Iowa’s Drake Ayala, Iowa State’s David Carr and UNI’s Parker Keckeisen advance to NCAA wrestling finals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Earlier this season, Drake Ayala was asked how he would describe the 125-pound weight class in 2023-24 after so many previous All-Americans and No. 1-ranked wrestlers had been beaten.

The Iowa sophomore responded with one simple word: “Mine.”

That phrase is getting closer to reality after the native of Fort Dodge defeated Wisconsin’s Eric Barnett, 3-2, in one of two semifinals that were held in T-Mobile Center Friday night.

With a victory Saturday night over Arizona State’s Richard Figueroa, who won the other semifinal over Lock Haven’s Anthony Noto in the semifinals, Ayala may indeed own the lightest weight class in college wrestling.

“I’ve said this in probably every interview ever, but I know what I'm capable of, and I know how good I can be and how good I am,” said Ayala, who used a first-period takedown to beat Barnett. “I just have to prove it in March and now I'm here in the finals and you (reporters) understand why I said that.”

This is the same wrestler, who pulled his freshman redshirt two years ago to compete in place of an injured Spencer Lee at 125, which also earned him a first visit to the NCAAs before taking a redshirt last winter with the return of the former three-time national champion.

“My journey has been different,” said Ayala, who improved his season’s record to 27-4. “I have struggled through some things that a lot of people don't know about these last two years. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter to my opponents, so it doesn't matter and I'm here and I'm grateful to be here with this opportunity and I've gotta finish it off tomorrow.”

Iowa State’s David Carr and Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen may be saying the same thing, advancing to the finals for a second straight year after settling for second in 2023.

  Buy Photo

The 165-pound Carr scored a takedown with 10 seconds left to earn an 8-6 victory over Missouri’s two-time defending champ Keegan O’Toole, who not only beat Carr in last year’s NCAA final, but two weeks ago at the Big 12 Championships.

“I just kept telling myself, keep wrestling, keep moving,” said Carr, who fell behind 6-4 when O’Toole scored a takedown with 53 seconds left. “To get to the scramble, I knew he was working on a takedown and I knew I gotta get out. I got out, there was 23 seconds on the clock, I look over at my coaches they were like, go get one, get two, solid attack and finish.”

Carr will face Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink, who beat Iowa’s Michael Caliendo, 17-9, in the other semifinal. If Carr can find a way to win, it will give the four-time All-American a second national championship with the first coming at 157 pounds in 2021.

After his victory, Carr celebrated with his teammates and family, including Nate Carr, a former three-time NCAA champ who gave his son some advice about handling the rivalry that Carr has had with O’Toole.

“He only won two Big 12 titles and he told me he once got pinned in the Big 12s and lost but then won the nationals,” said David Carr, who improved his record to 26-2. “He was like, ‘you got four Big 12 titles, you'll be all right. That loss (to O’Toole) was good.’ I make good adjustments off a loss. He saw that. That's pretty much when he told me, I would rather lose there and get it back at nationals.”

UNI’s Parker Keckeisen advances to 184 final

  Buy Photo

Keckeisen, a four-time All-American, will be back in the 184-pound final, which he lost to Penn State’s Aaron Brooks at the 2023 nationals in Tulsa. The top-ranked Panther, who beat Oregon State’s Trey Munoz, 10-2 in the semifinals, believes he is ready to become Northern Iowa’s next NCAA champ when he faces Oklahoma State’s Dustin Plott Saturday night for the final. (The last UNI wrestler to win a championship was Drew Foster, also at 184 pounds, in 2019.)

“What did I learn? I learned that I gotta to be relaxed,” Keckeisen said about his 2023 finals loss. “Can't let the moment get too big. I have to stay composed. I can't just go back to the basics and wrestle hard. You've got to be able to take a deep breath and you've got to be able to set up your offense.

“I think my freshman year I just wrestled hard. It was like a bike sprint the whole time. So, like some of the best wrestlers in the world, we all got good cardio so I've got to get to my attacks and relax, breathe. That was one thing we worked on this summer; breathe, get better. Breathe, relax, win the next position.”

Penn State wraps up NCAA wrestling team title

  Buy Photo

Penn State clinched its third-straight NCAA title Friday. The Nittany Lions have six finalists and have scored 148 points, which is more than double what second-place Michigan (64 1/2) has scored heading into Saturday morning’s All-America round.

The Hawkeyes are in third place with thee other wrestlers who clinched top-eight finishes.

That includes Caliendo, a sophomore, and 141-pound senior Real Woods, who can both finish as high as third. Woods won two wrestlebacks after losing in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, 157-pound graduate Franek can finish as high as fifth place. The All-American, who like Caliendo transferred from North Dakota State, split two wrestleback matches after falling in the quarterfinals.

Iowa State stands in a tie for fourth place with Arizona State with 59 1/2 points.

In addition to Carr, three other Cyclones have qualified for a medal, including junior Anthony Echemendia, who lost 6-4 to Ohio State’s No. 1 seed Jesse Mendez, and still has a chance to finish third on Saturday morning. The same can be said of freshman Evan Frost, who won two wrestlebacks after losing in the quarterfinals to eventual finalist Daton Fix of Oklahoma State. Meanwhile, 149-pound Casey Swiderski can finish as high as fifth after splitting two wrestlebacks.

Northern Iowa stands in 14th place with 34 1/2 points and no other Panther will earn a medal after Cael Happel (141), Ryder Downey (157) and Jared Simma (174) lost in the blood round.