Drake Ayala made it to Saturday night at the NCAA Wrestling Championships last season.

The Iowa 133-pounder would just like a better feeling afterward this time around.

Ayala, seeded second in his weight class this season, was the runner-up at 125 last season, losing to Arizona State’s Richard Figueroa 7-2 in the championship match.

Ayala hasn’t forgotten what it was like.

“I mean, I was heartbroken,” he said. “That sticks with me. I'll remember that feeling for a while.

“I wasn’t on the top step. That sticks with me.”

Ayala will be in his third national tournament this weekend at Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia. He takes a 17-2 record into the tournament, an event he considers “like Christmas to me.”

“This is the greatest time of the year,” Ayala said.

Ayala is coming off a second-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, another tournament that was an education for him.

“I think some people might think that the biggest takeaway was that I didn't come out on top,” Ayala said. “But like I said, I grew up a lot in that tournament. I learned a lot, and I'm going to take that experience with me into this week.”

Iowa coach Tom Brands has seen Ayala’s growth as a wrestler.

“I think he's a guy that's forceful by nature in his own way,” Brands said. “You can think of forceful by nature, and you can run it through your head and have your own definition of that. But in his own way, he's a force of nature. He's forceful by nature, and you can't be in between. You’ve got to commit to doing one thing or commit to doing the other. And when he's committed, then there's no issues there, and that's the difference for him.”

Ayala opens the tournament against 31st seed Kade Moore of Missouri. The two have not faced each other before.

Ayala is 10-2 overall against the 133-pound field. He is 1-1 against top seed Lucas Byrd of Illinois, who beat Ayala in the Big Ten championship match.

“I think I grew up a lot this year,” Ayala said. “I don't know if I'd say that about me last year, but this year, I feel like I grew up. I've been through some ups and downs. I lost my first match in Carver (a 15-10 defeat to Tyler Knox of Stanford). I've just grown up, and I'm super excited for this week. And, I mean, I keep saying it, but, at this point in the season, there's not much more to talk about. It's time where rubber meets the road.”

“You’ve got to be at peace with your preparation,” Brands said. “You’ve got to be at peace with your self-talk. You got to be at peace with what you're trying to accomplish. And he will be at his best when it's time. I have great confidence in Drake Ayala.”

Kueter’s Rise

Ben Kueter is the #5 seed at 285 for the Hawkeyes after an impressive showing at the Big Ten Championships, where he finished third.

“The biggest thing is to keep a good thing going,” said Kueter, a redshirt freshman making his first national tournament appearance. “The Big Ten was an all right tournament. I didn’t win, so it’s not a great tournament. But I think I matured a lot in that tournament and kind of found my type of wrestling again. Kind of what I'm used to, and that's just winning gritty matches. And so, yeah, I'm just gonna keep that going. Same mentality in the Nationals.”

Kueter, who went 18-6 this season, has been to the national tournament, but only as a spectator.

“I've been going to the NCAA tournament for the last probably six, seven years, so I’ve been there in the stands, but never on the mat,” Kueter said. “I'll be fine. I'm excited.”

“Every time out is an important opportunity to showcase your abilities and skills,” Brands said. “And then there's even more things that are at stake, like seeds and positioning yourself for your end run. I think that's what the Big Ten Championships did for him. It's a qualifier, but it's an important event. And all events are important as they come up, because that's what you're trying to do. You're trying to position yourself the best. And that's what he did with his performance at the Big Tens.”

Kueter is accustomed to big stages, having won the U20 World title in 2022 and U20 World silver last fall. 

“To me, it's just another tournament,” Kueter said. “I guess you could say it's just the next thing on the schedule. I mean, I wrestled at the World tournament, and at the time, that was the next biggest thing for me. So I'd say the biggest thing is just not making it bigger than what it is. At the end of the day, it's just a wrestling tournament. There's a little more at stake, I guess you'd say, but it’s just another wrestling tournament at the end of the day.”

Bouncing Back

Brands isn’t thinking about the Hawkeyes’ third-place finish in the team standings at the Big Ten Championships.

“These guys should be interested in winning, pinning and scoring points, and however they say that in their head, that's what it should be about,” Brands said. “Peaking is a mindset — the great John Smith, I think that was a philosophy that he verbalized. That's true, and in their own way, that's what you're getting ready for. It is the event that we talk about, that we train for, for whatever you want to talk about importance, or place an importance on it. That's not what this is about. It's the next event on the calendar, and it is about being at your best every time out, and this happens to be the next time out. Keep it in perspective.”

Nine Hawkeyes are in the tournament. Ayala and 197-pounder Stephen Buchanan are #2 seeds, 165-pounder Michael Caliendo is a #3 seed, and Kueter and 149-pounder Kyle Parco are #5 seeds.

Among Iowa’s qualifiers is Jacori Teemer, who is making his fourth NCAA appearance and is going for his four podium finish. Teemer, battling injuries for most of the season, finished seventh at the Big Ten Championships and is the 18th seed at 157.

“I don't know if he's banged up,” Brands said. “I think he's fine. I said it about Drake, and then I went and said it about all of our guys — I am not concerned about Jacori Teemer. Jacori Teemer is going to be at his best, like all of our guys are going to be at their best.

“I believe that it's that time of year. It’s time. They're interested in winning, pinning, scoring points in a period. That's the way that you're marching in your own head and in your own words. Hey, we're in a good place. We’re in a good place.”