Iowa in third place at NCAA Championships after Day 2; David Carr defeats Keegan O'Toole

KANSAS CITY — Holy cow.

It must be the barbecue here on Kansas City, as we were delivered a round of 12 with quite a kick at the NCAA Wrestling Championships.

After two days, the Penn State Nittany Lions have officially locked up the team title as expected.

The Iowa Hawkeyes sit in third place behind four All-Americans and Drake Ayala's trip to the finals. He'll face No. 8 Richard Figueroa of Arizona State in the finals. Real Woods, Jared Franek and Michael Caliendo all will end the season with All-American honors alongside Ayala.

More: When Iowa wrestling's NCAA finalist streak was in question, Drake Ayala remained steady

Still, the Hawkeyes cannot cheer too loudly, with just eight team points separating the Hawkeyes from 10th-place Nebraska. The Iowa State Cyclones remain in the mix for a team trophy, sending David Carr to the finals with a barnburner win over Missouri's Keegan O'Toole.

Despite Yonger Bastida failing to make the podium, the Cyclones are in a tie for fourth place with Arizona State with 59.5 team points. Bastida said he broke his finger and was limited in what he could do on day two. Alongside Carr, Evan Frost, Anthony Echemendia and Casey Swiderski are All-Americans for Iowa State. That is the most All-Americans the Cyclones have had since 2009, not including the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

Northern Iowa's Parker Keckeisen is into the finals for the second time in his career and will face Oklahoma State's Dustin Plott for the third time this season in the finals. He's the only All-American for the Panthers, with Ryder Downey and Jared Simma each dropping in the blood round. As a result, Northern Iowa is in 14th place.

Here's a look at the team scores and finals matchups heading into Saturday:

Team scores after day two at the NCAA Championships

• 1st - Penn State (148 points)

• 2nd - Michigan (64.5 points)

• 3rd - Iowa (60 points)

• T4th - Iowa State and Arizona State (59.5 points)

• 6th - Cornell (58.5 points)

• 7th - Ohio State (57 points)

• 8th - Oklahoma State (55 points)

• 9th - Virginia Tech (53 points)

• 10th - Nebraska (52 points)

• 14th - Northern Iowa (34.5 points)

Finals matchups for the NCAA Championships

The finals will begin at 285 pounds on Saturday night at 6 p.m. central time.

• 125 pounds: No. 3 Drake Ayala (Iowa) vs. No. 8 Richard Figueroa (Arizona State)

• 133 pounds: No. 1 Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 8 Vito Arujau (Cornell)

• 141 pounds: No. 1 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) vs. No. 2 Beau Bartlett (Penn State)

• 149 pounds: No. 4 Caleb Henson (Virginia Tech) vs. No. 6 Austin Gomez (Michigan)

• 157 pounds: No. 1 Levi Haines (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Jacori Teemer (Arizona State)

• 165 pounds: No. 4 David Carr (Iowa State) vs. No. 2 Mitchell Messenbrink (Penn State)

• 174 pounds: No. 9 Carter Starocci (Penn State) vs. No. 6 Rocco Welsh (Ohio State)

• 184 pounds: No. 1 Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 3 Dustin Plott (Oklahoma State)

• 197 pounds: No. 1 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Trent Hidlay (North Carolina State)

• 285 pounds: No. 1 Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State) vs. No. 10 Lucas Davison (Michigan)

Get a recap of all the action here in Kansas City below and get prepped for what should be a dandy of a finals day on Saturday.

9:45: Yonger Bastida falls in blood round, more consolation results

Just a wild way for Bastida to end this tournament, going from the No. 2 seed and undefeated on the season going into the quarterfinal and not even making the podium here in Kansas City. He had been taken down just three times on the season coming into the tournament. In his final two matches of the season, he was taken down three times.

He'll be back next season for the Cyclones, using his COVID year. He concludes the season 26-2.

For the Hawkeyes, Real Woods won a second consolation match on the day with an 11-2 major decision over Minnesota's Vince Vombaur, ensuring he'll at least finish in sixth place tomorrow. Jared Franek dropped his bout to Cornell's Meyer Shapiro, so he'll wrestle Nebraska's Peyton Robb for seventh place tomorrow afternoon.

