University of Illinois
NCAA Championships
Byrd Places 5th at NCAA Championships
March 19, 2022 | Wrestling
Recap
Detroit, MI – Fighting Illini 133 pounder Lucas Byrd capped off his second straight All-American season with a pin (6:59) of No. 4 Korbin Myers of Virginia Tech to place fifth at NCAA Wrestling Championships inside Little Caesars Arena on Saturday. Byrd finished his weekend with a 6-2 record, including four wins over top-10 seeds.
Matching his finish from 2021, Byrd clinched his spot on the podium Friday night to become the 40th Illini wrestler to earn multiple All-America honors and securing a 30th straight season of at least one Illini All-American.
After four wins on Friday, Byrd had his five-match winning streak snapped in the consolation semifinals against No. 5 Austin DeSanto (Iowa). Wrestling for fifth place later in the morning, Byrd rebounded with a pin of Myers in the third period. The Illini 133 pounder took an early lead on a takedown, but the match remained close into the final seconds. Byrd scrambled out of danger and wrapped up Myers for a late takedown and then put him on his back just before time expired.
After a 1st round loss, Lucas Byrd battles back to place 5th!
— NCAA Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling) March 19, 2022
?? ESPNU#NCAAWrestling x @IlliniWrestling pic.twitter.com/RVTEsmLNxq
Prior to Saturday's medal round, Byrd dropped his first match of the tournament before rolling off five straight victories in a span of 24 hours. After his first win on Thursday night, Byrd defeated three top-10 seeds on Friday. Byrd clinched his second straight All-America honor with a pair of wins over Big Ten foes – a 6-5 win against Michigan's No. 6 Dylan Ragusin and a 2-1 decision No. 10 Chris Cannon of Northwestern.
The two-time All-American finishes his 2021-22 season with a 27-5 overall record, finishing fourth at Big Ten Championships and fifth at NCAA Championships.
Three other Illini competed at NCAA Championships this weekend – No. 9 Zac Braunagel advanced to the 184-pound quarterfinals and finished 2-2, while No. 14 Luke Luffman (285 pounds) went 1-2 and No. 27 Justin Cardani (125 pounds) finished 0-2.
Match by match:
125: (27) Justin Cardani (0-2)
Champ Round 1: Lost by major dec. to (6) Eric Barnett (WIS), 9-0
Cons. Round 1: vs. Lost by decision to (22) Ryan Miller (PENN), 5-1
Justin Cardani eliminated.
133: (7) Lucas Byrd (6-2)
Champ Round 1: Lost by fall to (26) Matt Ramos (PUR), 2:27
Cons. Round 1: Won by decision over (23) Anthony Madrigal (OU), 3-1
Cons. Round 2: Won by decision over (9) Michael Colaiocco (PENN), 7-5 (SV-1)
Cons. Round 3: Won by decision over (18) Joseph Heilmann (UNC), 6-1
Cons. Round 4: Won by decision over (6) Dylan Ragusin (MICH), 6-5
Cons. Quarterfinal: Won by decision over (10) Chris Cannon (Northwestern), 2-1
Cons. Semifinal: vs. Lost by decision to (5) Austin DeSanto (Iowa), 10-6
5th Place Match: Won by fall over (4) Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech), 6:59
Lucas Byrd places 5th
184: (9) Zac Braunagel (2-2)
Champ Round 1: Won by decision over (24) Caleb Hopkins (CAMP), 11-4
Champ Round 2: Won by fall over (8) Marcus Coleman (ISU), 6:47 (SV-1)
Quarterfinals: Lost by decision to (1) Myles Amine (MICH), 12-5
Cons. Round 4: Lost by decision to (11) Jonathan Loew (COR), 3-1 (SV-1)
Zac Braunagel eliminated
285: (14) Luke Luffman (1-2)
Champ Round 1: Won by major decision over (19) Luke Surber (OKST), 10-2
Champion Round 2: Lost by major decision to (3) Tony Cassioppi (Iowa), 12-3
Cons. Round 2: Lost by major decision to (20) Joe Doyle (BING), 14-4
Luke Luffman eliminated
