Drake Ayala Extends Iowa's NCAA Wrestling Finalist Streak To 34
Drake Ayala Extends Iowa's NCAA Wrestling Finalist Streak To 34
Drake Ayala's win over Wisconsin's Eric Barnett extended Iowa's streak of consecutive years with an NCAA finalist to 34.
Iowa’s Saturday night string continues at the NCAA Wrestling Championships.
Drake Ayala’s 3-2 victory Friday night against Wisconsin’s Eric Barnett in the NCAA semifinals assured the Hawkeyes of having a national finalist for the 34th straight year.
"It wasn't pretty, but sometimes it's what you've got to do," Ayala said. "I'm just really, truly blessed to be in this situation to be healthy and just to have the best people surrounding me right now."
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A challenge from the Iowa corner proved to be the difference-maker in the 125-pound semifinals. Ayala got in on a single-leg and was initially awarded with a takedown that was quickly waved off before the Hawkeyes tossed in the challenge brick.
After a lengthy video review, the call on the mat was reversed and Ayala rode out Barnett for the final 29 seconds of the first period.
Barnett scored an escape to start the second and picked up another point in the third when Ayala was hit twice for stalling.
The third-seeded Iowa sophomore will wrestle for the title Saturday night against Arizona State’s eighth-seeded Richard Figueroa. Ayala defeated Figueroa in 2020 at Who’s Number One before Figueroa avenged the loss in the 2021 U20 World Team Trials.
"We're 1-1, so it's going to be a rubber match for our childhood dreams," Ayala said.
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NCAA Wrestling Tournament 2024 Schedule
The 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championship will be held at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri from March 21-23.
Complete schedule
- Session 1 - Championship First Round Thursday March 21 12pm ESPNU/ESPN+
- Session 2 - Championship Second Round + Consolations Thursday March 21 7pm ESPN/ESPN+
- Session 3 - Championships Quarterfinals + Consolations Friday March 22 12pm ESPNU/ESPN+
- Session 4 - Championship Semifinals + Blood Round Friday March 22 8pm ESPN/ESPN+
- Session 5 - Medal Round Saturday March 23 11am ESPNU/ESPN+
- Session 6 - Championship Finals Saturday March 23 7pm ESPN/ESPN+
Where Are The NCAA Wrestling Championships 2024
The 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championship will be held at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri from March 21-23.
The 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Wells Fargo Center while the 2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships are set for Cleveland, Ohio at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
NCAA Wrestling Championships 2024 At Large Bids
WEIGHT TEAM FIRST NAME LAST NAME CONFERENCE
- 125 California Baptist Elijah Griffin Big 12
- 125 Oregon State Brandon Kaylor Pac 12
- 125 Rider Tyler Klinsky MAC
- 125 Ohio State Brendan McCrone Big Ten
- 125 Northern Colorado Stevo Poulin Big 12
- 125 Harvard Diego Sotelo EIWA
- 133 Ohio State Nic Bouzakis Big Ten
- 133 Pennsylvania Michael Colaiocco EIWA
- 133 Northern Iowa Julian Farber Big 12
- 133 Missouri Kade Moore Big 12
- 133 Minnesota Tyler Wells Big Ten
- 141 Gardner-Webb Todd Carter SoCon
- 141 Cornell Vince Cornella EIWA
- 141 Virginia Tech Tom Crook ACC
- 141 Maryland Kal Miller Big Ten
- 141 Columbia Kai Owen EIWA
- 141 West Virginia Jordan Titus Big 12
- 149 Rutgers Michael Cetta Big Ten
- 149 South Dakota State Alek Martin Big 12
- 149 Pittsburgh Finn Solomon ACC
- 149 Pennsylvania Jude Swisher EIWA
- 157 Virginia Tech Bryce Andonian ACC
- 157 Little Rock Matty Bianchi Pac 12
- 157 Minnesota Michael Blockhus Big Ten
- 157 Northern Colorado Vinny Zerban Big 12
- 165 NC State Derek Fields ACC
- 165 Michigan State Caleb Fish Big Ten
- 165 Pittsburgh Holden Heller ACC
- 165 Bucknell Noah Mulvaney EIWA
- 165 Ohio Garrett Thompson MAC
- 174 Pittsburgh Luca Augustine ACC
- 174 Northern Iowa Jared Simma Big 12
- 174 Penn State Carter Starocci Big Ten
- 174 Navy Danny Wask EIWA
- 184 Gardner-Webb Jha`Quan Anderson SoCon
- 184 Iowa State Will Feldkamp Big 12
- 184 Pennsylvania Maximus Hale EIWA
- 184 Campbell Caleb Hopkins SoCon
- 184 Arizona State Tony Negron Pac 12
- 197 Northwestern Evan Bates Big Ten
- 197 Utah Valley Evan Bockman Big 12
- 197 Franklin & Marshall John Crawford EIWA
- 197 Virginia Tech Andy Smith ACC
- 285 Maryland Seth Nevills Big Ten
- 285 Pittsburgh Dayton Pitzer ACC
- 285 Minnesota Bennett Tabor Big Ten
- 285 Cal Poly Trevor Tink Pac-12
NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Rankings
The updated NCAA D1 Wrestling rankings can be found HERE.
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