9:30: Parker Keckeisen onto the finals

Facing No. 4 Trey Munoz of Oregon State, he secured a 10-2 major decision victory to advance to the finals for the second time of his career. He'll face Dustin Plott of Oklahoma State for the third time this season, a guy Keckeisen beat by major decision in the Big 12 championships.

8:50: CARDIAC (DAVID) CARR!

What a match. What a moment.

Carr defeats O'Toole for the third time in five tries, winning in a 8-6 result. Trailing 6-5, he got a takedown with just 10 seconds remaining in the bout to advance to the finals and will face No. 2 Mitchell Mesenbrink of Penn State on Saturday night after Messenbrink beat Iowa's Michale Caliendo for the third time this season.

Carr had his family, coaches and even Iowa Hawkeye fans jumping for joy in Kansas City with the win of the tournament so far. Hear from Carr on how he got this match done below.

8:25: Iowa's Patrick Kennedy, Iowa State's MJ Gaitan fall in blood round

Kennedy was one period away from reaching All-American status, leading No. 1 Mekhi Lewis by a 3-2 score. Keennedy then chose neutral, looking to ice the match with another takedown, but conceded one to Lewis. He'll finish his season with an 18-7 ledger after starting off late due to knee scope surgery.

As a result of Kennedy's loss, Iowa will finish the season with four All-Americans. This is the first time since 2013 the Hawkeyes haven't had five or more.

Gaitan had a tough draw, facing No. 3 Edmond Ruth of Illinois for an All-American spot. He fought valiantly, but fell in an 8-6 result. The freshman finishes the season with a 22-9 record.

8:15: Jared Franek makes it four All-Americans for the Hawkeyes

UNI's Ryder Downey and Iowa's Jared Franek are two tough, defensive and top wrestlers, so it should come as no surprise that whoever got the takedown first would win this one.

Ultimately, it was Franek, who scored a takedown quickly after a Downey escape in the second period to earn All-American status for the second time. Downey, a Big 12 Champion, will end his freshman season with a 23-6 record.

8:00: Anthony Echemendia's late rally comes up short against No. 1 Mendez

Trailing 4-0 entering the third period, Echemendia recorded a three-point takedown 20 seconds into the frame. Ohio State's Jesse Mendez, the No. 1 seed at 141 pounds, was dinged for stalling, but held on for the 6-4 victory with an extra riding-time point.

At a minimum, Echemendia will still place sixth. If you had said that prior to the season beginning, that would have been a surprise. Overall, still a good tournament for the Cuba native regardless of what comes next.

7:50: Casey Swiderski wins frustrating match once again, becomes All-American

Swiderski on several occasions looked toward assistants Derek St. John and Brent Metcalf for a challenge bricks on takedowns he thought he earned, but they told him to continue wrestling. He did, eventually winning (2-1 sudden victory) in tiebreakers to secure an All-American spot for the first time of his career. In tiebreakers, Swiderski got an escape against No. 14 Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio State) in the first period. D'Emilio chose to go neutral and could not score.

It's once again the growth of Swiderski to control his emotions in critical moments to allow his talent to shine on the mat, and now, he'll keep wrestling.

7:30: Real Woods, Evan Frost advance in the blood round, become All-Americans

Woods takes the first of a pair of UNI-Iowa blood round matchups, defeating UNI's Cael Happel in a 5-2 decision to earn an Al-American bid for the fourth and final time of his career. His first period takedown on Happel was ultimately all he needed to get it done.

Happel falls after a gritty run in the consolations following his first round upset loss. He defeated No. 10 Tagen Jamison of Oklahoma State No. 8 Sergio Lemley of Michigan and No. 18 Cole Matthews of Pittsburgh (former All-American) to give him a shot at an All-American spot, but his loss will leave him one win short and with a 3-2 record here in Kansas City.

Frost, a freshman, defeated No. 20 Tyler Wells of Minnesota with his riding time advantage from a two-minute ride in the second period handing him the 2-1 decision.

7:20: Drake Ayala extends NCAA finalist streak for Hawkeyes

The streak lives on, as Ayala defeats Wisconsin's Eric Barnett. In the 1990 NCAA Championships, both Tom and Terry Brands reached the finals to start 33-consecutive years (not including the 2020 season canceled due to COVID-19) of having finalists at the NCAAs. Now, Ayala keeps their history alive.

