Have a look at the bio, age, height and weight of wrestler Lucas Byrd
At the NCAA Championship Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Illinois senior wrestler Lucas Byrd defeated Iowa 3-2 on Saturday to win his first national title and get revenge for his season’s lone defeat.
Lucas Byrd became the 21st Fighting Illini wrestler to win a national championship and the 25th individual national title for the University of Illinois wrestling program when he won the national title in the NCAA Championships on Saturday, March 22.
Who is University of Illinois wrestler Lucas Byrd, bio, age, height, weight, family, girlfriend, high school, college and wrestling record
The 5-foot-6 wrestler has gone viral after winning his first national title at 133 pounds over the weekend at the NCAA Championships at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia as after accomplishing the feat, Byrd raced over to his support group, which included his parents and, yes, his 6-foot-2 girlfriend, Ellie Holzman, a former volleyball star.
However, that wasn’t the reason Byrd’s victory went viral over the weekend. The announcer repeated the phrase, “Love knows no boundaries,” perhaps referring to the height difference between the couple, and Byrd rushed to his girlfriend Ellie Holzman and gave her a tight hug as soon as he won the bout.
Their meeting sent fans into a frenzy. One TikTok user said, “This is the kind of masculinity that women are looking for!” in response to the video. Another commented, “It’s a lovely thing when you’re comfortable with who you are.”
Lucas Byrd is 20 with his height at 5 feet 6 inches and was born in Ohio. He has been wrestling “unofficially” since he was three years old, but he has never faced opponents as tough as the ones he faced this week at the NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis.
A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, the La Salle product was the first two time state champion in program history. ranked number one in his class at 120 pounds. Byrd has also won prestigious tournaments such as Super 32, Escape the Rock, and was a runner – up at Ironman and was initially a Maryland commit, but reopened his commitment after the university moved on from then head coach Kerry McCoy. Byrd decided to go with the Fighting Illini of Illinois as his college posting an 11-4 overall record during his redshirt year with a title at the Findlay open at 133 pounds and once the 2021 season came around, Bryrd seemed primed and ready to step into the Illinois line up at 133 pounds.
Byrd finished his career at Illinois with a 96-16 overall record being 23-1 this season and his win percentage of 85.7% sits him right in seventh on Illinois’ all-time career win percentage leaderboard.
Redshirt freshman Lucas Byrd was motivated to wrestle because every man in his family is a wrestler, which is what made him start wrestling at the age of eight.
“Everyone in my family are wrestlers, besides my mom, but everyone is an athlete in some way,” Byrd had said. “I know I am the youngest, so it was only right for me to continue the legacy of wrestling. Plus, I’m the best out of my family, too, so why not?”
As a sophomore in high school, Byrd competed in the 106-pound weight class, finishing the season with a 50-2 record and coached by his brother, Max Byrd, Byrd’s second state championship against Ohio State’s Jake Canitano made their bond even stronger.
“My dad and my brother really made me want to enjoy wrestling while giving it my all, which is why I wrestle with some much intensity and confidence,” Byrd said. “I am trying to compete on every level, which means I do not plan on stopping after we win the NCAA Championships. My main goal in my wrestling career is to win as any championships as I can, but being called an NCAA All-American does have a nice ring to it.”
Byrd also represented the United States in Athens, Greece, as a junior in high school at the Cadet Greco World Wrestling Competition.
Class Redshirt Senior
Hometown Cincinnati, Ohio
High School La Salle
Major Management
He earned a degree in print journalism from Penn State University and the Curley Center for Sports Journalism.
His girlfriend, Holzman is a three-time Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year in volleyball, winning the National Player of the Year award her senior year but just four games into her college career, Holzman tore her ACL and was forced to medically retire.
The couple met at a bar near campus.
5’5 Lucas Byrd won the National Championship at 133-pounds and immediately goes to hug his 6’3 Girlfriend
Bro is a legend pic.twitter.com/hw7CdHgU9K
— Dudes Posting Their W’s (@DudespostingWs) March 24, 2025
Lucas Byrd career
On January 17, Ayala defeated Lucas Byrd at Iowa; however, on March 9, Byrd pinned Ayala to win the Big Ten Championship in his weight class.
On Saturday, Byrd opened the second period with an escape to grab the lead 1-0 after the two went scoreless in the first. Ayala tied the game with an escape to start the third period. Ayala led 2-1 in the second overtime until squandering a point on a delaying penalty as the game went into extra. Byrd won the championship by earning a point for riding time in the third and final overtime.
Byrd’s victory helped Illinois place 10th at the NCAA Championships, the highest ranking the school has had since the Illini placed 10th in 2016.
5’5 Lucas Byrd won the National Championship at 133-pounds and immediately goes to hug his 6’3 Girlfriend
Bro is a legend pic.twitter.com/hw7CdHgU9K
— Dudes Posting Their W’s (@DudespostingWs) March 24, 2025