Wyatt Hendrickson poses with family after winning the NCAA Championships [Image Source : Wyatt Hendrickson's Instagram]

Wyatt Hendrickson pens heartfelt note for his family after defeating Gable Steveson at the NCAA Wrestling Championships

Modified Mar 31, 2025 06:07 GMT

Wyatt Hendrickson has become the talk of the town after the NCAA Championships, which concluded over a week ago. The 24-year-old wrestler representing the Oklahoma State Cowboys recently shared some memorable moments on his Instagram profile.

Hendrickson uploaded a series of photographs from the NCAA Championships, where he won the gold medal after surprising Gable Steveson in the finals 5-4. One of them contained a group photo with his family, who were in attendance at the stadium to watch him in action.

Hendrickson wrote in the caption on his Instagram post,

"Thank you Lord for blessing me with such an amazing family!"

A few days ago, Hendrickson was felicitated by the Big 12 with the award of 'Big 12 Wrestler of the Year'. He is the first wrestler from the Oklahoma State Cowboys to win this distinction since 2017.

Wyatt Hendrickson initially represented the Air Force Falcons till 2024. He won two consecutive Big 12 Championships in 2022 and 2023 for the team. Hendrickson also won the Under 23 World Championships gold medal in the superheavyweight category at the 2023 edition held in Tirana, Albania.

Hendrickson transferred to the Oklahoma State University in 2025 and struck gold with yet another gold medal at the Big 12 Championships. However, his greatest moment of glory came at the NCAA Championships, when despite being down initially by 2-4, he went on to defeat Gable Steveson in the finals by 5-4.

Wyatt Hendrickson reveals Gable Steveson's demeanor before the NCAA Championships finals

Wyatt Hendrickson after winning the NCAA Wrestling Championships 2025 [Image Source: Getty]

Wyatt Hendrickson made headlines after defeating Olympic champion Gable Steveson in a closely contested bout at the NCAA Wrestling Championships 2025. The 24-year-old wrestler opened up about the demeanor of his opponent after the unprecedented victory.

According to Hendrickson, Steveson wasn't in the best of spirits that night. In his conversation with FloWrestling, the wrestler said,

"In the moment I shook his hand gave him a little hand slap but watching the replays and going back in the moment, he was kind of intimidated I think or maybe not intimidated but he thought I was undeserving of doing that."

Hendrickson also added that Steveson was only talking about his accomplishments as an Olympic champion, and he may have been a little irritated by Hendrickson's appearance with the American flag. In his words,

"All I know he was talking about Olympic gold medal, I think he thought this was his house, he's like this is mine for the taking and it's going to be served to me on a silver platter and I'm the champ. I just think he probably felt my confidence when I walked out there. He always seemed to be like kind of a pissed off a little that I was wearing the flag."

Wyatt Hendrickson is determined to prove his worth on the international stage. He aims to win the coveted Olympic gold medal for Team USA at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

About the author

Animesh Pandey is a seasoned content writer at Sportskeeda with over eight years of experience, having previously worked as an intern for Follow Your Sport before joining SK as a columnist in 2017. A graduate with a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing, he also worked at TFI Media Private Limited and contributed as an intern for the movie website Nettv4u.

He has extensively covered events from World Championships to the Olympics, providing insights and analyses that resonate with his audience. His belief in mastering the basics and delivering accurate, relevant, and ethical information through thorough research is reflected in his work.

He was notably invited to the National Sports and Adventure Awards 2018 at Rashtrapati Bhavan after winning a MyGov quiz on Indian Sports, where he engaged with celebrated athletes such as Rahi Sarnobat, Hima Das, Jinson Johnson, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, and Subedar Neeraj Chopra, who also happens to be his favorite Olympian.

Despite being a field hockey enthusiast, Animesh's most cherished Olympic moments include Wayde Van Niekerk's unexpected world record in the 400 meters at Rio and Chopra's historic gold medal in Tokyo.

When not immersed in writing or watching the Olympics, Animesh indulges in his love for movies, embracing quality cinema regardless of the language.

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