Full Brackets
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Illinois wrestling team finished the final day of the Big Ten Championships on Sunday, March 5. Redshirt sophomore No. 3 seed Lucas Byrd (133) placed third with two wins today. First, a 6-1 decision over No. 5 seed Dylan Ragusin (MICH). Next, a sudden victory 3-1 decision over No. 4 seed Chris Cannon (NU). Byrd was one of five Illini to earn automatic qualifying bids to the NCAA Championships: Danny Braunagel, Edmond Ruth, Dylan Connell and Zac Braunagel.

Byrd's third place finish and 15.5 team points were the highest amongst the Illini. This is his third year in a row qualifying for the NCAA Championships.

Redshirt junior No. 3 seed Zac Braunagel (197) scored 14.5 team points and placed fourth to punch his ticket to the NCAA Championships. This is Zac's second straight year heading to nationals; last year he qualified by placing third at 184 pounds at Big Ten's.

Redshirt sophomore No. 5 seed Edmond Ruth (174) scored eight team points and placed sixth in his first Big Ten Championships action. Ruth's sixth place finish sends him to Tulsa in his first year in the Orange and Blue.

Redshirt junior No. 8 seed Danny Braunagel (165) scored six team points while placing eighth. Redshirt freshman No. 9 seed Dylan Connell (184) won the ninth-place bracket and secured the last automatic bid in his weight class. Connell outscored his two opponents today 14-0: first Ben Vanadia (PUR) MD 8-0, then Evan Bates (NU) dec. 6-0.

Redshirt freshman Danny Pucino (141) can still earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships. Those will be voted on and released on Tuesday.

TEAM SCORES

1. Penn State – 147
2. Iowa – 134.5
3. Nebraska – 104.5
4. Ohio State – 99
5. Michigan – 84.5
6. Minnesota – 79  
7. Northwestern – 78.5
8. Wisconsin 55.5
9. Purdue – 47
10. Illinois – 46.5
11. Rutgers – 32
12. Indiana – 30
13. Michigan State – 28
14. Maryland – 24

ILLINI SCORERS

133: Lucas Byrd – 3rd (15.5)
197: Zac Braunagel – 4th (14.5)
174: Edmond Ruth – 6th (8)
165: Danny Braunagel – 8th (6) 
149: Jake Harrier – 10th (2.5)

UP NEXT
The five aforementioned Illini will hit the road to Tulsa for the NCAA Championships on Thurs.-Sat. March 16-18.

FULL ILLINOIS INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

125: Maximo Renteria – 13 seed.
Round 1: [4] Eric Barnett (WIS) pinned [13] Maximo Renteria (4:09).
Cons. Round 1: [12] Jacob Moran (IND) major dec. [13] Maximo Renteria, 18-7.
Extra Matches
[12] Jacob Moran (IND) dec. [13] Maximo Renteria, 10-4.
Renteria eliminated.

133: Lucas Byrd – 3 seed.
Round 1: [3] Lucas Byrd pinned [14] Jackson Cockrell (MD) (4:12).
Quarterfinals: [6] Aaron Nagao (MINN) dec. [3] Lucas Byrd, SV-1 4-2.
Cons. Round 2: [3] Lucas Byrd dec. [13] Dustin Norris (PUR), 7-3.
Cons. Round 3: [3] Lucas Byrd major dec. [7] Joe Heilmann (RUT), 8-0.
Cons. Semifinals: [3] Lucas Byrd dec. [5] Dylan Ragusin (MICH), 6-1.
3rd place match: [3] Lucas Byrd dec. [4] Chris Cannon (NU), SV-1 3-1.
Byrd placed 3rd.

141: Danny Pucino – 6 seed.
Round 1: [11] Joseph Zargo (WIS) dec. [6] Danny Pucino, 8-4.
Cons. Round 1: [14] Kal Miller (MD) dec. [6] Danny Pucino, 4-1.
Extra Matches
[14] Kal Miller (MD) dec. [6] Danny Pucino, 8-5.
Pucino eliminated.