Ayala was in quickly on a single-leg takedown, but was not initially awarded three points. After a lengthy review, Ayala was awarded three points and rode Barnett for the rest of the period. That takedown, ultimately was all he needed to secure a win, with Barnett getting an escape in the second and with Ayala fending off Barnett's attacks in the third after choosing to go neutral to start.

Ayala will face No. 8 Richard Figueroa of Arizona State in the finals, who Ayala said he faced twice in tournaments while in high school and has a 1-1 record against.

"It's going to be a rubber match for our childhood dreams, how's that?" Ayala said.

7:00: Semifinals are underway, Drake Ayala to kick things off again

Just as the quarterfinals started, Ayala is one of the opening matches of this session against Wisconsin's Eric Barnett for a spot in the finals. If Ayala wins, it'll extend Iowa's NCAA finalist streak dating back to 1990 another year. Follow here for updates.

3:30: Final results from the NCAA Championships' third session

After a busy Friday morning, Friday night's beloved blood round is set. Iowa's Drake Ayala and Michael Caliendo, Iowa State's Anthony Echemendia and David Carr, and Northern Iowa's Parker Keckeisen have already ensured sixth place finishes. However, several other wrestlers will be looking to seal All-American status in a win or go home match in the round of 12 consolations.

Here's a look at all the matchups and team scores.

Iowa

• 125-pound semifinal: No. 3 Drake Ayala vs. No. 10 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin)

• 133-pound round of 12 consolation: No. 15 Brody Teske vs. No. 4 Dylan Shawver (Rutgers)

• 141-pound round of 12 consolation: No. 3 Real Woods vs. No. 7 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa)

• 157-pound round of 12 consolation: No. 10 Jared Franek vs. No. 5 Ryder Downey (Northern Iowa)

• 165-pound semifinal: No. 6 Michael Caliendo vs. No. 2 Mitchell Messenbrink (Penn State)

• 174-pound round of 12 consolation: No. 12 Patrick Kennedy vs. No. 1 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech)

Iowa State

• 133-pound round of 12 consolation: No. 8 Evan Frost vs. No. 20 Tyler Wells (Minnesota)

• 141-pound semifinal: No. 5 Anthony Echemendia vs. No. 1 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State)

• 149-pound round of 12 consolation: No. 8 Casey Swiderski vs. No. 14 Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio State)

• 165-pound semifinal: No. 4 David Carr vs. No. 1 Keegan O'Toole (Missouri)

• 174-pound round of 12 consolation: No. 15 MJ Gaitan vs. No. 3 Edmond Ruth (Illinois)

• 285-pound round of 12 consolation: No. 2 Yonger Bastida vs. No. 13 Yaraslay Slavikouski (Rutgers)

Northern Iowa

• 141-pound round of 12 consolation: No. 7 Cael Happel (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 3 Real Woods (Iowa)

• 157-pound round of 12 consolation: No. 5 Ryder Downey (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 10 Jared Franek (Iowa)

• 174-pound round of 12 consolation: No. 28 Jared Simma vs. No. 18 Benjamin Pasiuk (Army)

• 184-pound semifinal: No. 1 Parker Keckeisen vs. No. 4 Trey Munoz (Oregon State)

3:30: Team scores after Session 3

• 1st - Penn State (86.5 points)

• 2nd - Michigan (50.5 points)

• 3rd - Arizona State (44.5 points)

• 4th - Iowa State (42 points)

• 5th - Iowa (41.5 points)

• 6th - Ohio State (36 points)

• 7th - Virginia Tech (35.5 points)

• 8th - North Carolina State (33.5 points)

• T9th - Missouri and Oklahoma State (33 points)

• 13th - Northern Iowa (26.5 points)

2:50: Let's do a quick vibe check of each Iowa program near end of Session 3

Iowa currently has Drake Ayala and Michael Caliendo onto the semifinals. Real Woods and Jared Franek will each wrestle in the blood round tonight for an All-American spot. Brody Teske and Patrick Kennedy are both still alive in the consolations as of now, while Caleb Rathjen, Zach Glazier and Bradley Hill have been eliminated.

For Iowa State, Anthony Echemendia and David Carr have reached the semifinals. Evan Frost, Casey Swiderski and Yonger Bastida will wrestle in the blood round tonight while MJ Gaitan and Will Feldkamp are one win shy of the blood round. Kysen Terukina and Cody Chittum have been eliminated.

