FINAL SALUTE

CLEVELAND — The emotions Drake Ayala showed during the course of his final NCAA Tournament representing the Iowa wrestling team were more a reflection of the success of his teammates than himself.

Ayala secured his third All-American honor on Friday night, and capped off the championships here Saturday by placing fifth overall at 133 pounds. The three-time Fort Dodge Senior High state champion was a two-time NCAA runner-up for Iowa, which finished fourth overall behind Penn State, Oklahoma State and Nebraska in the final standings.

While most years that would be viewed as a disappointment for the Hawkeyes, that was not necessarily the case this time. Iowa had seven All-Americans, led by national runner-up Mikey Caliendo. It marked the 50th time in program history that Iowa has claimed a trophy and the 71st Top-10 finish all-time.

“I was just so excited,” Ayala said after his match with Tyler Knox of Stanford. “I don’t celebrate really ever, but (Friday night) I was flexing, and it was more a reflection of how we were just rolling.”

Ayala concluded his Hawkeye career with a record of 83-26, going 18-10 in 2025-26 and earning 26 total postseason victories. And while he bleeds black and gold now and forever, that wasn’t always the case.

“Growing up, I wasn’t a huge Hawkeye fan or anything,” he said. “Once I started getting recruited, I was like, ‘That’s where I want to go.’ Ever since, they’ve just been my family.

“The bonds I have with the coaches are going to last forever — same with my teammates.”

Ayala reached the quarterfinals, where he was edged by a 5-3 count against Marcus Blaze of Penn State. The 2021 FDSH graduate rebounded with back-to-back wins over Maximilian Leete from American and Lucas Byrd of Illinois. Byrd bested him in the 125-pound finals in 2025.

Following a loss to Aaron Seidel of Virginia Tech in the consolation semifinals, Ayala had his hand raised one final time with a 16-5 major decision over Knox.

“It’s bittersweet,” Ayala said. “It’s my last time on the mat, but it was fun. It’s been a roller-coaster of a year. I didn’t get what I wanted (an NCAA title) — I never did — but I learned a lot.

“I grew as a man and I’m proud of myself.”

Along with Ayala and Caliendo, Ryder Block, Patrick Kennedy, Angelo Ferrari, Gabe Arnold and Ben Kueter all secured spots on the podium for Iowa.

As for his future, Ayala simply said it is “too early to tell” and wanted to leave it at that.

Caliendo was bested by Mitchell Mesenbrink of Penn State in the finals at 165, as the Nittany Lions claimed a fifth consecutive national title. They have now won 13 of the last 15 overall under head coach Cael Sanderson.

Kennedy went 5-1 during the NCAAs, placing third at 174 pounds. Kueter was fifth, Block and Ferrari sixth, and Arnold seventh.

Iowa State’s Yonger Bastida lost to Isaac Trumble of NC State in the heavyweight final, 5-0, in a meeting of unbeaten wrestlers. Bastida’s teammates, Anthony Echemendia (sixth) and MJ Gaitan (eighth) earned All-American honors.

Joining Mesenbrink as undefeated national champions for Penn State were Luke Lilledahl at 125 pounds, Levi Haines at 174 and Josh Barr at 197.

Oklahoma State, which will bring in four-time FDSH state champion and top-ranked heavyweight Dreshaun Ross in the fall, crowned individual winners in freshmen Jax Forrest and Sergio Vega at 133 and 141 pounds, respectively. Landon Robieau also won gold at 157 for head coach David Taylor, a former Nittany Lion two-time NCAA champion and four-time finalist.