149: Jake Harrier – 12 seed.
Round 1: [5] Shayne Van Ness (PSU) major dec. [12] Jake Harrier, 16-4.
Cons. Round 1: [12] Jake Harrier M. FOR. [13] Peyton Omania (MSU)
Cons. Round 2: [3] Yahya Thomas (NU) dec. [12] Jake Harrier, 8-3
Extra Matches
[12] Jake Harrier dec. [14] Jaden Reynolds (PUR), 8-4.
9th place match: [10] Tony White (RUT) dec. [12] Jake Harrier, 5-3.
Harrier placed 10th.

157: Mike Carr – 7 seed.
Round 1: [10] Derek Gilcher (IND) major dec. [7] Mike Carr, 10-2.
Cons. Round 2: [8] Trevor Chumbley (NU) dec. [7] Mike Carr, 2-1.
Extra Matches
[13] Andrew Clark (RUT) dec. [7] Mike Carr, 9-6.
Carr eliminated.

165: Danny Braunagel – 8 seed.
Round 1: [9] Andrew Sparks (MINN) dec. [8] Danny Braunagel, 2-0.
Cons. Round 2: [8] Danny Braunagel pinned [7] Caleb Fish (MSU) in 6:00.
Cons. Round 3: [6] Maxx Mayfield dec. [8] Danny Braunagel, 3-2.
7th place match: [4] Alex Facundo (PSU) dec. [8] Danny Braunagel, 3-1.
Braunagel placed 8th.

174: Edmond Ruth – 5 seed.
Round 1: [5] Edmond Ruth dec. [12] Dominic Solis (MD), 5-1.
Quarterfinals: [4] Bailee O'Reilly dec. [5] Edmond Ruth, 4-2.
Cons. Round 2: [5] Edmond Ruth dec. [11] Ceasar Garza (MSU), 6-2.
Cons. Round 3: [5] Edmond Ruth dec. [10] Jackson Turley (RUT), TB-1 4-3.
Cons. Semifinals: [3] Ethan Smith (OSU) dec. [5] Edmond Ruth, 4-2.
5th place match: [7] Nelson Brands (IOWA) dec. [5] Edmond Ruth, 4-1.
Ruth placed 6th.

184: Dylan Connell – 9 seed.
Round 1: [8] Brian Soldano (RUT) dec. [9] Dylan Connell, SV-1 4-2.
Cons. Round 2: [7] Lenny Pinto (NEB) defeated [9] Dylan Connell (Inj. 0:57).
Extra Matches
[9] Dylan Connell major dec. [12] Ben Vanadia (PUR), 8-0.
9th place match: [9] Dylan Connell dec. [11] Evan Bates (NU), 6-0.
Connell placed 9th.

197: Zac Braunagel – 3 seed.
Round 1: [3] Zac Braunagel major dec. [14] Hayden Filipovich (PUR), 11-3.
Quarterfinals: [3] Zac Braunagel dec. [6] Jaxon Smith (MD), SV-1 6-4.
Semifinals: [2] Silas Allred (NEB) dec. [3] Zac Braunagel, 4-3.
Cons. Semifinals: [3] Zac Braunagel defeated [4] Cameron Caffey (MSU), (Inj. 6:17).
3rd place match: [6] Jaxon Smith (MD) dec. [3] Zac Braunagel, SV-1 5-3.
Braunagel placed 4th.

285: Matt Wroblewski – 13 seed.
Round 1: [4] Lucas Davison (NU) dec. [13] Matt Wroblewski, 3-0.
Cons. Round 1: [12] Ray Vasbinder (MSU) dec. [13] Matt Wroblewski, 3-2.
Extra Matches
[12] Ryan Vasbinder (MSU) dec. [13] Matt Wroblewski, 1-0.
Wroblewski eliminated.