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Defending National Champ Lucas Byrd Will Return to Illinois for Senior Season

Defending 133-pound national champion Lucas Byrd announced on Tuesday that he will return to Illinois for his final year of eligibility
Jared Shlensky|
Mar 22, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Lucas Byrd of the Illinois Fighting Illini celebrates win against Drake Ayala of the Iowa Hawkeyes (not pictured) during the Division I Men's Wrestling Championship held at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Mar 22, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Lucas Byrd of the Illinois Fighting Illini celebrates win against Drake Ayala of the Iowa Hawkeyes (not pictured) during the Division I Men's Wrestling Championship held at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Some people like to go out on top. Others relish the challenge of repeating and getting one last moment as champion. Illinois wrestler Lucas Byrd, the reigning 133-pound national champ, chose the latter of the two when he announced Tuesday that he is returning to Champaign to fulfill his final year of eligibility.

If Byrd can repeat as national champion, he'll be in rare company. Only four Illini wrestlers – Joe Sapora, Bob Norman, Jesse Delgado and Isaiah Martinez – have ever won back-to-back NCAA championships, and no Illinois wrestler has ever done it at 133 pounds.

Byrd could potentially move up to 141 pounds this year, but the odds of that happening are pretty slim. Passing on the opportunity to repeat and the NIL earnings that come with the total package are unlikely.

So not only are Illinois fans going to see a lot more of Byrd this year, but they're probably going to see his girlfriend – former Illini volleyball player Ellie Holzman – a lot more, too. The two have been quite the hit on TikTok, and together they went viral after Byrd made a beeline to embrace Holzman just off the mats after securing his title.

Byrd wasn't the only Illinois wrestler to announce his return to the program on Tuesday. Four-time NCAA qualifier Luke Luffman also announced on Tuesday that he'll be back in Champaign for his final year of eligibility.

Luffman, a heavyweight, won a career-best 19 matches last year and has a shot at earning an All-American nod for the first time in his career. Illinois might not be on the same level as Penn State or Iowa, but the Illini should be a national top-10 – and perhaps even top-five – team in 2025.

Head coach MIke Poeta, who done turned the program into a contender in four years on the job, was rewarded with a four-year contract extension this offseason. With Byrd and Luffman back to play out their redshirt-senior seasons, it could be Poeta's – and the Illini's – best season yet.

More from Illinois on Sports Illustrated:

AP Top 25 College Football Poll: The Experts Are Ready to Believe in Illinois

Illinois Football Offers Class of 2027 Offensive Tackle Davis Seaman

Two Doak Walker Candidates? What It Says About Illinois' Offense

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Illinois Football's Week 4 Matchup at Indiana Sells Out: What it Means

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Jared Shlensky
JARED SHLENSKY

Jared Shlensky is a contributing writer for On SI and a freelance play-by-play broadcaster. Jared was previously a sports betting writer for Yardbarker, an On-Air YouTube Personality for the Sports Geek and a minor league play-by-play broadcaster.

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