Skip to main content
iowa logo

Buchanan's NCAA title offers more hope for Iowa wrestling's future

by:Tanner Lafever•03/23/25•

TannerLafever

Stephen Buchanan
On Saturday night, Stephen Buchanan became the 56th different Hawkeye to win an NCAA wrestling title. (Photo Credit: Eric Hartline/Imagn Images)

The phrase “It means the world” has dual significance when it comes to the Iowa men’s wrestling program after Saturday’s nights NCAA finals.

On one hand, it was the raw expression of emotion from one Stephen Buchanan – who became the 56th different national champion in Hawkeye history, claiming Iowa’s 86th overall title and its first ever at 197 pounds (est. 1999).

On the other, it could be an incredibly meaningful step for the Iowa program’s future as it seeks to challenge behemoth Penn State and fast-rising Oklahoma State for team championship glory in the years to come.

That second part is important because Hawkeye fans needed another sense of hope, too.

Yes, there’s young talent waiting in the wings – some that has already made an impact in the Black & Gold singlet, others that appear primed to do so when they eventually arrive in Iowa City down the road.

But folks can only wait for so long.

This week’s fourth-place finish in Philadelphia, laudable in some ways though it was – including five All-Americans and three finalists – needed an exclamation point to avoid more disappointment.

And just as he has all season, Stephen Buchanan was there to provide it – winning Iowa’s first NCAA individual title since 2021, and the first by a Hawkeye not named ‘Spencer Lee’ since 2017 (Cory Clark).

Going out on top

Iowa was 0/2 in Saturday night finals (more on those in a bit) with just one wrestler remaining.

And with three minutes left in the title bout at 197 pounds, it was looking like the Hawkeyes could be primed for an unenviable ‘hat trick.’

But Stephen Buchanan simply wouldn’t let it happen.

The graduate transfer from Oklahoma (via Wyoming) found himself in a 2-0 hole after a locked hands call and an escape by #4 Josh Barr (Penn State) in quick succession. Undeterred, he’d rip the momentum back in his favor.

Fake, snap, shoot, score.

That was the entire five-second sequence that gave Buchanan what turned out to be the match-winning takedown.

“Off the snap he just kind of fell into it…and I was able to get the angle and finish the shot,” said the Loyal, Wisconsin native post-match.

But between the score and the ensuing interviews, first, he had to finish the deal.

A gritty, 30-second ride out to close the second period got Buchanan part way there. A quick escape and some savvy third-period defense brought it home.

A three-time All-American entering the week, he’d leave it as a first-time national champion.

“The way it was done is a tribute to a champion,” said Iowa head coach Tom Brands of his 197-pounder’s performance. “The way he did it, the way he goes about his daily business is a tribute to a champion.”

“It means the world.”

By no means has the journey been easy for Buchanan – whose three prior trips to NCAAs (8th/3rd/3rd) ended short of a title.

Asked later what it meant to close his six-year college career with the ultimate prize, he offered:

“You finally get on a new team. And you’re at a place around people who pour into you and teach you the little things that make the biggest differences…and you get on that (championship) stage, and you use the things that they taught you to win…it means the world.”

His emotions visibly stirring as he spoke, Buchanan finished:

“The work that I put in…and just the amount of time that people put into me…it means the world.”

Rewind eight months and you may’ve had a difficult time convincing Buchanan that this ultimate outcome was in store before he arrived in Iowa City.

“I had an outside view of Iowa, and I thought it was grind, grind, grind,” says the young man who’s now ensconced in Hawkeye wrestling history.

“I had people telling me that I made the wrong decision (to come to Iowa). And then you get there, and they treat you like family. Tom and Terry (Brands) pour into you not like a wrestler, but like you’re their own. They care so much, and they care so deeply.”

“You have to be there and be under them…be trained by them and learn from them…and it makes a world of a difference.”

Perhaps the greatest testament to the relationship between Iowa and Buchanan is how he now feels about wrestling itself.

“I never really loved the sport. I did it because I was good at it. And at Iowa I began to start loving the sport, and that changes everything about it.”

Moving forward from a painful finish

I mentioned Iowa’s 0-2 start to Saturday evening.

That’ll be a tough burden to carry for the pair of juniors – Drake Ayala and Michael Caliendo – who fell just short of their title dreams.

(Both were mat side grinning and greeting Buchanan after his championship victory, BTW.)

For Ayala, it marks his second-consecutive runner-up finish. This one perhaps even more agonizing than his 7-2 defeat a year ago.

In a rubber match against #1 Lucas Byrd (Illinois), it took nearly 10 minutes to decide the winner.

Byrd controlled the center/pace throughout, picking up a stall call on Ayala during the second period. Continuing to push, he nearly had the winning takedown late-third, but the Hawkeye miraculously fought off several near-finishes to force sudden victory.

With two extra minutes on the clock, several more shots by Byrd had the Wells Fargo Center crowd shouting for a second (match-ending) stall call. But Ayala continued to survive, nearly scrambling his way to a winner as time expired.

Now in ride-outs, Byrd followed a quick Ayala escape with an immediate re-shot that was finally rewarded with a stall call as the action carried out of bounds.

In truth, it was probably the least ‘stall-worthy’ moment of several others throughout the match, but the referee had finally seen enough to call it then.

Now effectively ahead on riding time, Byrd chose neutral and stymied Ayala’s 30-second flurry to get the win.

Things were a little more straightforward at 165, where Caliendo is still yet to crack the code that is Penn State’s Mitchell Mesenbrink.

