Ten Former Iowa Prep Wrestling Standouts Ranked At NCAA Div. I Level

Intermat has 10 ex-Iowa high school wrestling standouts ranked in Div. I

Iowa’s Drake Ayala reacts after defeating Oklahoma State's Rin Sakamoto in a 133-pound match Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. / Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A number of former Iowa high school wrestling standouts are ranked in the latest NCAA Division I weight rankings by Intermat, the publication announced.

Leading the way among those who excelled on the Iowa high school wrestling scene is Drake Ayala, as the senior is No. 2 at 133 pounds for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Ayala, a two-time NCAA Championships runner-up, was a three-time state champion while competing for Fort Dodge Senior High. He has compiled a record of 65-16 with the Hawkeyes, including 48 wins over the last two seasons. 

His Iowa teammate, Ryder Block, is ranked No. 32 at 141 pounds. The sophomore from Waverly-Shell Rock won two matches last year for the Hawkeyes after a high school career that saw him go 159-1, including three state championships.

A third wrestler for Tom Brands and Iowa is Ben Kueter, as he is fifth at heavyweight. Kueter, who starred at Iowa City High where he also played football, is a sophomore. He previously was attempting to do both sports with the Hawkeyes.

Kueter went 21-9 a season ago, placing third at the Big Ten Championships and eighth at the NCAA Championships. He was the seventh four-time Iowa high school state wrestling champion, going 111-0 in his prep career.

Northern Iowa Boasts Five Iowa Prep Standouts in Rankings

Northern Iowa’s Wyatt Voelker defeated South Dakota State’s Thomas Dineen in a 197-pound match during the NWCA National Duals Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025 at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. / Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Northern Iowa features five former Iowa high school wrestling standouts in the rankings at their respective weights.

Trever Anderson is 13th at 125 pounds, Caleb Rathjen is 13th at 149, Ryder Downey is sixth at 165, CJ Walrath is 31st at 184 and Wyatt Voelker is 11th at 285.

Anderson and Rathjen are both former Ankeny standout. Anderson is a junior who qualified for the NCAA Championships last year after placing seventh at the Big 12 Championships. He was a two-time state champion in high school and three-time finalist.

Rathjen is a senior who was an NCAA qualifier in 2024 while competing for Iowa, placing fifth at the Big Ten Championships. He also won two state titles with Ankeny and was twice a runner-up.

Walrath won a pair of state championships while wrestling for Burlington-Notre Dame, finishing 204-9 overall, which included a 115-match win streak to end his career. The redshirt sophomore is ranked 31st at 184 pounds after going 8-1 a year ago.

Voelker, a junior, qualified for the NCAAs a year ago and was a Big 12 champion. He is ranked 11th at heavyweight and was a two-time state champion while wrestling for West Delaware, going 85-0 his last two seasons.

Iowa State, North Dakota State Feature Former Iowa Standouts

Aiden Riggins from Waverly-Shell Rock is ranked 16th at 165 pounds for Iowa State while Waterloo East graduate Max Magayna is 33rd at 174 pounds for North Dakota State.

Riggins, a junior, started his college career at Iowa, winning 17 matches before transferring to Iowa State, going 17-19 last year while placing fourth in the Big 12 and earning a bid to NCAAs.

At Waverly-Shell Rock, he was a two-time state champion and four-time placewinners, finishing his career 170-4 overall while helping the Go-Hawks win four team state titles.

Magayna, a redshirt freshman for North Dakota State, went 12-5 while taking a redshirt season a year ago. He was a three-time state champion for Waterloo Columbus before placing third as a senior at Waterloo East, finishing with a record of 185-4 overall, including 151 pins.

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