Iowa Hawkeyes Wrestler Drake Ayala Skyrockets 4 Spots to the Top of NCAA Rankings After a Clean Sweep Weekend

The Iowa Hawkeyes are known for producing some of the best athletes when it comes to Division 1 wrestling. With several great additions already in their team, both historically and presently, another one of their star wrestlers has got his hands on the top prize. Moreover, he instantly jumped four spots to claim this big feat.

Drake Ayala is a 125-pound wrestler who grapples for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Going strong in the 11th week of NCAA wrestling, the wrestling star now stands as the nation’s number-one wrestler in his weight class. In fact, he secured a clean sweeping weekend to reach his new elevated status.

The mighty leap by the Iowa Hawkeyes wrestler

Division 1 Wrestling’s ranking website, Intermat.com recently published the individual wrestler rankings for the 11th week of NCAA Division 1 Wrestling. The leaderboards showed the magnificent jump in ranking made by Drake Ayala. Notably, the other wrestlers on the board, which includes powerhouses like number 2 Matt Ramos and number 4 Eric Barnett, retained their rank from last week.

Anthony Noto was the previous first-rank holder in the 125-pound weight class. Unfortunately for Noto, he suffered an upsetting loss against Diego Sotelo, which made him crash down to the 10th position. However, while the first seat was up for grabs, nobody but the Iowa Hawkeyes star replaced Noto.

Drake Ayala emerged with a lossless weekend recently and is having a fantastic run against the wrestlers in his weight class. Notably, Ayala has only lost one match throughout the 2023-24 season. Moreover, the Iowa Hawkeyes wrestling superstar has triumphed over every ranked wrestler so far.

The dominating reign of Drake Ayala

Drake Alaya recently secured a win by a decision against Minnesota’s Patrick McKee. While this was the second time McKee failed to beat Ayala, other top-ranking wrestlers have also fallen against the Iowa Hawkeyes grappler. So far, Ayala has beaten number six Jore Volk, number seven Caleb Smith, and many more. While the second-ranking Matt Ramos also has several wins, he also has many losses.

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Presently, the Iowa Hawkeyes Wrestling Team stands in the third position. The first position has been hijacked by the Penn State Nittany Lions, while Missouri currently has the second spot. The Hawkeyes carry a clean and flawless season record so far. Will they be able to clinch the number one rank with Ayala on their side?

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