CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The No. 12 Illinois wrestling team (10-4, 3-2 Big Ten) defeated No. 24 Indiana (7-4, 2-3 Big Ten), 27-7, on Friday night in Huff Hall. The Illini won eight of 10 bouts to win their 10th dual of the season.
The Illini wasted no time setting the tone at 125 pounds, where No. 20 Spencer Moore defeated No. 11 Jacob Moran in a hard-fought sudden victory, pulling out a 6-3 decision to put Illinois on the board early. Momentum continued at 133 pounds as top-ranked Lucas Byrd controlled the action throughout, cruising to an 8-1 decision and extended the Illini lead to 6-0.
Indiana briefly responded at 141 pounds to cut into the Illini lead, 6-3, the closest the dual would be the rest of the night. No. 30 Michael Gioffre got the Illini back on track in his 4-3 decision win over Joey Buttler at 149 pounds before No. 9 Kannon Webster put on a clinic at 157 pounds, racking up a 21-5 tech. fall in just over six minutes to swing the dual firmly in Illinois' favor, 14-4.
The Illini kept piling on at 165 when No. 8 Braeden Scoles bested No. 19 Tyler Lillard in an 11-9 decision, followed by another sudden victory win at 174 pounds from No. 25 Colin Kelly, who topped No. 29 Derek Gilcher 4-1 in overtime. Illinois crossed the 20-point threshold after this bout, 20-4.
No. 20 Chris Moore extended his upset streak with his third-straight win over a top-15 opponent tonight over No. 14 Sam Goin 5-3. The Hoosiers bounced back at 197 pounds before No. 13 Luke Luffman made his return to the lineup tonight at heavyweight and dominated from the opening whistle. He earned a 16-4 major decision over Caleb Marzolino to cap off the 27-7 Illini victory. Tonight's attendance was 405.
RESULTS
#12 Illinois 27, #24 Indiana 7
Jan. 30, 2026 I Champaign, Ill. I Huff Hall
125: #20 Spencer Moore (ILL) dec. #11 Jacob Moran (IND), SV-1 6-3 // ILL 3, IND 0
133: #1 Lucas Byrd (ILL) dec. Jackson Blum (IND), 8-1 // ILL 6, IND 0
141: #24 Henry Porter (IND) major dec. Kole Brower (ILL), 13-3 // ILL 6, IND 4
149: #30 Michael Gioffre (ILL) dec. Joey Buttler (IND), 4-3 // ILL 9, IND 4
157: #9 Kannon Webster (ILL) tech. fall Bryce Lowery (IND), 21-5 (6:10) // ILL 14, IND 4
165: #8 Braeden Scoles (ILL) dec. #19 Tyler Lillard (IND), 11-9 // ILL 17, IND 4
174: #25 Colin Kelly (ILL) dec. #29 Derek Gilcher (IND), SV-1 4-1 // ILL 20, IND 4
184: #20 Chris Moore (ILL) dec. #14 Sam Goin (IND), 5-3 // ILL 23, IND 4
197: #15 Gabe Sollars (IND) dec. Dylan Connell (ILL), 6-0 // ILL 23, IND 7
285: #13 Luke Luffman (ILL) major dec. Caleb Marzolino (IND), 16-4 // ILL 27, IND 7
UP NEXT
The Illini grapplers are back in action on Sunday (Feb. 8) for a dual with Purdue at 12 p.m. CT in West Lafayette, Ind.
