Photo by Sam Janicki: Fort Dodge’s Drake Ayala reacts after defeating top-ranked Richard Figueroa in FloWrestling’s “Who’s No. 1” exhibition event in Austin, Tex. on Saturday night.

AUSTIN, Tex. – As he gets older, Fort Dodge’s Drake Ayala is learning more and more about himself as an athlete and, more importantly, a person.

Consider it a warning sign for future opponents.

Already one of the nation’s most highly-regarded high school wrestlers, Ayala served notice in a big way at FloWrestling’s “Who’s No. 1” exhibition event here on Saturday night. Ayala defeated Richard Figueroa – the country’s overall top-rated pound-for-pound competitor, according to MatScouts – with a 5-3 sudden victory that wasn’t as close as the score indicated.

Ayala, a two-time state champion for the Dodgers and a Top-10 recruit for the Class of 2021, has never really taken rankings or even results on a given day too seriously. After committing to the University of Iowa this past spring, the FDSH senior shed the weight of other people’s comments and criticisms and just focused on being comfortable in his own skin on and off the mat.

“When you go through (the recruiting process as a blue-chip prospect), you’re trying to impress a lot of people,” Ayala admitted. “You feel like you’re proving your worth to other college coaches and programs, and you can easily lose sight of who you are and (the ability to) be yourself.

Photo by Sam Janicki: Fort Dodge’s Drake Ayala works on top-ranked Richard Figueroa in FloWrestling’s “Who’s No. 1” exhibition event in Austin, Tex. on Saturday night.

“It was nice to get all of that out of the way when I committed to Iowa – not caring about or worrying what other people think from that point on. Just focus on getting better and looking within.”

Ayala may have been an underdog on paper in this bout, but he was never seriously threatened by Figueroa – a three-time California state champ and former Cadet Worlds freestyle runner-up who is headed to Arizona State University. Ayala remained the aggressor throughout the match, and Figueroa was only able to extend the match after Ayala surrendered a technical point on a violation for catching a finger in his opponent’s shirt during a takedown attempt.

“I just focused on constantly attacking,” said Ayala, who has won 91 consecutive high school matches. “He’s good – don’t get me wrong. But I’ve got to worry about myself. I never really considered myself to be an ‘underdog,’ per se…the rankings and everything else, whatever. I have no control over that either way.

“I’m not going to change my training or anything else just for him – or anyone else, for that matter.”

Ayala sent Dodger, Hawkeye, and the state of Iowa’s wrestling fans into a frenzy on social media with the performance. A little over two months ago, they were voicing their concern after Ayala suffered a rare defeat – losing by an 11-0 technical fall in an exhibition against University of Northern Iowa recruit and three-time West Sioux gold medalist Adam Allard.

Photo by Sam Janicki: Fort Dodge’s Drake Ayala celebrates after toppling top-ranked Richard Figueroa in FloWrestling’s “Who’s No. 1” exhibition event in Austin, Tex. on Saturday night.

“Who knows how the match would’ve gone (Saturday) if I hadn’t dealt with that (in July),” Ayala said. “It had been over a year since I lost…not that I was necessarily overconfident or anything, but there’s nothing wrong with having to deal with a little adversity and reset. You keep telling yourself you’re not the best and there’s always someone out there who can get you on any given day. Well, I got a taste of that (against Allard).

“He had a (size advantage) and I wasn’t able to neutralize it. I just didn’t go out there hot. But, bottom line: I wasn’t ready. No excuses. It just made me hungrier and want to work harder. Have I been thinking about (that loss) a ton? No. It doesn’t do any good to sit around and cry about it. But was it good for me? As long as you take something from it and get better because of it, yes. And I feel like I did that.”

It’s a big reason why Ayala’s victory over Figueroa elicited nothing more than a fist pump and brief reaction.

“I was excited (to get the win), yeah, but it’s not like I’m going to go out and celebrate it,” Ayala said. “That’s just not my style, and it’s not how this sport goes if you want to keep chasing (loftier goals). It’s one match. Not that I don’t appreciate the support – it means more to me than people will ever know. But that’s just the nature of social media and everything else. You can’t get caught up in the hype and the attention that goes with it.

“I love it, I’m thankful, I’m grateful for everyone back home and to represent the state of Iowa in this way, but I have to keep myself grounded and never get too high or too low.”

Ayala now shifts his attention to the prestigious Super 32 Challenge in Myrtle Beach, S.C. on Oct. 24-25, where he is entered at 126 pounds.

“I’ve never won it, so that’s been on my mind for a while,” Ayala said. “It’s less than three weeks away. You can’t rest on the success of one (tournament) or one match. There’s always something bigger coming up. So it’s time to get back to work.”