Jimmy Cinnabon Posted February 24 Posted February 24 As a 2 time, returning national finalist who now has a middling 9-7 record (including a 5-5 Big 10 record) and was just techfalled 19-3 by Jax, it's easy to say Drake Ayala regressed, got worn out in the Iowa room, HEW, etc. However, watching his matches, especially recently I don't think he is actually worse than previous years in which he reached the national finals. It's just that 133 is a historically deep weight this year with Byrd (returning champ 7th year senior), Davino (21-1, U17 team member), Jax Forrest (9-0, U23 champ), Blaze (19-0, U20 champ), Seidel (13-1, U20 team member), not to mention Frost, Larkin, Knox, Van Dee, Serrano, Fugitt and more... I think Drake is still the same guy and he could still conceivably make the finals for a 3rd time to keep Iowa's finalist streak alive.
RandolphTJones Posted February 24 Posted February 24 Brutal schedule. Props to him for wrestling each one.
Paul158 Posted February 24 Posted February 24 133 went from the weakest last year to arguably the deepest and the toughest weight. Ayala hasn't gotten worse its just that the field is much improved this year. So much improved that the champ from last year, Byrd barely gets any acknowledgement. Ayala is the same. This should be some great wrestling coming up in about 9 days. I can't wait.
MD152 Posted February 24 Posted February 24 37 minutes ago, RandolphTJones said: Brutal schedule. Props to him for wrestling each one. exactly correct!
MD152 Posted February 24 Posted February 24 16 minutes ago, Paul158 said: 133 went from the weakest last year to arguably the deepest and the toughest weight. Ayala hasn't gotten worse its just that the field is much improved this year. So much improved that the champ from last year, Byrd barely gets any acknowledgement. Ayala is the same. This should be some great wrestling coming up in about 9 days. I can't wait. well said....... Ayala is a top tier wrestler, unfortunately 133 is absolutely stacked and lets not forget Crookham on any given day that cat can beat anyone @ 133...... whoever you all are pulling for good luck, D1 wrestling has me at hello
wrestle87 Posted February 24 Posted February 24 2 hours ago, Jimmy Cinnabon said: As a 2 time, returning national finalist who now has a middling 9-7 record (including a 5-5 Big 10 record) and was just techfalled 19-3 by Jax, it's easy to say Drake Ayala regressed, got worn out in the Iowa room, HEW, etc. However, watching his matches, especially recently I don't think he is actually worse than previous years in which he reached the national finals. It's just that 133 is a historically deep weight this year with Byrd (returning champ 7th year senior), Davino (21-1, U17 team member), Jax Forrest (9-0, U23 champ), Blaze (19-0, U20 champ), Seidel (13-1, U20 team member), not to mention Frost, Larkin, Knox, Van Dee, Serrano, Fugitt and more... I think Drake is still the same guy and he could still conceivably make the finals for a 3rd time to keep Iowa's finalist streak alive. I’m sorry for being behind on lingo, what does HEW mean?
11986 Posted February 24 Posted February 24 1 minute ago, wrestle87 said: I’m sorry for being behind on lingo, what does HEW mean? had enough wrestling
BloodRound Posted February 24 Posted February 24 1 hour ago, MD152 said: and lets not forget Crookham on any given day that cat can beat anyone @ 133...... I haven't forgotten... he just needs to wrestle a postseason again to make it happen unfortunately.
MD152 Posted February 24 Posted February 24 12 minutes ago, BloodRound said: I haven't forgotten... he just needs to wrestle a postseason again to make it happen unfortunately. do you know what happened to him exactly? shoulder? I know he's out for this year, is he coming back or is it like Nagao over at PSU?
feet2back Posted February 24 Posted February 24 (edited) How about Peterson...Everyone thought he would get so much better in Iowa room...That hasn't happened and Iowa is paying some big $ to have him probably go 1-2 or 2-3 in Cleveland Edited February 24 by feet2back
IceMan Posted February 24 Posted February 24 I think it depends on if you look at Ayala's season as a whole as compared to the past month. If you look at his season as a whole purely from a results perspective, he has a few losses to opponents he beat last year (excluding Byrd, as their record against each other last year was 2-1 in Byrd's favor): Zan Fugitt - Wisconsin (lost 6-5 this year; beat him twice last year - TF 21-6 & Dec 6-1) Evan Frost - Iowa State (lost 11-5 this year; beat him last year 11-7) On the flip side, if you just look at the last month, he closed the gap with Ben Davino (lost earlier this year 10-4, most recently lost 4-2) and widened the gap with Jacob Van Dee (beat him last year 4-2, beat him this year 12-6). His biggest win going into the post season last year was Lucas Byrd (ranked #2 at the time). His biggest win going into the post season this year is Jacob Van Dee (currently ranked #10). No doubt that 133 is a totally different weight class this year compared to last year, but the results compared point towards some regression factoring in common opponents from last year to this year, in my opinion. If he can avenge any of his losses to Fugitt, Blaze, Davino, or Byrd at B1G's, I'll stand corrected on this take.
