UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Fighting Illini wrestling team completed the first day of the Big Ten Championships on Saturday (March 7) from the Bryce Jordan Center. Seven Illini punched their tickets to the NCAA Championships in Cleveland: Lucas Byrd (133 pounds), Michael Gioffre (149 pounds), Kannon Webster (157 pounds), Braeden Scoles (165 pounds), Colin Kelly (174 pounds), Chris Moore (184 pounds), and Luke Luffman (285 pounds).
Webster was the highlight of the bunch as he wrestled his way to the semifinal round at 157 pounds. As the No. 3 seed he dominated the morning session as he opened with a pin over [14] Ty Wilson of Northwestern in 4:28, followed by a major decision of [6] Charlie Millard (MINN), 14-2. This set the stage for the semifinal matchup against Penn State's [2] PJ Duke. Webster battled hard and nearly had a pivotal takedown in the first period but ran out of time before securing it and fell in a 4-2 decision. He'll face [11] Bryce Lowery (IND) in the consolation semifinals.
[6] Luffman punched his ticket to his fifth NCAA Championships today starting off with a 5-1 decision win over Purdue's [11] Hayden Filipovich, 5-1, and with a key major decision win over Northwestern's [13] Gabe Christenson in the consolation ladder to secure his spot. He wrestles for seventh place tomorrow against [7] Koy Hopke (MINN).
[2] Byrd was the only Illini to receive a bye and surprisingly was defeated in his quarterfinal bout, his first loss since Jan. 17, 2025. He bounced back in the consolation bracket as he shut out [8] Braxton Brown of Maryland in an 8-0 major decision and won via injury default over [6] Jacob Van Dee of Nebraska. Much like Luffman, this is Byrd's fifth time as an NCAA Championships qualifier as well. He's set to face a familiar foe in [5] Drake Ayala (IOWA) in the consolation semifinals.
Redshirt freshman [9] Kelly punched his ticket to his first NCAA Championships as part of his solid first year starting. He opened his tournament with a major decision of Purdue's [8] Brody Baumann, 11-2, before he fell to Penn State's [1] Levi Hanes in the quarterfinals. He defeated [10] Eddie Enright of Northwestern, 4-1, to punch his ticket and he will face Baumann again in the seventh-place match.
[5] Moore's heading to his second NCAA Championships as he secured his spot today with a first-round win over [12] Sepanta Ahanj-Elias of Maryland, 8-2, a tech. fall over [11] JD Perez of Northwestern in the consolation bracket, 19-3 (6:20), and a medical forfeit win in the following round. He'll face off against [3] Silas Allred (NEB) in the consolation semifinals tomorrow. He'll wrestle in the third-place match tomorrow night due to Silas Alred (NEB) medically forfeiting.
[9] Gioffre qualified to his first NCAA Championships today. He dropped his first match of the tournament but wrestled back tough in the backside of the bracket. He earned two bonus point wins first a 12-3 major decision over Minnesota's [10] Drew Roberts and a pin over Michigan State's [13] Clayton Jones in 3:34 the next round. He's set to face [4] Lachlan McNeil (MICH) in the consolation semifinals tomorrow morning.
[6] Scoles is going to his second-consecutive NCAA Championships. He started off the day with a tech. fall over Northwestern's [11] Jacob Bostelman, 20-4 (4:32), before he fell to [3] Mikey Caliendo of Iowa in the quarterfinals. He picked up another tech. fall win in the consolation ladder to punch his ticket this time over [13] AJ Rodrigues of Maryland, 18-2 (4:22). He will take on [8] Paddy Gallagher (OSU) in the seventh-place match tomorrow.
After day one Illinois sits in fifth place with 69.5 points.
TEAM SCORES
1. Penn State – 146.5
2. Ohio State – 115.0
3. Nebraska – 112.0
4. Iowa – 70.0
5. Illinois – 69.5
5. Minnesota – 69.5
7. Michigan – 68.5
8. Rutgers – 56.5
9. Wisconsin – 43.5
10. Indiana – 33.0
11. Maryland – 31.0
12. Purdue – 23.0
13. Northwestern – 14.5
14. Michigan State – 10.5
UP NEXT
The Illini matmen return to action tomorrow (March 8) for the final day of the Big Ten Championships. Session three starts at 11 a.m. on B1G +Â and session four begins at 3:30 p.m. CT on BTN.
