UW's Buchanan Earns All-American Status in Wrestling

Stephen Buchanan became Wyoming’s 36^th NCAA All-American on Friday inside the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Mo. He is the 13^th Cowboy to earn All-American honors during the Mark Branch era.

In the quarterfinals at 197 pounds, Stephen Buchanan faced No. 1 Myles Amine (MICH). Buchanan would hang with his top-seeded opponent pushing him to the brink before losing a tight 7-6 decision.

Buchanan’s loss would set up a win or go home match against No. 19 Thomas Penola (PUR). Buchanan scored a late first-period takedown and controlled the match from there, winning 6-2. He is the first Wyoming All-American since Bryce Meredith and Montorie Bridges in 2018.

In the seventh-place match, Buchanan battled No. 15 Michael Beard (PSU). After falling behind early 4-0, Buchanan got his offense recording a pair of takedowns to trail 7-6 after two periods. Buchanan trailed 8-6 for a majority of the third period before scoring a takedown at the buzzer to send the match to overtime. In sudden victory, Beard’s offense was too much for Buchanan and he conceded the match-winning takedown.

Buchanan’s All-American finish highlights a record-setting post-season for the Cowboys which included four Big 12 runner-ups, a school-record 105.5 team points at the Big 12 Championships, and a program-record tying 7 NCAA Qualifiers.

Jacob Wright’s incredible NCAA tournament run ended just short of All-American honors, with a 10-2 loss to No. 5 Kaleb Young (IOWA) in the blood round. Wright entered the weekend as the 23 seed and was a match away from earning a top-eight spot.

On the consolation side of the bracket, Hayden Hastings picked up a win over No. 13 Jackson Hemauer (UNCO), who defeated Hastings at the Big 12 championships. Hastings exacted his revenge in dominant fashion controlling the match from whistle to whistle, winning 8-1.

At heavyweight, Brian Andrews knocked off No. 19 Josh Heindselman (OU). Tied 1-1 in overtime, Andrews struck fast and left no doubt scoring a big takedown off of a strong-double-leg shot.