Iowa’s Jacob Warner topped Wyoming’s Stephen Buchanan in the 197-pound semifinals, 6-4, on Friday night inside Little Caesars Arena to advance into the finals of the 2022 NCAA championships. As the No. 6 seed, Warner managed to oust the No. 2 seed in Buchanan thanks to four points in the third period.
“You know, I wrestled him last year and turned him here, so I knew I could do something on top. My last two matches were won by being able to ride, so I knew it was going to be a big factor into this match. All week, all last week I was working on getting that wrist tight. Right before this were working on it at the hotel and we were focusing on it, and I got that wrist and I knew as soon as I got it seatbelted to his hip, I knew I could do something with it, I knew I could get it. And didn’t get it right away, had to stick with it, had to keep elevating, keep going into him and made the difference,” Warner said.
While he pulled off an upset according to seeding here, Warner wasn’t ready to chalk this run to the national finals up as any sort of miracle.
“I don’t know if I would call it a Cinderella run. I knew I was going to be here, I knew I could win this tournament and obviously I’m in the national finals for a reason. I’ve got to wrestle hard, score the whole time, don’t give up easy points, finish in matches. I know if I do that I can win this tournament,” Warner said.
In the process, the four-time All-American kept one of college wrestling’s most amazing streaks alive: Iowa has now had an NCAA finalist every year since 1990. Here’s a look at how to watch Warner in the NCAA finals against Penn State’s Max Dean.