For Northern Iowa, Parker Keckeisen is onto the semifinals. Jared Simma will wrestle in the blood round later tonight, but Cael Happel, Ryder Downey, and Wyatt Voelker need one more win to join them here in the consolations. Julian Farber and Jack Thomsen have been eliminated.

The final round of consolations before the semifinals and blood round are happening now, stay locked in here for updates.

2:20: Zach Glazier and Bradley Hill's seasons comes to an end

Entering the NCAAs 24-2, Glazier was one of the surprises of the college wrestling season. Finishing second behind Penn State's Aaron Brooks at the Big Ten Championships, he looked poised to do some damage.

Ultimately, he went 1-2 in Kansas City with his loss to Little Rock's Stephen Little (No. 9) end his season. Glazier and Little were tied at one entering overtime, but Little converted on a shot to topple over Glazier for a 4-1 sudden victory. Glazier expressed his visible frustrations with a few quick pounds of the mat before walking off.

He'll conclude his senior season with a 25-4 record and is expected to return to Iowa with an extra season of eligibility left due to the COVID-19 virus' impacts on college athletics.

Hill also lost his first consolation match, dropping an 11-2 major decision to Virginia Tech's Hunter Catka. His freshman season ends with a 21-8 ledger.

2:05: Michigan's Lucas Davison gets revenge, upends Iowa State's Yonger Bastida

Bastida began to make a name for himself with a win and highlight reel throw of Davison at the Cliff Keen Invitational earlier this year. This time, Davison got the highlight reel moment by scoring a last second takedown of Bastida on a single-leg shot.

That is Bastida's first loss of the season, not having lost a match since last year's NCAAs. He'll drop to tonight's blood round to attempt to clinch his second All-American honors.

2:00: Iowa State's MJ Gaitan and Will Feldkamp pick up crucial bonus points

Gaitan (14-4 major decision win over Jackson Turley of Rutgers) and Feldkamp (15-5 major decision over Reece Heller of Pittsburgh) did exactly what a coach wants on the backside, both winning by major decision to advance within one win of the blood round and adding some extra team points to the score.

Iowa State currently sits in third place with 41.5 team points, one more than fourth-placed Iowa.

1:50: Parker Keckeisen as consistent as it gets for UNI

Keckeisen is now a four-time All-American for the Panthers. defeating Navy's David Key in the quarterfinals (22-6 technical fall.

His teammate Jared Simma nearly defeated Michigan's Shane Griffith, a former national champion, in the quarterfinal. However, Griffith rallied late to avoid the upset and stop Simma's stunning path in the title bracket. Regardless, Keckeisen credited Simma for riling him up with his effort for that match.

Listen below to an interesting story from Keckeisen on how he's able to stay so consistent.

1:15: Michael Caliendo is Iowa's second semifinalist

With a dominant 9-4 decision over No. 3 Julian Ramirez of Cornell, Iowa has its second All-American of the season and its second semifinalist. He got to his offense and controlled from start to finish. After falling to guys like David Carr, Penn State's Mitchell Messenbrink and Wisconsin's Dean Hamiti in big losses, this is Caliendo's marquee win of the season. He'll now get Messenbrink for the third time this year, losing by technical fall the last time they wrestled.

"I know I'm up there with those guys," Caliendo said. "Some of my matches got taken away from me, even though the point differential was a bit bigger. I can hang with anybody and that match proves it."

Iowa's Patrick Kennedy, wrestling in the consolations, picked up a 5-3 decision over Campbell's Austin Murphy to stay alive.

1:00: Keegan O'Toole vs. David Carr Part V to go down on Friday night

With Carr securing his fifth All-American bid of his career in a 5-0 victory over Wisconsin's Dean Hamiti, he'll now face Keegan O'Toole for a fifth time in the last two season. O'Toole has pinned all three of his opponents thus far at the NCAAs, displaying just how well the reigning national champion is wrestling right now.

"I'm excited, that's a match I've been looking forward to," Carr said.

12:45: Jared Franek drops bout to Arizona State's Teemer in final moments

Franek was in on a single-leg shot on Temmer late in the third period, but as Teemer lifted above Franek's head and his knee twisted, referees blew the action dead for a potentially dangerous call. Teemer then scored a takedown from a neutral position to secure a 5-2 win.

