CLEVELAND – The Illinois wrestling team finished the 2025-26 season at the NCAA Championships on Saturday (March 21) from Rocket Arena. Kannon Webster (fifth at 157 pounds) and Lucas Byrd (eighth at 133 pounds) finished the season on the podium as All-Americans.
"First I want to say how incredibly proud I am of how our guys performed this season," said head coach Jeremy Hunter "Not just the eight guys that we brought to nationals but the entire team all season handled adversity and never complained. I appreciate our departing seniors Lucas Byrd, Dylan Connell, Luke Luffman, and Danny Pucino for everything they gave us in their extended time here. Qualifying eight guys to the NCAA Championships is no small task and it's a testament to what we are building here. Again, I'm immensely proud of Byrd and Kannon Webster becoming All Americans this weekend in one of the toughest sports on the planet. We have a great recruiting class coming in next year to join a solid group of returners and I cannot wait for next season."
[7] Webster finished the season in fifth place at 157 pounds as a redshirt sophomore and he became an All-American for the first time in his career. In the fifth-place match he won via medical forfeit over [11] Ty Watters (WVU). He qualified to the quarterfinals for a second-consecutive season after bumping up to 157 pounds from 149 pounds last season. He secured a big upset win over [3] Meyer Shapiro of Cornell in the consolation quarterfinals and as whole went 5-2 at the NCAA Championships.
The Toulon, Ill. native finished the season 25-6 overall with a 12-3 mark in dual action, led the team tech. falls with seven and he scored the second most dual points on the team with 50. Additionally, he was the bronze medalist at 157 pounds at the Big Ten Championships.
[7] Byrd finished the season in eighth place at 133 pounds and ended his career as a four-time All-American. In the seventh-place match he fell to Nebraska's [13] Jacob Van Dee in tiebreakers, 6-5. Byrd joined Webster when he qualified to the quarterfinals for a second-straight year while he finished the season with a 23-5 record on a perfect 17-0 mark in dual action with a team-high 62 dual points scored.
The Cincinnati native finished his career as one of the top wrestlers in the program's history as he's only the second Illinois wrestler ever to be a four-time All-American joining Isaiah Martinez. Byrd ended with a 119-21 overall record, his 85%-win percentage slots in as the eighth best in Illinois history and his 119 wins are also the eighth most by an Illini all time.
STANDINGS
1. Penn State – 181.5
2. Oklahoma State – 131
3. Nebraska – 100.5
4. Iowa – 92.5
5. Ohio State – 84.5
6. Stanford – 67.5
7. Michigan – 66
8. Iowa State – 52
9. Minnesota – 48.5
10. NC State – 44.5
11. Virginia Tech – 41.5
12. Wyoming – 38
13. Arizona State – 36.5
14. Missouri – 34
15. Illinois – 28
ILLINI RESULTS
125: Spencer Moore – 18 seed
Champ Round 1: [18] Spencer Moore (ILL) dec. [15] Koda Holeman (CALPOLY), SV-1 4-1
Champ. Round 2: [2] Eddie Ventresca (VT) dec. [18] Spencer Moore (ILL), 5-2
Cons. Round 2: [16] Ezekiel Witt (NDSU) major dec. [18] Spencer Moore (ILL), 13-2
Moore eliminated.
133: Lucas Byrd – 7 seed
Champ. Round 1: [7] Lucas Byrd (ILL) dec. [26] Dylan Shawver (RUT), 11-7
Champ. Round 2: [7] Lucas Byrd (ILL) dec. [23] Braxton Brown (MD), 5-1
Quarterfinals: [2] Ben Davino (OSU) major dec. [7] Lucas Byrd (ILL), 14-5
Blood Round: [7] Lucas Byrd (ILL) dec. [20] Julian Farber (UNI), 5-4
Cons. Quarterfinals: [6] Drake Ayala (IOWA) dec. [7] Lucas Byrd (ILL), 10-4
Seventh-place match: [13] Jacob Van Dee (NEB) dec. [7] Lucas Byrd (ILL), TB-1 6-5
Byrd placed eighth.
149: Michael Gioffre – 25 seed
Champ. Round 1: [8] Casey Swiderski (OKST) dec. [25] Michael Gioffre (ILL), 7-2
Cons. Round 1: [25] Michael Gioffre (ILL) tech. fall [24] Andrew Clark (RUT), 18-1 (6:17)
Cons. Round 2: [25] Michael Gioffre (ILL) dec. [7] Ethan Stiles (OSU), TB-1 3-1
Cons. Round 3: [15] Ryder Block (IOWA) major dec. [25] Michael Gioffre (ILL), 18-5
Gioffre eliminated.
157: Kannon Webster – 7 seed
Champ. Round 1: [7] Kannon Webster (ILL) dec. [26] Jonathan Ley (NAVY), 6-2
Champ. round 2: [7] Kannon Webster (ILL) major dec. [10] Logan Rozynski (LEH), 10-1
Quarterfinals: [2] Antrell Taylor (NEB) dec. [7] Kannon Webster (ILL), 5-2
Blood Round: [7] Kannon Webster (ILL) major dec. [19] Kai Owen (COL), 8-0
Cons. Quarterfinals: [7] Kannon Webster (ILL) dec. [3] Meyer Shapiro (CORN), 8-1
Cons. Semifinals: [1] PJ Duke (PSU) dec. [7] Kannon Webster (ILL), 7-3
Fifth-place match: [7] Kannon Webster (ILL) over [11] Ty Watters (WVU), medical forfeit
Webster placed fifth.
165: Braeden Scoles – 17 seed
Champ. Round 1: [16] Paddy Gallagher (OSU) major dec. [17] Braeden Scoles (ILL), 13-4
Cons. Round 1: [32] Cody Walsh (DREX) major dec. [17] Braeden Scoles (ILL), 14-4
Scoles eliminated.
174: Colin Kelly – 18 seed
Champ. Round 1: [15] Danny Wask (NAVY) dec. [18] Colin Kelly (ILL), 7-3
Cons. Round 1: [18] Colin Kelly (ILL) major dec. [31] Cael Valencia (ASU), 22-10
Cons. Round 2: [18] Colin Kelly (ILL) dec. [16] Nick Fine (COL), 7-1
Cons. Round 3: [18] Colin Kelly (ILL) dec. [8] Alex Facundo (OKST), TB-1 3-2
Blood Round: [11] MJ Gaitan (ISU) dec. [18] Colin Kelly (ILL), 4-1
Kelly eliminated.
184: Chris Moore – 9 seed
Champ. Round 1: [9] Chris Moore (ILL) major dec. [24] Joe Curtis (COL), 11-2
Champ. Round 2: [8] Silas Allred (NEB) major dec. [9] Chris Moore (ILL), 15-5
Cons. Round 2: [9] Chris Moore (ILL) dec. [26] Chase Kranitz (PITT), SV-1 4-1
Cons. Round 3: [16] Rylan Rogers (LEH) dec. [9] Chris Moore (ILL), 4-1
Moore eliminated.
285: Luke Luffman – 26 seed
Champ. Round 1: [7] Konner Doucet (OKST) dec. [26] Luke Luffman (ILL), 2-1
Cons. Round 1: [23] Stephan Monchery (APP) dec. [26] Luke Luffman (ILL), 4-1
Luffman eliminated.
