The Illinois wrestling team concluded its 2025-26 season at the NCAA Championships on March 21, with Kannon Webster placing fifth at 157 pounds and Lucas Byrd finishing eighth at 133 pounds. Both athletes earned All-American status during the event held at Rocket Arena in Cleveland.
Their achievements highlight a strong season for Illinois wrestling, which saw eight wrestlers qualify for nationals. Head coach Jeremy Hunter said, “First I want to say how incredibly proud I am of how our guys performed this season. Not just the eight guys that we brought to nationals but the entire team all season handled adversity and never complained. I appreciate our departing seniors Lucas Byrd, Dylan Connell, Luke Luffman, and Danny Pucino for everything they gave us in their extended time here. Qualifying eight guys to the NCAA Championships is no small task and it’s a testament to what we are building here. Again, I’m immensely proud of Byrd and Kannon Webster becoming All Americans this weekend in one of the toughest sports on the planet. We have a great recruiting class coming in next year to join a solid group of returners and I cannot wait for next season.”
Webster, a redshirt sophomore from Toulon, Illinois, became an All-American for the first time after moving up from 149 pounds last year. He finished his season with a 25-6 record overall and was also a bronze medalist at the Big Ten Championships. In his fifth-place match at nationals, he won by medical forfeit over Ty Watters of West Virginia University.
Byrd completed his career as only the second four-time All-American in program history, joining Isaiah Martinez. The Cincinnati native ended with a career record of 119-21 and an undefeated dual meet record this season (17-0). In his final match for seventh place, he lost in tiebreakers to Jacob Van Dee of Nebraska.
Illinois finished fifteenth overall in team standings with 28 points. Other Illini competitors included Spencer Moore (125), Michael Gioffre (149), Braeden Scoles (165), Colin Kelly (174), Chris Moore (184), and Luke Luffman (285).
Looking ahead, Hunter said he is optimistic about next year due to incoming recruits joining returning athletes.