—Photo courtesy of Iowa athletics Iowa’s drake ayala has his hand raised after winning a match against Michigan on Friday night to earn the dual victory for Iowa.

IOWA CITY — Drake Ayala has been inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena for several marquee moments involving the Iowa wrestling team.

On Friday night, Ayala was able to enjoy one focused on himself and his fellow senior Hawkeyes.

The three-time Fort Dodge Senior High state champion secured a thrilling technical fall victory over Gauge Botero of Michigan in his final match at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, capping a furious rally by No. 7 Iowa to win the dual over the 10th-ranked Wolverines, 19-17.

Dean Peterson set the stage for the Ayala walk-off winner with a sudden-victory at 125 pounds in a ranked matchup.

Ayala, competing at 133 pounds, is now 8-6 on the season. He was one of six seniors honored along with Dean Peterson, Michael Calinedo, Patrick Kennedy, Gage Marty and Sebastian Robles.

The dual opened at 141, allowing Ayala to be in the final match of the evening. The technical fall for Ayala was his fourth of the season.

Carver-Hawkeye Arena has been good to Ayala, as he went 13-6 during his Iowa career on the home mats. Coming into the dual with Michigan, Ayala, Caliendo, Kennedy and Peterson owns 47 wins at home in their careers.

Ayala was also able to celebrate the dual with his brother, Dru Ayala, a redshirt freshman on the Hawkeye roster.

The two-time NCAA runner-up owns an overall career record of 66-16, including a 26-6 mark in duals and a 15-4 record in Big Ten Conference duals.

Earlier this year, the Hawks finished as runners-up at the National Duals Invitational, the fifth time in program history they have done that, and the first since 2015.

Iowa closes out the regular season at Purdue on Sunday followed by a trip to Stillwater, Okla. to face Oklahoma State on Sunday, Feb. 22. The Big Ten Championships begin March 7 in State College, Penn.