Drake Ayala headed back to finals at NCAA Wrestling Championships

Former Fort Dodge state champion punches return trip to NCAA Div. I Championships on the mat

Iowa's Drake Ayala secured a return spot to the NCAA Wrestling Championships Friday night. Ayala is a three-time state champion for Fort Dodge Senior High. | X/Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling

Drake Ayala is headed back under the bright lights of the finals at the NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships.

The former three-time state champion wrestler for Fort Dodge Senior High scored a 6-1 victory over Zan Fugitt of Wisconsin on Friday from Philadelphia. He will meet Lucas Byrd of Illinois in a rematch of the Big Ten championship at 133 pounds for the title.

Ayala scored a takedown near the end of the second period that was only called after a challenge brick was tossed by Iowa head coach Tom Brands. After review, the three points were awarded, and Ayala, a junior, followed up with two near-fall points to add to his escape from earlier in the match.

While the takedown was discussed by announcers Daniel Cormier and Jordan Burroughs on the telecast, with both not sure it would be called, Ayala knew he had it.

“I told (Brands) to throw the brick),” Ayala said on the ESPN broadcast. “I had three. I knew I had three and told him to throw it.”

Finals. 35 straight years.

133 SF | #2 Drake Ayala (Iowa) dec. #14 Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin), 6-1#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/8fwnIgkL33

— Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling) March 22, 2025

With the win, Ayala gives Iowa a national finalist for the 35th consecutive season. His Hawkeye teammate, Ben Kueter, stayed alive after a loss in the quarters, securing All-American status.

Kueter was a four-time unbeaten state champion at Iowa City High.

Cael Happel, a four-time state champion at Lisbon who won over 200 matches in high school, secured his spot in the Top 6 earlier with a win in the quarterfinals before falling in the semis to Brock Hardy of Nebraska. 

Like Happel, Cade DeVos, a former state champion for Southeast Polk, was denied in the semis, falling to Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole. DeVos, fifth last year at nationals for South Dakota State, will be on the podium once again.

Hunter Garvin, a three-time state champion and four-time medalist at Iowa City West, earned himself a second All-American performance with a 16-12 win in the blood round. Garvin, competing for Stanford, was sixth last year.