Jimmy Cinnabon Posted February 24 Author Posted February 24 44 minutes ago, feet2back said: How about Peterson...Everyone thought he would get so much better in Iowa room...That hasn't happened and Iowa is paying some big $ to have him probably go 1-2 or 2-3 in Cleveland He has pink hair though.
BloodRound Posted February 24 Posted February 24 B1Gs are gonna be a big indicator for me of whether or not Peterson can finally finish on the podium this year. He can hang with the best, but just seemingly falls apart on the backside when it matters most. And is his hair really pink now?
MLB9 Posted February 24 Posted February 24 Well and two years ago he was in a bracket where Braeden Davis was the overall #1. It seems both weights both years were pretty weak compared especially to what 133 is now.
KCMO2 Posted February 24 Posted February 24 5 hours ago, Jimmy Cinnabon said: I think Drake is still the same guy and he could still conceivably make the finals for a 3rd time to keep Iowa's finalist streak alive. Not seeing it. He'd have to have multiple upsets of guys who are just better than him.
GimJustafan Posted February 24 Posted February 24 5 hours ago, Jimmy Cinnabon said: I think Drake is still the same guy and he could still conceivably make the finals for a 3rd time to keep Iowa's finalist streak alive. think Iowa may need someone else to keep that streak going / 133 is a meat grinder
fishbane Posted February 24 Posted February 24 133 was an odd weight last year. The four semifinalists from the 2024 didn't return. Fix and Arujau graduated and Ragusin and Crookham were injured. The 4 returning AAs Bailey, Frost, Shawver, and Orine all DNPed. Lucas Byrd who always seemed like a mid AA his entire career and not a national title contender won NCAAs. Ayala and Iowa as a whole has wrestled a really tough schedule this year with 7 duals against the top 5 teams as well as Minnesota, Illinois, and Michigan who are top 10 teams.
Dogbone Posted February 24 Posted February 24 3 hours ago, feet2back said: How about Peterson...Everyone thought he would get so much better in Iowa room...That hasn't happened and Iowa is paying some big $ to have him probably go 1-2 or 2-3 in Cleveland What?!? Where do people come up with this stuff. Peterson only has losses to #1, #2, and the returning national finalist who he has also beat this year. He also beat Poulin who he lost to the year before. Peterson has never AA'd and no one thought he was going to jump to the top of the podium just because he went to Iowa. He is not a title contender but he remains in a good position to become a 1 time AA.
KennyEBHS Posted February 24 Posted February 24 Drake is worn out. Iowa has a knack for doing that to its wrestlers.
Kov88 Posted February 24 Posted February 24 Very deep , going to be fun to watch…. Some really good wrestlers aren’t going to AA this year
ironmonkey Posted February 24 Posted February 24 1 hour ago, Dogbone said: What?!? Where do people come up with this stuff. Peterson only has losses to #1, #2, and the returning national finalist who he has also beat this year. He also beat Poulin who he lost to the year before. Peterson has never AA'd and no one thought he was going to jump to the top of the podium just because he went to Iowa. He is not a title contender but he remains in a good position to become a 1 time AA. Goodale fans like this narrative. Most Rutgers fans are rooting for Peterson and aren't concerned about image management for his former coach
juniorvarsity Posted February 24 Posted February 24 He is definitely having a worse year than the last two. Not sure if he he is a worse wrestler. His draws at NCAAs were pretty favorable for him. In 2025 - Bouzakis in quarters(who he whooped and looked great), and then Fugitt in the semis(who he had teched earlier in the year then beat at Big Tens). In 2024 he beat Spratley in the quarters in SV(he also beat him in their dual in SV), and then he beat Barnett close in the semis (he also beat him close at Big Tens). He earned his draw. He beat those guys earlier in the year and then saw them again at NCAAs. Ayala may have one of the toughest schedules in college wrestling. Maybe someone else can find a tougher schedule, but he's wrestled all the stud freshman except Seidel. And he wrestled Byrd(returning champ), Fugitt(4th) Knox(7th and R12), Van Dee(7th), Frost(6th and R12). The problem is that he has only beaten Van Dee. He hasn't beaten any of those guys I named, which is I why we've been talking about Ayala all season.
El Luchador Posted February 24 Posted February 24 5 hours ago, 11986 said: had enough wrestling Hawk eye wrestling
Le duke Posted February 25 Posted February 25 1 hour ago, Dogbone said: What?!? Where do people come up with this stuff. Peterson only has losses to #1, #2, and the returning national finalist who he has also beat this year. He also beat Poulin who he lost to the year before. Peterson has never AA'd and no one thought he was going to jump to the top of the podium just because he went to Iowa. He is not a title contender but he remains in a good position to become a 1 time AA. I'm a classic "paid Iowa hater", but I have to agree with this. And, unlike a lot of Iowa wrestlers this season, his effort level is high and he's truly trying to win each match as opposed to wrestling to not lose/steal it late.
CTMopar Posted February 25 Posted February 25 No...Has wrestled the same way for so many years everyone knows what is coming and doesn't have anymore to offer!!!
Aidan Gore Garner, North Carolina Class of 2027 Committed to North Carolina State Projected Weight: 157, 165
Will Clanton New York Military Academy, New York Class of 2027 Committed to Mercyhurst Projected Weight: 125
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