Buchanan becomes NCAA national champion wrestler

By Valorie Brecht Driven by perseverance and guided by faith, Stephen Buchanan recently secured the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship, cementing his legacy as a first-class wrestler.

Buchanan, a Loyal native, won the championship in the 197-pound weight class, becoming an All-American wrestler for the fourth time (the top eight finishers in each weight class earn All-American status). Ending his season with a 27-1 record, Buchanan also became the first wrestler in NCAA history to earn All-American status at three different schools, having competed at the University of Wyoming, Oklahoma, and Iowa.

The 2025 championship tournament took place over three days, March 20-22, in Philadelphia, withBuchanan’sfinal match occurring Saturday night against Penn State redshirt freshman Josh Barr (22-3), who was making his first finals appearance.

“Josh Barr is very talented. It was challenging. I had faced him earlier in the year. As a freshman, he had that spring to him and a lot of energy. You know he was going to keep fighting till the last second,” Buchanan said.

Still, heading into the match, “I was not as nervous (as one would expect),” said Buchanan. “I was actually more nervous for the semifinals than the finals. But I still had a lot of nerves, because I had the realization that it was the last match of my collegiate career. Win or lose, it would be over. But when I started wrestling, all the nerves went away.”

His coach told him not to worry about getting tired, because it was his last match, and just to put it all on the line. That’s exactly what Buchanan did.

Buchanan said his offensive strategy allowed him to stay strong.

“I definitely had good coaches, who told me to keep riding him. I believe my offensive riding took it out of him.”

In the first period, Buchanan got two warnings for a stalling call.

“When we got to the third period, once I was able to get to my feet, all I needed to do was not get a stalling call,” said Buchanan.

He defeated Barr 5-2 after eight minutes of intensity.

After winning, he lifted his eyes high, then knelt on the mat with his head bent low and thanked God for what he had accomplished. He sprung to his feet and let the referee raise his arm in victory as he circled the middle of the mat. After shaking the opposing coaches’ hands, he ran to his side of the mat to embrace his coach and his mother, as teammates, other coaches, and his family all cheered elatedly.

“It was a moment of gratitude, thankfulness, and honestly a little bit of relief that all the work paid off,” said Buchanan. “I just felt gratitude to God, realizing all the doorways He’s opened up and all the people He’s put in my life. I’m so thankful to God. I spent some time with Him before the match and just realized that whether I win or lose, He’ll be there for me. And I got to share that moment with my family, teammates, and my coach. It’s definitely a moment I’ll remember for a long time.”

Buchanan said he has become more confident in his top game this year, which was a big part of him finally earning that coveted first-place spot. “My top game has helped me win a lot of matches this year. That placement helps you gain a lot of points, but also drains your opponent energywise and opens up more opportunities on your feet. I got more comfortable riding my opponent at Oklahoma, but it really blossomed at Iowa. When I was at Wyoming, I was always getting taken down first and then I would come back to win. But in my later years at Wyoming, I got more on top of my offense, more on top of my feet. Then at Oklahoma, I got better at the ride. At Iowa, I feel like I was able to mature in all areas, offensively and defensively, and get better at staying on my feet and not getting taken down.

“I’ve always been good at escaping — I’ve never struggled to get out when I was on the bottom, but I’ve struggled on the top. So, improving on that comes with a maturity in your body, but it’s also a mindset of putting energy into the ride. A lot of guys are scared to put that energy in when they’re on top, because they’re afraid they’re not going to have enough energy for later. But when you ride guys for long enough, it opens up opportunities in the third period… This year, I committed to riding guys until you can almost feel their lungs burning. That’s when you finally let up.”

Buchanan, who earned his bachelor’s degree in multidisciplinary studies from the University of Oklahoma and is currently a graduate student, has had a long and storied

Please see Champ, page 17

Above: The referee raises Stephen Buchanan’s hand in victory after he defeated Josh Barr on March 22 at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship in Philadelphia to be named the top 197-pound college wrestler in the country. Buchanan is a Loyal High School graduate and wrestled in the Neillsville-Greenwood-Loyal (NGL) program for seven years. To left, Buchanan is congratulated on a job well done. Although he made it to the national tournament three times before, this was his first time walking away with the gold.

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wrestling career, marked by some adversity.

He started wrestling as a sixth grader in the Neillsville-Greenwood-Loyal (NGL) cooperative program. He placed sixth at state as a sophomore, first as a junior, and took first again as a senior. His success was due in no small part to then-Loyal School District Administrator Cale Jackson. Jackson drove Buchanan to Osseo-Fairchild (O-F) High School at least once, if not twice, a week to train in freestyle wrestling with then-O-F Administrator Bill Tourdot.

“He (Jackson) saw I had potential before anyone else knew who I was,” said Buchanan.

Despite his success as a state champion, Buchanan didn’t always plan to pursue wrestling at the collegiate level.

“It was late (when I decided to pursue wrestling), probably my senior year,” said Buchanan. “I had always wanted to be an NFL football player, so I had trained for that. Wrestling I was better at, but I had a passion for football. But when I got a scholarship to attend the University of Wyoming for wrestling, I changed to go after that. I had always wanted to be a D1 athlete and I did achieve that.”