Franek will need to win in the blood round later tonight to earn All-American status for the second time of his career. This also dropped Iowa to 2-3 during the third session to this point and 1-2 in the quarterfinals.

UNI's Ryder Downey stayed alive in consolations, defeating No. 22 DJ McGee in a dominant 15-0 technical fall. Iowa State's Cody Chittum fell to former All-American Michael Blockhus of Minnesota in a wild 14-13 decision. His tournament will conclude with a 1-2 record.

12:25: Casey Swiderski drops to consolations, Rathjen falls to Ohio State's D'Emilio

Swiderski wasn't able to get much going in his quarterfinal bout against No.1 Ridge Lovett of Nebraska, losing in a 14-4 major decision loss. He'll now wrestle in the blood round to try and get that elusive All-American honor.

Iowa's Caleb Rathjen tournament came to an end after his 7-2 loss to Dylan D'Emilio of Ohio State. He was 1-2 here in Kansas City and is the first Hawkeye to be eliminated from the tourney.

12:00: Real Woods drops to Lachlan McNeil, Echemendia reaches semifinals

Woods had a rematch with North Carolina's McNeil, who Woods beat convincingly at the Soldier Salute. This time, Woods and McNeil locked up for a tight match, tied at one with under a minute remaining. The two entered a mad scramble, but McNeil eventually fought his way on top as time expired.

With that, Ayala sits as Iowa's best chance to expand on the NCAA finalist streak that dates back to 1990.

For Iowa State, Anthony Echemendia secured a convincing 5-3 result over No. 4 Ryan Jack of North Carolina State. Not only is that huge for Echemendia to earn All-American status, it also is a big victory in the team race as NC State sits narrowly behind Iowa State in the standings.

He'll now face No. 1 Jesse Mendez of Ohio State for a spot in the finals. You can hear his press conference with reporters below, where he discusses his emotions following the win as well as his parents watching all the way from Cuba.

Northern Iowa's Cael Happel won another tough bout in the consolations, this time winning by major decision over Michigan's Sergio Lemley. He's won win away from the blood round.

11:45: Evan Frost drops tight bout with Daton Fix, Teske remains alive

Frost was tied with Fix at one entering overtime. Sitting at 0-2 on the year against Fix, Frost was much more prepared this time around to drag this one on. In tiebreakers, Frost had Fix on his back, but referees called a stalemate and Frost's time ran out after Fix got an escape for the 2-1 sudden victory.

Iowa's Brody Teske advanced in the consolations, winning by major decision (14-6) over Maryland's Braxton Brown.

11:30: Chaos at 125 pounds, Ayala highest-seeded remaining wrestler

In overtime, Ayala was in a dogfight once again with Troy Spratley. Tied at one, Ayala drug Spratley back to the center of the mat on a single-leg shot and brought him down for a takedown to achieve All-American status for the first time of his career.

On the mats surrounding Drake Ayala, No. 1 Braeden Davis of Penn State fell to No. 8 Richard Figueroa of Arizona State and No. 4 Matt Ramos of Purdue dropped as well. Now, Ayala (No. 3) is the highest-seeded wrestler remaining the 125-pound field and will face Wisconsin's Eric Barnett, a former All-American, in the semifinal round. These two faced in the consolations of the Big Ten Championships, with Ayala securing an 8-1 victory.

"I know what I'm capable of," Ayala said. "My teammates, my family, my coaches, they all know what I'm capable of. It's March, and I gotta go prove it."

Iowa State's Kysen Terukina had his career come to an end in the first consolation round of the day, losing by fall to North Carolina State's Jakob Camacho. He was 1-2 at the NCAAs.

11:00: Wrestling is underway in Kansas City, Ayala kicks things off

First whistles have been blown here in the T-Mobile Center, with Iowa's Drake Ayala taking on No. 6 Troy Spratley of Oklahoma State in one of the first matches of the day. Last time these two wrestled, it went down to overtime where Ayala got the takedown and back points to defeat Spratley. Let's see how close it is this time around as they square off for All-American status.

Eli McKown covers high school sports and wrestling for the Des Moines Register. Contact him at Emckown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @EMcKown23.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: NCAA Wrestling Championships semifinal recap, finals matchups