CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee – A trio of Hawkeye wrestlers took home top four finishes at the Southern Scuffle at McKenzie Arena on Sunday. Freshman Drake Ayala picked up a third place finish while redshirt freshman Cullan Schriever and senior Aaron Costello finished fourth to cap off their weekends.

Ayala began his day with a hard-fought 6-5 loss against Minnesota All-American Patrick McKee in the 125-pound semifinals. In the consolation semifinals, Ayala got back in the win column, defeating Appalachian State’s Caleb Smith in a 5-2 decision. In the third-place match, Ayala trailed 7-0 entering the third period. The freshman scored a takedown at the edge of the mat with 1:36 remaining, and eventually scored three more takedowns in the period. Trailing by two in the final seconds, Ayala secured his final takedown followed by four nearfall points to win a 14-10 decision in spectacular fashion.

Schriever dropped his 133-pound semifinal bout to the bracket champion, Michigan State’s Rayvon Foley via 5-0 decision, before rebounding with a 9-2 decision over Missouri’s Trey Crawford in the consolation semifinals. In the third-place match, Chattanooga’s Brayden Palmer defeated Schriever, 4-2.

In his semifinal matchup Costello fell to Lewis Fernandes of Cornell via major decision, 9-0. Costello then won by decision, 7-5, to Tyrie Houghton of North Carolina State in the consolation semis to earn his way to the third-place match. In the third-place matchup, North Dakota State’s Brandon Metz defeated Costello by decision, 4-1.

At 141 pounds, freshman Wyatt Henson finished his weekend going 3-0 on the day. Henson defeated Appalachian State’s Heath Goyner, 6-2, to begin his day and followed it up with a win over Rider’s Quinn Kinner (7-3). Henson won via medical forfeit to finish fifth.

Redshirt freshman Patrick Kennedy and senior Brennan Swafford each wrestled back to sixth-place finishes.

Up Next: The No. 1 Hawkeyes play host to No. 14 Minnesota on Jan. 7 at 8 p.m. (CT). The dual will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.