After year off, OU wrestler Stephen Buchanan fights back for third at NCAA Championships

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Stephen Buchanan was a two-time All-American before he transferred to Oklahoma in 2022.

Then he went through a laundry list of injuries that resulted in a redshirt year, which was followed by a coaching change — not to mention all the doubts that crept in after a year away from competitive wrestling.

All of it made Saturday even sweeter when he clinched his third-place finish at the NCAA Championships with a 9-4 decision over Cornell’s Jacob Cardenas in the 197-pound bracket at T-Mobile Center.

“It’s been a journey,” Buchanan said. “Coming back this morning, knowing you have two hard matches to gut out. They’re gutsy but they build you, so I’m grateful for these matches and grateful for the opportunity to be here. It feels great.”

Buchanan’s biggest scare came in Friday’s blood round — the round of the consolation bracket that cuts the field from 12 wrestlers to the eight who will be named All-Americans — when he and Rutgers’ John Poznanski found themselves heading to sudden-victory overtime tied at 5.

More: NCAA wrestling championships: Day 3 live coverage for Oklahoma State Cowboys, OU Sooners

Buchanan got the takedown for the win, and that eased his anxiety for the following matches, as he secured the Sooners' highest finish since Cody Brewer won the title in 2015 and took third in 2016.

“Still had nerves, still had the butterflies,” he said. “But I knew it didn’t matter, win or loss, I’m wrestling for God’s glory, not my own. That really just takes the fear and the pressure away. Being able to win those matches meant the world to me, but even if I would’ve lost, nothing would’ve changed.”

Buchanan, who is from Loyal, Wisconsin, was a two-time All-American at Wyoming during the first three years of college, but transferred to OU in the summer of 2022.

“I had some recurring injuries in my elbows, shoulders, knees,” he said. “So I decided to take off the year and it was a growing experience.”

Last offseason, OU went through a coaching change, bringing in Roger Kish and his staff.

“It was a hectic time, but all in all, it was a blessing,” Buchanan said. “Within a year, I had nine different coaches look at my style, look at my wrestling and help me with the little bitty pieces that make me a better wrestler. I think it showed this year.”

More: How Oklahoma State wrestler Izzak Olejnik fit in quickly with 'guys who are like-minded'

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: NCAA wrestling championships: OU's Stephen Buchanan finishes in third