ILLINOIS RESULTS
125: Spencer Moore – 3 seed
Round 1: [3] Spencer Moore (ILL) major dec. [14] Abram Cline (MD), 9-0
Quarterfinals: [6] Jore Volk (MINN) dec. [3] Spencer Moore (ILL), SV-1 4-1
Cons. Round 2: [5] Ayden Smith (RUT) dec. [3] Spencer Moore (ILL), 3-2
133: Lucas Byrd – 2 seed
Received Round 1 bye
Quarterfinals: [10] Blake Boarman (PUR) dec. [2] Lucas Byrd (ILL), 7-3
Cons. Round 2: [2] Lucas Byrd (ILL) major dec. [8] Braxton Brown (MD), 8-0
Cons. Round 3: [2] Lucas Byrd (ILL) over [6] Jacob Van Dee (NEB), injury default (5:09)
141: Danny Pucino – 12 seed
Round 1: [5] Dylan Ragusin (MICH) dec. [12] Danny Pucino (ILL), 7-5
Cons. Round 1: [12] Danny Pucino (ILL) dec. [13] Carson Exferd (WIS), 10-7
Cons. Round 2: [6] Braeden Davis (PSU) over [12] Danny Pucino (ILL), fall (0:36)
Pucino eliminated
149: Michael Gioffre – 9 seed
Round 1: [8] Ryder Block (IOWA) dec. [9] Michael Gioffre (ILL), 4-1
Received Cons. Round 1 bye
Cons. Round 2: [9] Michael Gioffre (ILL) major dec. [10] Drew Roberts (MINN), 12-3
Cons. Round 3: [9] Michael Gioffre (ILL) over [13] Clayton Jones (MSU), fall (3:34)
157:  Kannon Webster – 3 seed
Round 1: [3] Kannon Webster (ILL) over [14] Ty Wilson (NU), fall (4:28)
Quarterfinals: [3] Kannon Webster (ILL) major dec. [6] Charlie Millard (MINN), 14-2
Semifinals: [2] PJ Duke (PSU) dec. [3] Kannon Webster (ILL), 4-2
165: Braeden Scoles – 6 seed
Round 1: [6] Braeden Scoles (ILL) tech. fall [11] Jacob Bostelman (NU), 20-4 (4:32)
Quarterfinals: [3] Mikey Caliendo (IOWA) major dec. [6] Braeden Scoles (ILL), 14-5
Cons. Round 2: [6] Braeden Scoles (ILL) tech. fall [13] AJ Rodrigues (MD), 18-2 (4:22)
Cons. Round 3: [2] Joey Blaze (PUR) dec. [6] Braeden Scoles (ILL), 5-0
174: Colin Kelly – 9 seed
Round 1: [9] Colin Kelly (ILL) major dec. [8] Brody Baumann (PUR), 11-2
Quarterfinals: [1] Levi Haines (PSU) tech. fall [9] Colin Kelly (ILL), 17-2 (6:02)
Cons. Round 2: [9] Colin Kelly (ILL) dec. [10] Eddie Enright (NU), 4-1
Cons. Round 3: [5] Beau Mantanona (MICH) dec. [9] Colin Kelly (ILL), 5-2
184: Chris Moore – 5 seed
Round 1: [5] Chris Moore (ILL) dec. [12] Sepanta Ahanj-Elias (MD), 8-2
Quarterfinals: [4] Brock Mantanona (MICH) dec. [5] Chris Moore (ILL), 4-1
Cons. Round 2: [5] Chris Moore (ILL) tech. fall [11] J.D. Perez (NU), 19-3 (6:20)
Cons. Round 3: [5] Chris Moore (ILL) over [8] Angelo Ferrari (IOWA), medical forfeit
Cons. Round 4: [5] Chris Moore (ILL) over [3] Silas Alred (NEB), medical forfeit
197: Dylan Connell – 12 seed
Round 1: [5] Luke Geog (OSU) major dec. [12] Dylan Connell (ILL), 9-1
Cons. Round 1: [13] Gabe Arnold (IOWA) dec. [12] Dylan Connell (ILL), 5-1
11th-place bracket: [13] Gabe Arnold (IOWA) dec. [12] Dylan Connell (ILL), SV-1 4-1
Connell eliminated.
285: Luke Luffman – 6 seed
Round 1: [6] Luke Luffman (ILL) dec. [11] Hayden Filipovich (PUR), 5-1
Quarterfinals: [3] Nick Feldman (OSU) dec. [6] Luke Luffman (ILL) 5-2
Cons. Round 2: [6] Luke Luffman (ILL) major dec. [13] Gabe Christenson (NU), 14-2
Cons. Round 3: [10] Ben Kueter (IOWA) dec. [6] Luke Luffman (ILL), 4-1