I say ‘a little’ because the match began with Caliendo knocked woozy momentarily by a head-to-chin collision. But rather than call for concussion protocol, mat officials deemed the Hawkeye to have taken injury time, thus awarding Mesenbrink choice upon the restart of action – where he escaped for an early 1-0 lead.

Regardless, the Hawkeye stayed in the fight from there. A Mesenbrink takedown in the second period finally broke a 1-1 deadlock, and another late-third, as Caliendo went for broke, sealed the deal.

In a half-dozen meetings over the past two seasons, the series reads Mesenbrink – six, Caliendo – zero. But after being outscored by a combined 71-26 in meetings one-through-four, the Iowa junior has given the Nittany Lion superstar all he wanted in back-to-back postseason matchups spanning 13 days.

Perhaps next season Caliendo finally slays his ‘monster.’ Crazier things have happened in college wrestling – one of which was later Saturday night.

But until then, it’s time for both Ayala and Caliendo to heal from these latest wounds.

“Both of them were torn up,” said Tom Brands of his 133 and 165-pounder. “And you have to move forward in a way that allows you to be healthy at the same time.”

“You know, (sometimes) this stuff doesn’t take minutes and hours. It takes days, weeks and sometimes months. But in that (period) there’s a process…and then you go forward.”

“This doesn’t define Drake Ayala and Mikey Caliendo.”

NCAA Finals Results

133lbs – #2 Drake Ayala

  • 1st Place Match – #1 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) 23-1 won in TB-2 by riding time over #2 Drake Ayala (Iowa) 20-3 (TB-2 (RT) 3-2)

165lbs – #3 Michael Caliendo

  • 1st Place Match – #1 Mitchell Mesenbrink (Penn State) 27-0 won by decision over #3 Mike Caliendo (Iowa) 24-3 (Dec 8-2)

197lbs – #2 Stephen Buchanan

  • 1st Place Match – #2 Stephen Buchanan (Iowa) 26-1 won by decision over #4 Josh Barr (Penn State) 20-4 (Dec 5-2)

Session V Summary

Saturday morning was also somewhat of a mixed bag for the Hawkeyes.

Patrick Kennedy got Iowa started with a 4-1 win over #13 Cade DeVos – a returning All-American for South Dakota State.

The match itself – of the one-takedown, sudden victory variety – was less of a story than the fact that it marked Kennedy’s third-consecutive consolation win amidst an excellent NCAA performance.

And even though he’d lose his final bout of the tournament (11-3 to #2 Levi Haines), it’ll be that overall performance – this week, this season, and over the course of his entire college career to date – that should be the indelible memory for Iowa fans of the no-quit Minnesota native.

As Tom Brands once said of heavyweight Sam Stoll, “Hawkeye fans, that’s your boy.”

That sentiment rings just as true for the guy affectionately nicknamed ‘PK.’

The epitome of ‘bleeding Black & Gold,’ you’ll never get less than his best when Kennedy dons the Iowa singlet. And in some ways, that can be worth as much as a fourth-place finish at the national tournament.

Iowa’s second competitor during Session V didn’t have nearly the runway nor the result of his elder teammate.

A seventh-place match was all that was left for Ben Kueter – he too, of first-time All-American status. And in a low-scoring bout against #6 Joshua Heindselman (Michigan) it was the Wolverine who prevailed, 2-1.

All of Heindselman’s points were tallied via stall calls on the Hawkeye, who rarely threatened with much, if any of his own attacks until time was dwindling in the third period.

Rediscovering his high-octane offensive output will be the priority for Kueter going forward, after a solid redshirt freshman season in which all nine of his losses came against senior opponents.

But first, spring football awaits.

Session V Results

174lbs – #11 Patrick Kennedy

  • Cons. Semi – #11 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) 18-7 won in sudden victory – 1 over #13 Cade DeVos (South Dakota State) 22-10 (SV-1 4-1)
  • 3rd Place Match – #2 Levi Haines (Penn State) 25-2 won by major decision over #11 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa) 18-7 (MD 11-3)

285lbs – #5 Ben Kueter

  • 7th Place Match – #6 Joshua Heindselman (Michigan) 26-6 won by decision over #5 Ben Kueter (Iowa) 21-9 (Dec 2-1)

What’s next

It’s no great secret who Iowa is chasing for men’s wrestling supremacy.

Penn State just broke its own all-time scoring record (set a year ago). It also capped this latest four-year run of titles (and 12 of the last 14) by becoming just the second team in NCAA history to earn All-American honors at all 10 weight classes.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma State (third) put six wrestlers on the podium in Year One under new head coach David Taylor.

Both matched Iowa with three finalists – claiming two titles apiece compared to one for the Hawkeyes.

So too, did Nebraska (second) – the single biggest surprise of the tournament with 8/9 qualifiers reaching the podium.

But it’s the Nittany Lions and Cowboys who squarely draw the attention of Iowa fans.

PSU represents the (modern) ‘gold standard’ of the sport – one that shows no signs of slowing down.

Oklahoma State is the hot new trend – one that figures to have staying power given the resources and excitement surrounding Taylor in Stillwater.

Iowa won’t be content taking a back seat to either of them.

And though that proved to be the case this weekend, perhaps Buchanan’s victory (among several impressive Hawkeye efforts) represents the latest sign of hope for the future.

It’s not going to be easy. Shoot, nothing in this sport ever is.

But Iowa very much needed a win on Saturday night, regardless of its standing as the fourth and final team trophy recipient at the 2025 national tournament.

Now, we wait to see if it’ll be just the beginning of an even greater resurgence to come.

If so, there’s almost no doubt that in its own way Stephen Buchanan’s title-winning performance will have played a significant role in the endeavor.

You may also like