The Big Ten Wrestling Championships are in full swing this weekend in Evanston, Illinois. Iowa Wrestling has two top-ranked wrestlers in their weight class, Drake Ayala (133 pounds) and Stephen Buchanan (197 pounds). Iowa is aiming to capture its 38th Big Ten Title.
The biggest weekend story is Stephen Buchanan, a senior transfer from Oklahoma. He is Iowa's only undefeated wrestler this season at 19-0 going into the weekend. He is making his fifth postseason appearance, first with the Hawkeyes and in the Big Ten.
He captured a Big 12 Title in 2022 while at Wyoming and hopes to bring his championship pedigree to Evanston. Despite Iowa's decades of success, they have never had a Big Ten Champion at 197 pounds since the weight class was added in 1999. Buchanan is trying to change that.
He received a bye in session one and wrestled nine-seed Seth Shumate from Ohio State in the quarterfinals. Buchanan was nursing a slim 1-0 lead with time winding down.
SB ➡️ SF
— Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling) March 8, 2025
197 QF | #1 Stephen Buchanan major dec. #9 Seth Shumate (Ohio State), 8-0#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/UDihQVWWTy
He secured a takedown with 13 seconds left and ultimately won by a major decision 8-0 to move on to the semifinals.
He faced five-seed Zac Braunagel from Illinois in Saturday night's semifinal match. He blanked Braunagel 4-0 and won by decision. He heads to the 197-pound championship match on Sunday.
Buchanan heads into championship Sunday looking strong. He has not surrendered a point to his opponents and will look to keep his perfect record alive.