Iowa men’s wrestler Drake Ayala continues to cement himself as one of the top wrestlers at 125 pounds.

After securing his highest-ranked win of the season against Nebraska’s seventh-ranked Caleb Smith, Ayala increased his win streak to nine with an 8-5 victory over Minnesota’s No. 18 Patrick McKee on Monday. Ayala is now 15-1 this season.

Fifth-ranked Ayala gave up a takedown in the first period against McKee but remained calm. He scored a takedown with 11 seconds left in the second period to grab the lead and then sealed the match in the final two minutes with another takedown.

“That’s a quality opponent there, and we don’t go to sleep on him. Drake Ayala doesn’t go to sleep,” head coach Tom Brands said. “Drake Ayala put himself back in that matchup after giving up that first takedown and ended up on top.”

Ayala and McKee faced one another at the Soldier Salute earlier this season, and Ayala won, 5-4. Before that Soldier Salute matchup, Ayala was 0-4 all-time against McKee.

After Iowa’s 22-9 win over Minnesota, Ayala said it felt good to come out on top against a wrestler he struggled with early in his career, but the Hawkeye said there’s “a lot he has to get better at.”

Ayala said he doesn’t think there’s a magic recipe for success on the mat. Instead, he thinks his pure love for the sport and continuing to practice each day will propel him to the win column.

“I think each and every time out I’m getting better and better. So I just have to keep that train rolling,” Ayala said.

Speaking of trains, Iowa will be back at Carver on Friday to take on the Purdue Boilermakers, who boast the nation’s second-ranked 125-pounder in Matt Ramos.

That name probably sounds familiar to many Hawkeye fans — and not for good reason. Ramos defeated Iowa’s three-time national champion Spencer Lee in the 2023 NCAA semifinals, forcing the Hawkeye to his back and pinning him in 6:59.  The loss snapped Lee’s perfect 18-0 record at the NCAA Tournament, his 58-match winning streak, and any hopes of him becoming Iowa’s first four-time national champion. Ramos ended up losing in the title match.

Ramos is 14-3 this season, with losses to Nebraska’s Smith and Stanford’s Nico Provo in the Cliff Keen Invitational and high school junior Marcus Blaze in the Clarion Open.

“It’s the next one on the calendar, so it’s the biggest one,” Ayala said of his match with Ramos. “I got to be ready to go — I will be.”