NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 10 Illinois wrestling team defeated No. 18 Cornell, 21-14, and No. 20 Lehigh, 24-12, on Sunday (Dec. 21) at the 2025 Journeymen Collegiate Wrestling Duals. The Illini finish their nonconference slate with a 7-2 record.
CORNELL RECAP
The Illini jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead in their dual with Big Red following an 8-2 win from No. 20 Spencer Moore at 125 pounds and a 7-1 decision from No. 1 Lucas Byrd at 133 pounds.
Cornell went on to win the next three bouts at 141, 149 and 157 pounds to take the lead 11-6. No. 9 at 165 pounds Braeden Scoles got the Orange and Blue back in the win column with his 11-6 decision win over Louie Cerchio. No. 20 at 174 pounds Colin Kelly earned the first bonus points of the dual for Illinois in his 19-3 tech. fall over Kaleb Williams to put the squad back in front 14-11.
Cornell tied the dual at 14 with a win in the 184-pound bout. However, Dylan Connell battled to a 3-1 win at 197 pounds and No. 15 at 285 pounds Luke Luffman cruised to a 14-4 major decision to win the dual for Illinois, 21-14.
RESULTS
#10 Illinois 21, #18 Cornell 14
Dec. 21, 2025 I Nashville, Tenn.
125: #20 Spencer Moore (ILL) dec. #33 Marcello Milani (CORN), 8-2 // ILL 3, CORN 0
133: #1 Lucas Byrd (ILL) dec. Brett Ungar (CORN), 7-1 // ILL 6, CORN 0
141: Vince Cornella (CORN) dec. #12 Danny Pucino (ILL), 8-2 // ILL 6, CORN 3
149: #2 Jaxon Joy (CORN) tech. fall Will Baysingar (ILL), 17-2 (5:37) // ILL 6, CORN 8
157: Meyer Shapiro (CORN) dec. #7 Kannon Webster (ILL), 2-1 // ILL 6, CORN 11
165: #9 Braeden Scoles (ILL) dec. Louie Cerchio (CORN), 11-6 // ILL 9, CORN 11
174: #20 Colin Kelly (ILL) tech. fall Kaleb Williams (CORN), 19-3 (7:00) // ILL 14, CORN 11
184: #31 Christian Hansen (CORN) dec. #21 Chris Moore (ILL), 7-3 // ILL 14, CORN 14
197: Dylan Connell (ILL) dec. Aiden Hanning (CORN), 3-1 // ILL 17, CORN 14
285: #15 Luke Luffman (ILL) major dec. #29 Ashton Davis (CORN), 14-4 // ILL 21, CORN 14
LEHIGH RECAP
The Illini dominated the dual from start to finish with Lehigh winning seven out of 10 bouts. No. 1 Byrd earned his second win of the day in an 8-3 decision over Mason Ziegler. No. 12 at 141 pounds Danny Pucino defeated Carter Bailey 4-1 while Will Baysingar knocked off Anthony Evanitsky, 3-1.
No. 7 at 157 pounds Kannon Webster ballooned Illinois' lead with his 23-6 tech. fall over Griffin Gonzalez. Illinois led 14-3 at the halfway point in the dual. No. 9 Scoles earned a top-10 win in his upset over No. 7 (165 pounds) Max Brignola, 5-1.
No. 20 Kelly won his second bout of the day, 5-2, over Dom Federici to push Illinois past 20 points in the dual, 20-3. Lehigh took the 184-pound match while Connell shutout Remy Brancato-Roed, 8-0, for Illinois' final win of the dual. Luffman was injured in the final bout of the evening which made the final 24-12 in favor of the Orange and Blue. Â
RESULTS
#10 Illinois 24, #20 Lehigh 12
Dec. 21, 2025 I Nashville, Tenn.
125: #4 Sheldon Seymour (LEH) dec. #20 Spencer Moore (ILL), 6-4 // ILL 0, LEH 3
133: #1 Lucas Byrd (ILL) dec. Mason Ziegler (LEH), 8-3 // ILL 3, LEH 3
141: #12 Danny Pucino (ILL) dec. Carter Bailey (LEH), 4-1 // ILL 6, LEH 3
149: Will Baysingar (ILL) dec. Anthony Evanitsky (LEH), 3-1 // ILL 9, LEH 3
157: #7 Kannon Webster (ILL) tech. fall Griffin Gonzalez (LEH), 23-6 (6:01) // ILL 14, LEH 3
165: #9 Braeden Scoles (ILL) dec. #7 Max Brignola (LEH), 5-1 // ILL 17, LEH 3
174: #20 Colin Kelly (ILL) dec. Dom Federici (LEH), 5-2 // ILL 20, LEH 3
184: #22 Rylan Rogers (LEH) dec. #21 Chris Moore (ILL), 4-2 // ILL 20, LEH 6
197: Dylan Connell (ILL) major dec. Remy Brancato-Roed (LEH), 8-0 // ILL 24, LEH 6
285: #6 Nathan Taylor (LEH) over #15 Luke Luffman (ILL), injury default (4:19) // ILL 24, LEH 12
UP NEXT
The Orange and Blue wrestlers return to action next week, Dec. 29-30, for the Midlands Championships in Evanston, Ill.