Buchanan attended the University of Wyoming in Laramie starting in 2019. However, just before the national tournament, COVID began running rampant and the tournament was cancelled. Athletes were given another year of eligibility.

“I barely got into the national tournament my freshman year. I got seventh, I think, at the Big 12 tournament. Honestly, the national tournament getting cancelled was probably the best thing for me,” said Buchanan.

One memory that stands out from his freshman year was earning his first ranked win against Dakota Geer.

His second year of college, Buchanan again qualified for the national tournament and took eighth place there. The following year, he took third.

His fourth year of college, Buchanan took a red shirt year. “My body was breaking down a bit; I had some lingering injuries and my body needed a break,” said Buchanan. “My coach was also transferring to another university.”

Buchanan ended up transferring to the University of Oklahoma, following his coach Teyon Ware. He wrestled his fifth year at Oklahoma, again making it to the national tournament and again placing third.

“During my year at Oklahoma, I tore my meniscus and had to wrestle with that the second half of the season. That was hard because I couldn’t wrestle the way I wanted to. It was not the greatest Big 12 tournament because I knew I could do better,” said Buchanan.

He transferred to Iowa for his sixth and final season, wrestling under the guidance of Olympic medalists Tom and Terry Brands.

“At Iowa, my passion has grown for wrestling as a sport. Before that, I had thought of it like my job. But this past year I started not just liking it, but building a love and passion for the sport, and when that happens, it changes your perspective on everything — how you practice, how you show up,” said Buchanan.

His season culminated in him earning the top place on the national stage.

Buchanan’s college career is unique in having spanned over six years. He said that to sustain wrestling at a high level as he’s gotten older, he’s had to discipline himself.

“I don’t recover as fast as I did as a freshman, but I also have the knowledge of what I’ve been taught. Now that I’m older, I have more knowledge to do things the right way. I’ve had to focus more on recovery, nutrition, and sleep in order to perform this year.”

He also had to “trust the training regimen and trust the coaches” through the transition from one college to the next.

Buchanan doesn’t have plans to slow down anytime soon. He will conclude his studies at the completion of this school year but continue wrestling at the Hawkeye Wrestling Club, which uses the same training facility as the University of Iowa and is under the leadership of former Olympic wrestler Daniel Dennis. Buchanan has set his sights on wrestling freestyle in the Olympics.

“It’s a different style than folkstyle. Throughout college, I did folkstyle wrestling but anything beyond that is freestyle. My goal is to be the freestyle world champion or freestyle Olympic champion,” said Buchanan. “After that I would like to possibly coach.”

Buchanan plans to start training this summer. There are various qualifying tournaments in which a wrestler has to place high enough in order to advance to the World Championships, which are held every year. This year’s World Championships will be Sept. 13-21 in Croatia. The next Summer Olympics will be in 2028.

Buchanan credits a former coach with instilling in him the drive to always shoot higher and not be afraid to set ambitious goals.

“I remember a conversation I had with Mark Branch (University of Wyoming wrestling coach). I told him, ‘I want to be a two-time national champion’ and he said, ‘Why not four?’ He challenged me and I thank him for giving me that mindset. If I have the opportunity to go for the World Championships now, why not do it? If I have the opportunity, why not try? If you fail, you fail, but at least you tried.”

Although he’s accomplished so much on the mat and has a lot to look forward to, Buchanan said that for him, wrestling goes far beyond the accolades.

“The best thing that comes from wrestling is, it pushes me closer to God. I’ve learned to lean on Him every time,” said Buchanan.

He said he had a lot of coaches, friends, and an FCAleader that encouraged him in his walk with God.

“Teyon Ware was a huge help, because I had been falling off and he helped me get back on track. Also (fellow wrestlers) Job Greenwood and Tate Picklo,” said Buchanan.

He also took inspiration from athletes such as wrestler Aaron Brooks, bronze medalist at the 2024 Summer Olympics and a devout Christian.

Buchanan said his faith has grown and matured over the years, and he couldn’t be more grateful.

“At first, I was using God as a lucky rabbit’s foot, as in, ‘If I have a relationship with God, He’ll help me win.’ Then it turned into, ‘Why is a relationship with God so important?’ Then my walk opened up and it turned into, ‘Do I even want to walk with Jesus?’ And now that I do, how do I walk with Jesus? As an athlete, we often have an attitude of perfection. But I came to the realization that I can’t do anything for God, but I can do life with Him — every practice, every failure, every victory. It’s not a performance. Whether failure or victory, He’s right there with me.”

As he moves into the next phase of his athletic career, Buchanan feels an immense amount of gratitude, knowing he wouldn’t have gotten to where he is today without an incredible support system.

“There’s so many people I could thank,” said Buchanan. He thanked his parents, Stephen and Kerline; all his siblings; Cale Jackson and Bill Tourdot; and “all the people in the past who poured into me in wrestling and sharpened my tools to make me the wrestler that I am. I had many people helping along the way and I can’t thank them enough.”

And ultimately, “I just give God glory for all of it,” said Buchanan. “It’s been a long journey; I’ve come a long way. He put the right people in my path and I can’t thank Him enough for all He’s done for me.”

At left, Stephen Buchanan kneels and thanks God after winning his championship match. He said he has grown in his faith throughout his wrestling career.

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