Standing at 5-foot-6 and competing in the 133-pound weight class, Byrd was able to beat his opponent - Drake Ayala of the University of Iowa - to win the title of best in his weight class nationally.

Not 365 days ago, Drake Ayala came up achingly short of a lifelong wrestling dream, losing in the NCAA final. Now the junior returns to the championship stage looking to take the final step beyond ...

The Illinois sixth-year senior took home the crowd in the 133-pound weight class, defeating Drake Ayala of Iowa in the championship match. Byrd becomes the first Illini wrestler to win a national ...

Drake Ayala got a glimpse of what Saturday night at the NCAA Wrestling Championships feels like last year. Ayala, a former three-time state champion at Fort Dodge Senior High, was the 125-pound ...

Drake Ayala is headed back under the bright lights of the finals at the NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships. The former three-time state champion wrestler for Fort Dodge Senior High scored a 6-1 ...

Iowa’s Drake Ayala and Ohio State’s Nic Bouzakis. More brackets 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships When: March 20-22 Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia TV: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU Streaming ...

With five podiums, two finalists and an individual champion, the Illinois Fighting Illini finished in fifth place at the 2025 ...