Luuk Pelkmans

Photo by: Illinois Fighting Illini

Photo by: Illinois Fighting Illini

2026 Big Ten Outdoor Decathlon Champion

All-American (Heptathlon '26) (Decathlon '26)

2x NCAA Championships Qualifier

1x First-Team All-Big Ten

Illinois Record - Heptathlon

Indoor

NCAA All-American (Heptathlon)
NCAA Championships qualifier (Heptathlon)
Became first freshman in Illinois history to All-American in the heptathlon with 6,081 points in his fourth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships
- Fourth individual Illini to All-American in the event
Shattered the school record in the heptathlon (6,127 points) in his Illini debut at the Fighting Illini Challenge and Combined Events

Outdoor

NCAA All-American (Decathlon)
Big Ten Champion (Decathlon)
NCAA Championships qualifier (Decathlon)
First-Team All-Big Ten (Decathlon)
First Illini in school history to become an All-American in the decathlon in his third-place finish on a school record point total (8,079) at the NCAA Outdoor Championships
Became the first freshman in program to win the decathlon at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships with the school's second-highest score (8,004 points)
- Only the second Illini man to top the podium after his teammate Rafael Raap was the first last year.
Threw a personal best in the discus throw (43.53m 142-10) at the Tom Jones Memorial