CLEVELAND — Brackets are set for the upcoming NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships, as former Fort Dodge Senior High standout Drake Ayala is among those in pursuit of a national title yet again.

Ayala, a three-time state champion for the Dodgers and a two-time national runner-up for the Iowa Hawkeyes, is the No. 6 seed at 133 pounds. Ayala will face Marcel Lopez of SIU Edwardsville in the opening round when wrestling begins on Thursday, March 19, at Rocket Arena.

Joining Ayala are eight of his Hawkeye teammates. Six of them earned Top-10 seeds.

Dean Peterson, Nasir Bailey, Michael Caliendo, Patrick Kennedy, Angelo Ferrari and Ben Kueter were seeded among the Top-8 at their respective weights. Ryder Block and Gabe Arnold are the other qualifiers for Tom Brands and Iowa.

The Hawkeyes have sent at least nine wrestlers to 14 consecutive NCAA Championships.

Ayala, a senior, entered the season with a record of 65-16, including a 21-3 mark last year on his way to a second consecutive appearance in the NCAA finals. He is 13-8 this season, finishing third this past weekend at the Big Ten Championships — highlighted by a victory over defending national champion Lucas Byrd of Illinois.

Iowa State will have 10 wrestlers in action at the event, led by No. 1 seed Yonger Bastida at heavyweight. Rocky Elam is the No. 2 at 197 pounds, and Anthony Echemendia is No. 4 at 141.

Nine of the 10 Cyclone qualifiers earned Top-16 seeds. Stevo Poulin, Garrett Grice, Jacob Frost, Vinny Zerban, Connor Euton, MJ Gaitan and Isaac Dean are the other qualifiers for former Humboldt state wrestling champion and current ISU head coach Kevin Dresser.

Northern Iowa is sending four grapplers to nationals. Ryder Downey is the No. 11 seed at 165 pounds, Caleb Rathjen is the No. 14 at 149, Jared Simma the No. 17 at 174, and Nick Fox the No. 29 at 184.

Wrestling will air live on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, with all eight mats available on ESPN+.