CHAMPAIGN, Ill.  – Five Illinois wrestlers are set to end the 2022-23 season at the NCAA Championships in Tulsa, Okla. on Thur.-Sat. March 16-18. The wrestlers making the trip are: redshirt junior Zac Braunagel (197), redshirt junior Danny Braunagel (165), redshirt sophomore Edmond Ruth (174), redshirt sophomore Lucas Byrd (133) and redshirt freshman Dylan Connell (184). These five qualified themselves with their placements at the Big Ten Championships two weeks ago (March 4-5).

LUCAS BYRD

Byrd finished the highest out of the Illini with a third-place finish and his third straight NCAA qualification. He beat Northwestern's Chris Cannon in sudden victory 3-1 to earn bronze. He has compiled a 28-4 record this season and raised his career-high season fall total to four with one in the Big Ten consolation ladder (Jackson Cockrell of Maryland, 4:12). He's placed fifth in back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2021 and 2022. He will look to break that trend and finish higher.

ZAC BRAUNAGEL

Zac was the next highest Illini placement at fourth to earn his qualification into the tournament. He defeated two ranked opponents in MSU's Cameron Caffey (inj. 6:17) and Jaxon Smith of Maryland (SV-1, 6-4). He has earned a record of 23-7 this year with the most ranked wins out of the Illini with eight. He will look to earn his first top-8 placement and All-American honor.

EDMOND RUTH

Ruth placed sixth at his first Big Ten Championships to qualify. He won matches against Dominic Solis of Maryland (dec. 5-1), MSU's Ceasar Garza (dec. 6-2) and Rutgers' Jackson Turley (TB-1, 4-3). He boasts a record of 27-6 heading into the final tournament and has not given up more than three points in his last seven matches.

DANNY BRAUNAGEL

Danny finished in eighth-place to qualify. He pinned Caleb Fish (MSU) in 6:00 en route to the seventh-place match. This pin has him lead all Illini starters with five pins on the year.  His record stands at 19-11 and much like his twin brother he seeks his first All-American honor and top-8 finish.

Both Zac and Danny earned honorable mentions of All-American status due to the COVID-19 pandemic canceling the tournament in 2020. They are seeking their first "real" All-American honor.

DYLAN CONNELL

Connell battled his way back to win the ninth-place bracket and claim the last qualification spot in his weight class at Big Tens. He was eliminated from the consolation bracket due to an injury very early in his first bout. He did not give up a single point in the ninth-place ladder with wins over Purdue's Ben Vanadia (MD 8-0) and Evan Bates of Northwestern (6-0). He built a record of 18-16 in his first season competing not under a redshirt. He also wrestled the most matches out of the qualifiers.

NOTES

• Lucas Byrd holds the most wins and best win percentage amongst starters (28-4, .875).
• Danny Braunagel leads the Illini starters with five pins on the year. (19-11, .634)
• Zac Braunagel holds the most ranked wins out of all Illinois wrestlers (8). (23-7, .767)
• Edmond Ruth has not given up more than three points in his last seven matches. (27-6, .818)
• Dylan Connell did not sacrifice a single point in the Big Ten ninth place bracket, outscoring his opponents 14-0. (18-16, .540)