Drake Ayala rounds out Iowa’s 10 NCAA wrestling qualifiers after returning from injury

LINCOLN, Neb. — Consider this a learning experience.

Iowa’s Drake Ayala is less than two months into his official college wrestling career and earned a chance to compete at the national tournament.

The Hawkeyes’ freshman 125-pounder placed eighth and earned one of 10 automatic NCAA berths at the Big Ten Wrestling Championships Sunday at University of Nebraska’s Pinnacle Bank Arena.

“It was good,” Ayala said. “I learned a lot. I’ll be ready to go in two weeks.”

Ayala had the unenviable task of replacing three-time NCAA champion Spencer Lee, who missed the season due to injury. His redshirt was removed Jan. 8 in a dual against Minnesota. Ayala will be part of the 33-man national field March 17-19 in Detroit.

“It’s cool,” Ayala said. “It’s my first NCAAs, so to qualify is cool but it was expected and I have a lot of goals coming up in these next two weeks. I’m excited and going to keep preparing. Ready to go.

“Just keep getting better. Keep trusting my coaches and it will come.”

Ayala missed time during the regular season with an injury of his own. He returned for the regular-season finale here at Nebraska. He demonstrated his toughness returning and helping the Hawkeyes qualify their entire lineup.

“I feel good,” Ayala said. “I’m well taken care of. We have the best staff in the country.”

Ayala (11-6) won two of his first three matches, falling by a point to Wisconsin runner-up Eric Barnett. Ayala clinched a national tournament berth with a major decision in the consolation bracket.

A high pace was the focus coming into the tournament. The biggest thing he took away from the weekend was the enforcement of what he’s picked up throughout his first season.

“Just learning more and more about myself each match,” Ayala said. “I was really prepared. We have the best coaches and teammates I could ask for. They had me well-prepared.”

Michael Blockhus places fifth

Minnesota 149-pounder Michael Blockhus placed fifth and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. He earned his second straight trip to the national tournament for the Gophers and third berth overall.

Blockhus was a three-time state champion and four-time finalist at Crestwood and New Hampton. He wrestled his first two years at Northern Iowa, starting at 141 pounds as a redshirt freshman. He was a National Wrestling Coaches Association honorable mention All-American after earning the 13th seed at the 2020 national tournament before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He will look to improve his 1-2 performance from last season.

Former Cyclone Austin Gomez wins title

Former Iowa State wrestler Austin Gomez stepped away from wrestling, announcing he was “medically retiring” from the sport in December of 2020. He returned to the sport, transferring to Wisconsin.

Less than 15 months later, Gomez is a Big Ten champion. Gomez (18-2) knocked off Ohio State’s top-seeded Sammy Sasso, 8-5, for the 149-pound title. He was dominant before the finals, notching a major decision in the quarterfinals. Second-seeded Gomez, who has an exciting and explosive style of wrestling, tossed Nebraska’s No. 3-seed Ridge Lovett for a 20-second pin in the semifinals.