Senior Tristan Buxton put together a historic Waynesburg wrestling career at 125-pounds. The four-year standout capped off his four years as the man in second place all-time in career wins as a Yellow Jacket with 127.

For Buxton, it didn’t truly hit him how much of an impact his wrestling career had at Waynesburg until it was finally complete after he was knocked out of the national tournament this season.

“I didn’t really put any thought into it until after I lost [at nationals], the Waynesburg Twitter put it into words,” Buxton said. “They were like ‘you’re a legend; you’ll never be forgotten here.’ I never really thought about my career in that aspect—I made a name for myself and what I did was great and a lot of people are going to look back on that even for years to come.”

Perhaps the single most rewarding moment for Buxton was the moment he first walked out on the stage in front of the crowd in Cleveland, Ohio and soaked in the atmosphere of being a national contender—something Buxton said was one of his goals in his career.

“The crowd was going crazy, the majority of my team was there cheering me on,” Buxton said. “I did lose, but it happens—you can’t win them all. Just going out there and being able to experience that whole thing was just a blessing.

For head coach Ron Headlee, it was an incredible moment to see one of his kids—one he had worked with since Buxton was a middle schooler—finally achieve the feat.

“It was a goal of his and he talked about it a lot. He came up just short [making nationals] last year in the regional tournament,” said Headlee. “Just seeing him finally make it was a great joy for us…It wasn’t easy making it, it was a tough weight class…It’s what we worked for the whole time and we finally got it to see him—it was awesome.”

As Buxton reflects on his Yellow Jacket career, he acknowledges the fact that he had a long way to go in order to achieve the goals he set for himself when he first came in, and is truly appreciative of the opportunity Waynesburg provided him.

“I look back on myself in my freshman year and I did a lot of growing, he said. “I came in here and I was [about 120 pounds], really immature and still stuck in high school. As the years went on, I started to realize what things were more important in life and wrestling taught me a lot of that. I’ve made stronger friendships than I ever had…I look back on it and I’m happy with the person I’ve become today because of that.”

Headlee noted that what made Buxton standout and thrive as a wrestler was his ability to remain confident against each man that stood across the mat from him.

“He just always wrestled the same no matter who it was,” said Headlee. “He was still doing his things and trying to do his stuff no matter if it was the national champ or a guy with a few wins…You knew he was going to give us all he had.”

Looking ahead towards the future, Buxton, a criminal justice major, will return to Waynesburg in the fall to finish his degree after changing his major part-way through his academic career. Once he graduates, he plans to continue his wrestling career as a coach.