PHILADELPHIA — Possibly the sensation Lucas Byrd had on the night time of Jan. 17 in central Iowa drove him to the place he was on Saturday night time.
Standing inside Wells Fargo Middle in downtown Philadelphia, after letting out a primal scream and his arms outstretched, Byrd may rejoice a second that he had labored his entire life for.
Nationwide champion.
The sixth-year Illinois senior defeated Iowa’s Drake Ayala by way of a 3-2 win on tiebreakers on Saturday night time to win a nationwide title at 133 kilos.
Byrd’s solely loss this season occurred towards Ayala at Carver-Hawekeye Area in Iowa Metropolis, Iowa, in a 4-2 determination in mid-January. After that night time, although, Byrd didn’t lose once more this season.
He defeated Ayala by pin in 3 minutes, 16 seconds on the Massive Ten Championships to win a Massive Ten title on March 9. Virtually two weeks later, Byrd and Ayala squared off once more for the third time this season.
Once more, Byrd got here away with a significant win in March. A win that made him the twenty first Illini wrestler to win a nationwide title and the primary since Isaiah Martinez did so in 2016.
“It has been one hell of a journey,” Byrd mentioned. “It has been essentially the most thrilling journey that I’ve ever been on.”
Byrd and Ayala began their nationwide championship match with some hand preventing and shot fakes, however no rating emerged after the primary interval. Byrd began the second interval with a fast escape to go forward 1-0 and utilized stress the remainder of the interval to pressure Ayala right into a stall warning with 22 seconds left within the interval. These strikes got here in essential later.
Ayala tied the match at 1 with a fast escape to begin the third interval, and the rating remained that manner going into time beyond regulation. However a sudden victory didn’t occur for both wrestler to ship the match into tiebreakers.
Byrd was on high first and rode Ayala for six seconds earlier than he acquired away. A couple of seconds later, Byrd’s stress was an excessive amount of and compelled Ayala into taking his second stall name, which awarded Byrd a pivotal level. Byrd selected to go impartial for his tiebreaker and evaded Ayala for all 30 seconds as his six seconds of using time gave him the title.
“I couldn’t be happier for Lucas,” Illinois coach Mike Poeta mentioned. “If anyone deserved to be the NCAA champion this yr, it’s him. The quantity of labor and sacrifice he put into this was superb. This was not straightforward. It was a protracted journey for him, however he wrestled improbable this weekend. He wished to be the nationwide champion and he went and acquired it. He took it.”
Byrd, a Cincinnati native who joined the Illini in 2019 however didn’t wrestle final season due to a medical redshirt, lastly achieved the final word feeling after incomes All-American honors beforehand in 2021 and 2022.
He was fast to credit score Illini assistant coach Jeremy Hunter as he wrapped up his 23-1 file this season with a nationwide title.
“Me and Jeremy have been putting on a unique stage,” Byrd mentioned. “We will communicate telepathically nearly and something he tells me, I’ve to belief.”
That included in time beyond regulation when Iowa tried to problem a potential takedown.
“In time beyond regulation they threw the brick, I checked out Jeremy and he mentioned, ‘We’re good. Now we have to go impartial,’” Byrd mentioned. “I step on the road, select impartial and I look over and see my brother yelling, ‘Go down, go down’. I shook my head no as a result of I belief my coaches, they usually put me in the correct place.”
A place few different Illini wrestlers have achieved. And nobody at 133 kilos. Till now.
“I couldn’t be prouder of him,” Poeta mentioned. “It was fairly cool seeing him after he received within the tunnel. He had his face in his arms pondering, ‘I can’t imagine I’m the NCAA champion’ as a result of it’s that large of a deal and it hits you in a different way. He did an incredible job.”
Now, when future Illinois wrestlers vie so as to add their names to an elite checklist of nationwide champions, Byrd is the one they’ll attempt to emulate.
“Successful that match, hugging Jeremy, giving all of the teaching employees a hug (meant a lot),” Byrd mentioned. “They’re my individuals. They’re my house.
‘My bond with Jeremy is unmatched, I may name him at 2 a.m. and ask him to work out with me, and he would. My freshman yr, I used to be the younger man, and I used to be a ache. I used to be all the time that child that wished to be taught and I wished to get so good at wrestling, they all the time helped me. To take a seat right here now, I haven’t even processed what has occurred but. I need to rejoice with my teammates. I need to rejoice with my coaches. I need to rejoice with my girlfriend and my household. My dad doesn’t cry, and he cried. That’s a giant deal. It’s a sense I’ll always remember.”
