Drake Ayala among native Iowans to advance at NCAA Wrestling Championship

Several former Iowa preps make it to the next round at the NCAA Wrestling Championships

Drake Ayala advanced to the 133-pound quarterfinals at the NCAA Championships on Thursday. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Drake Ayala got a glimpse of what Saturday night at the NCAA Wrestling Championships feels like last year.

Ayala, a former three-time state champion at Fort Dodge Senior High, was the 125-pound national runner-up for Iowa a season ago. 

On Thursday in Philadelphia, the junior took two steps towards a return, earning a spot in the 133-pound quarterfinals with a pair of dominating wins. 

Joining Ayala as native Iowans in the quarters on Friday will be Ben Kueter, Cael Happel, Hunter Garvin and Cade DeVos.

Ayala picked up a technical fall and a major decision over Missouri’s Kade Moore and Northern Iowa’s Julian Farber. He was second at the Big Ten Championships and is the No. 2 seed.

Ayala ➡️ Major ➡️ Quarterfinals

133 R2 | #2 Drake Ayala (Iowa) major dec. #18 Julian Farber (Northern Iowa), 13-4#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/uVQILLemoe

— Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling) March 20, 2025

Kueter, his Hawkeye teammate, will be in the final eight at heavyweight after a pair of decisions. Kueter, a four-time unbeaten state champion at Iowa City High, topped Daniel Herrera of Iowa State (6-0) and Nick Feldman from Ohio State (8-2).

Iowa's Ben Kueter decisions Ohio State's Nick Feldman for the third time this season. He wins 8-2 to reach the heavyweight quarterfinals.
The Hawkeyes go 5-2 in the second round and have five quarterfinalists - Ayala (133), Caliendo (165), Kennedy (174), Buchanan (197) & Kueter

— K.J. Pilcher (@kjpilcher) March 21, 2025

Happel, a four-time qualifier for Northern Iowa and a four-time state champion at Lisbon, earned a fall in 5:51 over Danny Pucino from Illinois and downed Dylan Chappell of Bucknell to advance at 141 pounds.

Garvin, who was sixth last year at nationals for Stanford and won three titles while wrestling for Iowa City West, picked up a decision and a major decision to move on at 165. He topped Ohio State’s Paddy Gallagher and Minnesota’s Andrew Sparks.

DeVos earned his spot at 174 with a 5-4 decision over Dan Braunagel of Illinois and a 9-3 decision vs. Garrett Thompson from Ohio. He was a two-time state champion for Southeast Polk and finished fifth at the NCAAs a year ago for South Dakota State.

Others still alive in consolation round matches include Gabe Arnold of Iowa, Cobe Siebrecht from South Dakota State, Aidan Riggins of Iowa State and Northern Iowa’s Trevor Anderson, Ryder Downey and Jack Thomsen.