#12 Illinois Wrestling Hosts #24 Indiana in Late Night Friday Clash

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The No. 12 Fighting Illini wrestling team returns to Huff Hall on Friday, (Jan. 30), to host No. 24 Indiana. The action begins late night on BTN at 9 p.m. CT.

The Illini are coming off a close win against Rutgers, 17-16, on Jan. 24 in a dual that went all the way down to the third tiebreaking criteria of match points. After the end of all 10 bouts the dual was knotted up and 16 all and since both teams won the same number of bouts and neither had a pin it went to total match points where Illinois held the edge, 46-42 to win the dual.

Lucas Byrd now has 109 wins in his career where he now stands alone with the 15th most in program history. Kannon Webster returned to the starting lineup at 157 pounds after missing a couple duals due to a concussion. He wasted no time getting back on track as he earned his third major decision of the year when he defeated Anthony White of Rutgers, 13-4.

Chris Moore has started to find his stride in late January as he's coming off another upset when he knocked off No. 14 Shange Cartagena-Walsh in a 2-1 decision at 184 pounds. Spencer Moore and Braeden Scoles each also remained perfect in Big Ten duals, joining Byrd as the only three on the squad to do so. 

SCOUTING INDIANA

Indiana enters the contest with a 7-3 overall record and an even 2-2 record in Big Ten duals. There are two common opponents between the Illini and the Hoosiers being Little Rock and Michigan State. Illinois beat Little Rock 22-13 while Indiana won 25-16 and Illinois beat Michigan State 31-12 and Indiana won 32-13. 

The all-time series record between the two squads is 51-41-1 in favor of Illinois with the first matchup dating back to 1911. The Illini have won the last 11 meetings against the Hoosiers in Champaign with their last home loss coming on Feb. 18, 1991, 29-9. Indiana's most recent series win over the Fighting Illini came in a 22-13 decision in Bloomington on Jan. 29, 2010. At the time, that marked the Hoosiers first win against Illinois since pulling out a 16-15 decision in Bloomington on Feb. 10, 1996.

PARKING

Illinois wrestling will be providing a complimentary shuttle for our home duals at Huff Hall this season. This shuttle will provide continuous loops between the Bielfeldt Athletic Administration Building parking lot and the west entrance of Huff Hall. The Shuttle will begin transporting fans 60 minutes prior to the start of the dual and continue until one hour after the conclusion of the dual.

NOTES

• Lucas Byrd leads the team with 46 dual points scored on a perfect 13-0 overall and dual record while he's 4-0 in Big Ten duals.
  • Earned his 100th-career win on Nov. 15, 2025, against Lehigh's Mason Ziegler.
  • Fifth highest win percentage in program history (106-16, .869).
    • 1. Isaiah Martinez       157/165          2013-17           116-3   .975
    • 2. Matt Lackey             165                  2000-03           120-14 .896
    • 3. Mike Poeta              157                  2006-09           105-14 .882
    • 4. Alex Tirapelle          157                  2003-06           128-18 .877
    • 5. Lucas Byrd              133                  2020-pres.      109-16 .872
  • His win over Minnesota's Brandon Morvari was his 50th career dual win (now 53-3).
  • His 109 wins are the 15th most in program history, seven wins away from moving into top-10 in program history.
  • Has four top-20 wins on the season.
  • Has not lost since Jan. 17, 2025, (Drake Ayala [IOWA], 4-2 decision).
  • Owns the fastest fall amongst the starters (1:13).
• Braeden Scoles is 12-4 overall, 10-3 in duals and 4-0 in Big Ten duals
  • Second most dual points on the team (41).
  • Third on the team in tech. falls with three.
• Colin Kelly is 12-5 overall and 9-4 in duals during his redshirt freshman debut.
  • Third most dual points on the team (36).
• Kannon Webster is 13-2 overall and 9-2 in dual action in his redshirt sophomore campaign.
  • Fourth most dual points on the team with 34.
  • Team leading most tech. falls with five.
  • Tied for second most major decisions on the team with three
  • Has four top-20 wins on the year.
• Spencer Moore is 10-6 overall, 6-6 in duals and a perfect 3-0 in Big Ten duals
  • One of three starters to remain perfect in conference action (Byrd, Scoles)
  • Has 20 points in dual action to be the seventh starter to crack 20+ points.
• Luke Luffman is 9-3 overall and 6-2 in dual action.
  • Tied for the fifth most dual points on the team (23).
  • Has the most major decisions on the team with four.
• Michael Gioffre is 11-6 overall
  • Has the second most tech. falls on the team with four.
  • Was a silver medalist at the Midlands Championships.
• Chris Moore is 11-7 overall and 7-6 in dual action.
  • Tied for second most major decisions on the team (three).
  • Tied for fifth most dual points on the team with 23.
  • Was a silver medalist at the Midlands Championships.
  • Four top-25 wins on the season.