Drake Ayala earns second NCAA Div. I runner-up finish

Former Fort Dodge star earns silver for second consecutive season at NCAA Championships

Drake Ayala finished second for Iowa at the NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships Saturday night. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

University of Iowa junior Drake Ayala earned his second runner-up finish at the NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships on Saturday night from Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

The former three-time state champion wrestler for Fort Dodge Senior High suffered a second loss to Lucas Byrd of Illinois, 3-2 in the second tiebreaker by riding time. At the Big Ten Championships, Byrd scored a victory over Ayala in the finals.

Ayala, who won in the regular season vs. Byrd, was hit with a second stalling call late that caused plenty of talk on social media. Iowa head coach Tom Brands challenged the decision, but was denied. Byrd would take the win on the riding time he accrued in the previous overtime session.

Last year, Ayala placed second at 125 pounds for the Hawkeyes. He moved up to 133 this past year, finishing 20-3 on the year. 

Ayala had the highest-scoring match of the NCAA Tournament with 23 points and scored 65 total match points, which ranked second.

Ben Kueter, Ayala’s Iowa teammate, finished eighth at heavyweight. A four-time unbeaten state champion at Iowa City High, Kueter went 3-3 this past week, finishing 21-9 overall.

Cael Happel, a four-time state champion at Lisbon and four-time NCAA qualifier, placed fifth at 141 pounders for Northern Iowa, who finished in the Top 10 in the team standings. He earned a win over Josh Koderhandt of Navy in his final match, 7-2. 

Cade DeVos, a former state champion for Southeast Polk, placed sixth at 174 pounds for South Dakota State. He went 22-10 on the year, adding to his fifth place medal from a season ago.

Hunter Garvin, a three-time state champion and four-time medalist at Iowa City West, secured his second medal when he finished sixth at 165 pounds for Stanford.