Stephen Buchanan has adjusted quite well to being at Iowa for his final college wrestling season.

If anything, Buchanan likes being closer to home.

Buchanan, who is from Loyal, Wisconsin, is 4-0 this season heading into Friday’s duals against Princeton and Army West Point at Journeymen Wrestling’s “Uncivil War” event in St. Charles, Mo.

“Oh, man, it's been great. I'm not going to lie,” Buchanan, ranked #1 at 197 pounds, said about being at Iowa. “New coaching staff, new teammates, just a different way or different perspective looking at wrestling. Wrestling in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, too, has been an experience in itself.

“So, yeah, it's just been a blessing.”

Buchanan, a three-time NCAA All-American, spent three years at Wyoming before transferring to Oklahoma last season. He has two technical falls and one major decision this season, with a 102-26 career record.

“He’s a pretty doggone good teammate and just a good all-around guy with good character and qualities that you really want on your team,” Iowa coach Tom Brands said. “He's also a winner. And so those qualities that I'm talking about, they come through in his competitive attitude, in addition to him being just a great guy, which he is. The important part is it transcends into his wrestling, into his competitiveness, so it makes him a better wrestler.”

Buchanan has been able to work with some of the Hawkeyes at the upper weights, like Gabe Arnold, Angelo Ferrari and Ben Kueter.

“These are young guys, but they're sharpening me, too,” Buchanan said. “I mean, these guys are some of the most athletic, sound wrestlers I've wrestled in my career. So it's been good for me to sharpen them, but they also sharpen me. So I've definitely taken it as a blessing just to have them, but also just trying to teach them whatever I can teach them. Honestly, they're teaching me a lot more. So it's been good for me.”

Buchanan said he appreciates where he’s at to end his wrestling journey.

“Being at Wyoming, being at Oklahoma, and now here at Iowa, I think it just helps me to come in with a new perspective on just making the most out of every single day that you have, because you just don't know when your last day is going to be,” Buchanan said. “And this is my last year (in college wrestling) and my first year being a Hawkeye. So it's just been a blessing — just being at so many universities, but then finishing here at a university that's ahead of the rest of them.”

He also likes it that now he’s close to home.

“It’s nice having my family five hours away,” Buchanan said. “So that’s a blessing, too.”

Double Dip

The Hawkeyes will wrestle Princeton at 6 p.m. in the event at Francis Howell High School, and then will take on Army West Point at approximately 8 p.m.

“It's a good event,” Brands said. “You get to have the option to showcase more than one wrestler at a weight if you want to do that. That's important. I like dual meets, but in a situation or event like this, it makes sense to have multiple teams present.”

“Can't say I've been in too many (double duals) in college,” 165-pounder Michael Caliendo said. “This might actually be my first. It’s two matches. Got some time in between. You think it's just like a regular dual.”

“I think it just presents challenges,” Buchanan said. “Having a match, preparing for it, and then getting back into that mindset of having another match right after that.”

Brands likes the challenges presented by Army and Princeton.

“We're going to see teams that are well-coached, and it's a certain style where they want to do what they do well, and they don't venture far outside of that, and it's a style that you see a lot,” Brands said. “And so we’ve got to be ready for that.”

Who’s At 157?

There was no one listed at 157 pounds for the Hawkeyes for the two duals on the probable lineups section of the pre-match notes.

Brands wasn’t about to give a hint on who could be there on Friday.

“We have at least 19 or 20 or 21 on the bus,” Brands said of the travel roster. “So we’re excited to bring a lot of guys on the trip.”

Jacori Teemer, ranked #1 in the weight class, was injured in the November 23 dual at Iowa State. Caleb Rathjen wrestled there in the season-opening dual against Oregon State, and is 6-1 this season.

Chasing 300

Brands is two dual wins away from 300 for his career but said on Tuesday it wasn’t something he knew about heading into this weekend.

“Sometimes you're aware of it more,” Brands said. “On this one,  this is the first time I've heard that. That's not a big deal. What's the big deal is that we’ve got a lot of work to do, and we’ve got a lot of guys in that wrestling room that like doing the work and get better every day. So that's the most important thing.”

Brands is 298-47-1 in his coaching career, including 281-27-1 in his 17 seasons with the Hawkeyes.

Time Off

It’s the last dual for the Hawkeyes until their Jan. 12 Big Ten opener at Wisconsin.

Other than the Soldier Salute in Coralville on December 29-30, the time off is a chance for everyone to get practice work in before the conference schedule begins.

“It's a good training phase,” Brands said. “And it's built that way. We like that.”

“Obviously, there's some days where we’re working more on technique, and then others where we’re going hard, getting in and doing some hard conditioning,” Caliendo said.