2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships: Wyatt Hendrickson embracing challenge of Gable Steveson in national finals

Oklahoma State heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson got over the hump Friday night, getting to the NCAA Wrestling finals for the first time. However, there’s an all-time great in his way: Minnesota’s Gable Steveson.

Steveson, a two-time NCAA champion and 2021 Olympic Gold Medalist, walked away from college wrestling after the the 2022 NCAA finals and tried his hand in the WWE and NFL. But his return left a huge shadow on Hendrickson and the rest of the heavyweight division.

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Hendrickson, a former Air Force All-American, transferred to Oklahoma State for his grad year and exercised some demons beating Penn State’s Greg Kerkvliet in the semis. Now, he has one more mountain to climb.

“I think it’s important when you step on the mat to have an attack mentality,” Hendrickson said Friday night. “My senior year when I was watching Gable wrestle in the NCAA Tournament when I was in high school. I was like, I tried to develop my technique to wrestle smarter, faster, better, and that person was — Gable was the guy I looked up to.

“I think the first time I stepped on the mat against him I was still in the fan boy stage, you know, but I think I’ve grown to be my own man and be my own type of wrestler, so I think it’s important that I go in there with an attack mentality, and obviously I’ll show him respect, but not too much.”

Hendrickson is 122-11 in his career and a two-time All-American, finishing third the last two years. He lost to Steveson 18-2 in the 2021 NCAA championships, the year of of the Gopher’s first title.

“It’s an absolute blessing,” Hendrickson said of being in the finals. “I truly thought last year on the mat was my last year. I told people that all along, and the year was over, and it stung a little bit because I didn’t reach my goals, but turn around and it’s 364 days since then, and here we are, back in the NCAAs getting a second chance at that national championship match. Blessed and humbled to be up there.

“God can work miracles. He’s truly done some amazing things in my life, and led me down paths to meet a lot of great people that support me, and athletics is a big part of my career. So having that support this past year has been really big.”