois) received a bye () (Bye)
- Cons. Round 2 - Luke Luffman (Illinois) won by decision over Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) (Dec 6-0)
- Cons. Round 3 - Luke Luffman (Illinois) won by decision over Christian Lance (Nebraska) (Dec 4-2)
- Cons. Semi - Mason Parris (Michigan) won by decision over Luke Luffman (Illinois) (Dec 8-2)
- 5th Place Match - Lucas Davison (Northwestern) won by decision over Luke Luffman (Illinois) (Dec 3-1)
UP NEXT
The Illini travel to Detroit, Michigan in two weeks for the 2022 NCAA Wrestling Championships, which take place March 17-19. Lucas Byrd, Zac Braunagel, Luke Luffman, and Justin Cardani automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships with their performances this weekend, and the remaining qualifiers for the tournament will be announced later this week.
