Updated Feb. 18, 2026, 11:14 a.m. ET
St John Neumann’s Will Buckley, a sophomore wrestler with Type 1 diabetes, is aiming for a state title.Buckley manages his chronic condition with a glucose monitor and has a support system around him to help.His condition sometimes requires him to take injury timeouts during matches to regulate his blood sugar.
Will Buckley, a sophomore wrestler at St. John Neumann, knows what it’s like to take on a considerable challenge well before he steps foot on a wrestling mat.
Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 8 years old, Buckley is thriving in the sport despite the daily struggle that comes with his chronic condition.
“It’s just a fight,” Buckley said. “You have to constantly check and be on top of it.”
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Buckley, who transferred to Neumann this season after three years at Bishop McCourt in Pennsylvania, has his eyes on a Class 1A state title. He has posted a 30-5 record this season, including a SW10 Conference title in the 150-pound weight class.
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To accomplish his goals this postseason, Buckley must not only compete to the best of his abilities on the mat but manage his health off it.
“We want him, and we think that he’s capable of winning a state title, and I think the only person that can stop that is himself,” St. John Neumann head coach Blaine Ison said.
Will Buckley’s start in wrestling
Buckley grew up in Naples and discovered wrestling on a whim at 6 years old.
“My dad was just tired of me beating up everything in the house, like tearing stuff up, so he was like, ‘I got to get you into a sport,’” Buckley said.
They saw a sign advertising a wrestling club, and that’s where it all began.
“I always thought it was fun,” he said. “You’re in here wrestling, you’re having fun, taking people down, beating people up. It’s just fun. It’s a grind, and it teaches you a lot about life – good lessons.”
Ison knew Buckley from club wrestling, so he was plenty familiar with him when he moved back to Florida and joined the Neumann wrestling team.
Buckley always stood out as a hard worker with a no-quit mentality.
“He’s been phenomenal, not just a great wrestler but person as well,” Ison said. “It’s very rare to find that in a kid.”
On the mat, Ison described Buckley as a “goer” who is always looking to be the aggressor.
“He’s going to try to go out there and score as many points as possible,” Ison said. “And he’s very athletic, so he likes big moves and flashy, which is fun to watch. Sometimes for people that don’t know how wrestling works and stuff, you might think wrestling could be boring, close matches. That’s not him at all. He’s going to go out there and put points on the board, and he might give up some points, but he’s going to try to put more points than the other guy.”
However, because of his diabetes, wrestling is not as straightforward for Buckley as it is for other athletes.
“He’s the type of kid that you have to drag him off the mat,” Ison said. “He don’t ever want to quit, which kind of sometimes goes against him because of the diabetes. That’s why it’s so important that his levels are regulated.”
Buckley’s daily battle
Diabetes is when one’s body doesn’t produce insulin, a chemical that breaks down the sugar in the body for energy.
When Buckley started displaying the symptoms, his father could identify what was wrong because his brother has diabetes.
“My dad knew something was wrong with me,” he said. “I was feeling weak, constantly having to go to the bathroom.”
They had a finger prick and blood glucose meter in the house, so once they saw Will’s levels were incredibly high, they took him to the hospital.
Many diabetics learn of their diagnosis when the condition gets to the point of diabetic ketoacidosis or a diabetic coma.
“That’s how it usually always happens, but my dad caught the signs early,” Buckley said.
Buckley stays on top of his diabetes with a Dexcom G6 glucose monitor, which sends his levels to an app on his phone.
If it’s high, he takes a shot of insulin. Too low, and he knows he needs to get some food in him.
Buckley tries to eat as healthy as he can with low carbs and high protein, similar to a keto diet.
“It’s a battle,” he said. “You have to really know what you’re doing. You have to be right on with the food, you have to know exactly how many units to take, what time to check (the meter). Even with practicing too, it’s just constantly having to look at it.”
However, Buckley doesn’t go through it alone. From his family to doctors to the coaching staff, Buckley has plenty of help.
“It’s super important to be dialed in with his numbers,” Ison said. “It’s been a huge thing as a coaching staff because we’ve never dealt with anything like that, so we’re constantly on him and his parents as well are constantly on him, regulating him, and just trying to figure out the right system that works for him because it constantly changes, every day, as far as what he’s putting in his body.”
The health hurdles Buckley must overcome in wrestling
Many of the St. John Neumann wrestling meets are away, which means they often require hotel stays.
Buckley’s glucose monitor also sends his numbers to Ison, who recalled getting alerts at 1 a.m. when his numbers were high, so Ison went to his hotel room to wake him up and make sure he took his insulin shot.
“It’s stuff like that you never, as a coach, would think you’d have to process,” Ison said.
Ison also helps Buckley regulate his levels during practices.
“It’s just been a blessing to have this coaching staff,” Buckley said. “It’s really good here.”
Because of his diabetes, it is too dangerous for Buckley to try to manipulate his weight, particularly the practice of cutting weight to compete in a lower weight class.
He started the season in the 157-pound weight class and has naturally dropped down to 150 pounds through practicing and competing.
“Wrestle what you are,” Buckley said of his mindset. “You’re good enough to win, you’re good enough to win.”
The Celtics, who reached the semifinals in the Class 1A state duals, have a chance at the team title at states in Kissimmee this season.
Ison explained that, because Buckley doesn’t strictly wrestle in one weight class, it can affect the team’s lineup.
“We have a great program going on here, and so finding a spot in our lineup is tough to do,” he said. “We got to kind of work through that process as a team. Some people might have to make some other sacrifices for him, and I think that’s one thing that’s great about this program as well is that they’re willing to work together as a team and make sacrifices as a team for their teammate for us to be the best that we can be.”
Perhaps the most challenging aspect of managing Buckley’s diabetes has come during tough matches. It can be difficult at times to control his levels while competing in such a physical sport, so he has called for injury timeouts at times this season so he can get a shot or drink some Gatorade to regulate his numbers.
“It happens fairly often, unfortunately,” Buckley said.
All the while, Buckley is doing everything he can to learn best ways to manage, whether that is reading books or consulting with doctors.
“I know there’s got to be plenty of other kids throughout the state, throughout the country, that probably are going through the same thing,” Ison said. “I think it’s important, especially in today’s age with social media and everything that they can kind of link up and work together and learn how to go through this.”
Despite the obstacles, it has helped shape him into someone who refuses to surrender.
“I think that in today’s age, that’s hard to find – a kid that is constantly never willing to give up and constantly trying to be the best that they can be and might have to work through adversity,” Ison said.
As the wrestling postseason kicks off with district tournaments, Buckley will have an innate advantage of entering any match knowing he’s contending with something tougher than any opponent.
“It’s just shown who I am as a person, how I’m able to go through what I go through,” Buckley said. “It’s a big deal. Apparently, not too many diabetics do this sport. It’s hard, but it’s just given me so much adversity, I know how to battle through it. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done in my life – wrestling.”