What a season it was for NCAA wrestling fans! From Oklahoma State to Penn State, athletes from all programs put their best foot forward to satiate the fans’ need for thrill. With the post-season now hovering overhead, the wrestlers have a new challenge waiting for them, and the latest rankings should give us a general idea of where each of them stands. But Drake Ayala‘s place on one of these lists is baffling fans from everywhere.
The Iowa’s 133-pounder has had a pretty memorable 2024/25 regular season. Posting a 15-1 overall record, the Hawkeye junior has proved his worth at almost every chance he got. And still, as one ranking list puts Ayala behind a Lehigh star, fans couldn’t decide what to make of it.
Iowa Wrestling Media’s Ross Bartachek shared the latest InterMat rankings via a post on X on February 25. Captioned, “Where the Hawks fall in the rankings heading into the postseason,” the social media update revealed where the Iowa wrestlers fare going into the Big 10 and NCAA D1 championships. In the list, Drake Ayala can be seen ranked 2 in the 133lb weight bracket.
A closer inspection of the entire list shows Lehigh sophomore Ryan Crookham ranked at the top of the weight class. In January this year, Crookham suffered a broken elbow and Lehigh announced that the rising star would be out for the rest of the season while raking up a 5-0 record till then. And that’s exactly why fans couldn’t understand why Ryan should come ahead of Drake Ayala despite missing the action for so long.
Where the Hawks fall in the rankings heading into the postseason pic.twitter.com/e7Em8XaiMY
— Ross Bartachek (@rossbchek) February 25, 2025
“Yeah we haven’t seen Crookham for 2 months so idk why he’s still ranked,” one fan noted their amazement at InterMat’s decision to put Ryan ahead of the Iowa sensation.
The story is developing
The post Latest College Wrestling Rankings Raise Questions As Injured Star Ranked Above Drake Ayala and Others appeared first on EssentiallySports.