Lucas Byrd’s latest win didn’t happen on the mat, but it still had the internet buzzing.
The former Illinois wrestling star, who became a national favorite after claiming his first NCAA championship at 133 pounds in March 2025, is now married to Ellie Holzman. New wedding photos of the couple quickly made the rounds online, and fans treated the moment like another victory lap for one of college sports’ most watched storylines.
The images show Byrd and Holzman walking hand in hand along a waterfront path with mountains in the background. Byrd is wearing a navy suit with a polka-dot tie, while Holzman is in a strapless white gown. Another photo shows the couple out on the water, with Holzman in a bikini.
X account Rowdy Rowley shared the photos with the caption: “Congrats to NCAA National Champion Lucas Byrd and his wife Ellie on their marriage!”
The replies came fast, and they were full of praise. “Rowdy Rowley, not sure what you were trying to do here, but I’ll take this as you highlighting a King on his special day.
Big Respect, Lucas!” one fan wrote.
“This man right here is an example of a winner,” another added.
“That mf winning harder than anyone who has ever won anything,” a third fan wrote.
“He hit the genetic lottery for his bloodline,” someone else joked.
Byrd’s rise as a fan favorite started when cameras caught him sprinting into Holzman’s arms after his NCAA title, a scene that spread quickly because of their eye-catching height difference. Byrd is 5-foot-6. Holzman is 6-foot-3.
Their relationship traces back to a chance meeting at a bar near the Illinois campus. Holzman later said she was initially unsure because of the height gap, but eventually decided to give it a chance. She also joked that Byrd looked like Harry Potter, a line that has become part of their online identity.
Long before the wedding photos surfaced, the couple had already built a huge audience of their own, collecting hundreds of thousands of TikTok followers after Byrd’s championship win introduced them to a wider national audience.
Byrd returned to Illinois for a fifth season and chased another title, while Holzman kept showing up with him at meets and events over the next year.
A two-time Ohio state champion at La Salle High School in Cincinnati, Byrd became just the 21st wrestler in Illinois program history to win a national title. Now married, he adds another milestone to a résumé that has made him one of the most recognizable names in college wrestling.
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