Bio: Buchanan, Stephen - Two-Time All-American (Wrestler - 2022)

Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
 
Surnames: Buchanan, Brown, Stout, Elam, Warner, Bastida, Bryant, Tourdot, Jackson

----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 3/30/2022

Buchanan Becomes Two-Time All-American (Wrestler - 2022)



Former Neillsville-Greenwood-Loyal wrestler Stephen Buchanan displays the third-place trophy he earned at the NCCA Division 1 Wrestling Championship. He was named an All-American for being among the top eight wrestlers
in his weight class. Submitted photo

By Valorie Brecht

A former Neillsville-Greenwood-Loyal (NGL) wrestler has received the honor of being named an All-American for the second year in a row.

Stephen Buchanan, a 2019 Loyal graduate, took third place in the 197-pound weight class at the NCAA Division 1 Tournament March 19 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI. There are 10 weight classes in the tournament, with 33 wrestlers in each class. The top eight finishers in each class are named an All-American.

Buchanan improved from last year when he placed eighth in the tournament. He is now one of only four two-time All-Americans in University of Wyoming program history. Buchanan was proud of his accomplishment but hoping for more.

“It was good; it was a good feeling for sure,” said Buchanan. “It’s not what I wanted, so it was disappointing in that way. I wanted to get that first place for my team. But it was cool to represent Loyal and the University of Wyoming.”



Stephen Buchanan wrestles 31-seeded JT Brown of Army West Point in the first round of the
NCAA Division 1 Tournament at 197 pounds. Buchanan, who is from Loyal,
won five of six matches in the tournament and took third place. Submitted photo

Buchanan was ranked number two in his bracket. After defeating JT Brown of Army West Point and Luke Stout of Princeton the first day of the tournament, Buchanan wrestled against seven-seeded Rocky Elam of the University of Missouri in the quarterfinal. They had already faced off earlier in the season and Buchanan won. This match had a repeat result, with over three minutes of riding time for Buchanan as he cruised to a 4-0 win.

Buchanan then faced six-seeded Jacob Warner of the University of Iowa. He knew Warner would be a tough challenge as he lost to him last year. Unfortunately, Warner got the upper hand and won by 6-4 decision.

Buchanan said although the loss was a bitter pill to swallow, his coach encouraged him.

“My coach said I have to get the next best thing, even though the final is not an option,” Buchanan said.

Buchanan went on to do just that. The second day of the tournament, he took on number-10 Yonger Bastida of Iowa State University. Buchanan had already taken on Bastida twice this season and won both times. In this match, after giving up an early takedown, Buchanan took control with his own takedown and went on to get the 4-3 win.

“It was another tough match. I had to wrestle hard and wrestle on top, grinding it out,” said Buchanan.

In the third-place match, Buchanan took on Elam again.

“This time, I had his feel down and knew the way he wrestles, so it was a lot more dominant match,” said Buchanan, who ground out the 1-0 win to secure third place. On the season, Buchanan finished 28-2 and won 15 of his last 16 matches. He also helped that Cowboys to their first top 25 finish in the NCAA tournament since the 2017-18 season. The team took 23rd place with 21 points.

It meant a lot to the crowd back home to watch Buchanan compete on the national stage once again. Buchanan’s former coach, Scott Bryant, had a lot of great things to say.

“Just like last year I am very proud of Stephen and his accomplishments,” Bryan wrote in an email. “He was one of the hardest working wrestlers who went through the NGL wrestling program. It is exciting to watch Stephen continue his career at a Division 1 collegiate level in Wyoming. His hard work continues to pay off,”

Buchanan’s collegiate performance continues a pattern of success for this athlete. He was a three-time high school state qualifier during his NGL career. He placed sixth at state as a sophomore and claimed the state title his junior and senior years. Then, he worked hard enough to wrestle on the biggest stage.

“It’s pretty amazing when I’m watching the NCAA National Wrestling Tournament on national TV and see Stephen giving it his all while thinking, ‘I got to actually help coach this guy,’” wrote Bryant.

“There are a lot of people in the Neillsville, Greenwood, Loyal and other communities who continue to follow Stephen’s wrestling career. People talk to me about Stephen all the time. The range of age is wide, from older adults down to younger, school-age kids. It is great to see they are all still watching.

“When the younger athletes ask me about Stephen, I talk about what a great work ethic he has and how he never gave up. He gave everything he had every time he was on the mat. He put a lot of extra time preparing during his high school career. Besides our wrestling practice, Stephen would also go to weightlifting sessions, extra wrestling practices and fitness workouts on his own. Stephen is a man of great character and an inspiration for many others who look up to him.”

After graduating in 2019, Buchanan attended the University of Wyoming that fall and qualified for the national tournament in 2020, but it was cancelled due to COVID-19. He and the other athletes affected by that received an extra year of eligibility, so he will have two more years of wrestling at the collegiate level.

Buchanan had a week off to rest after the national tournament, with plans to resume training after that. He will also take part in wrestling camps over the summer. He was already looking ahead to his future goals.

“I want to keep climbing up the ladder and have two years as national champion. “That’s my goal,” he said.

After college, Buchanan said he was considering either furthering his athletic career or getting into coaching.

Buchanan expressed gratitude for those who helped him come this far.

“First, I want to thank God for making me the man I am today. I also want to thank my family. I want to thank Bill Tourdot [former Osseo-Fairchild School District superintendent and wrestling mentor] and Cale Jackson [former Loyal School District superintendent] for helping me my senior year and taking me to tournaments in different states to get my name out there, and my college and high school coaches for everything they taught me.”