Wyatt Hendrickson

Wyatt Hendrickson (born January 13, 2001) is an American wrestler. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division of Real American Freestyle (RAF), where he is the current RAF Heavyweight Champion.

He competed in collegiate wrestling for the Air Force Falcons and Oklahoma State Cowboys. A heavyweight, he won the 2025 NCAA national championship, defeating Gable Steveson in a major upset. He was also the recipient of the 2025 Dan Hodge Trophy. Hendrickson represented the US at the 2025 World Wrestling Championships.

Biography Hendrickson is from Newton, Kansas. He competed in wrestling while attending Newton High School, where he was a four-time All-American in the freestyle and Greco-Roman styles and won a Kansas state championship twice. He was ranked the number three recruit in his weight class nationally and after graduating, enrolled at the United States Air Force Academy. He had received offers to join numerous collegiate wrestling teams and initially threw a letter from Air Force away, before being convinced by his father to enroll there.

As a freshman at Air Force in 2020–21, Hendrickson compiled a record of 16–5 and qualified for the NCAA Championships. He was an All-American, the first from Air Force in 20 years. In his career with the Air Force Falcons, Hendrickson went 103–11 while being a two-time All-American.

With an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hendrickson was selected for the World Class Athlete Program at Air Force, allowing him to delay his military service to continue his career. There, he advanced to the finals and defeated Gable Steveson, an Olympic gold medalist who had won 70-consecutive matches, with a takedown in the final seconds. The commentators for the match described Hendrickson's win as the "biggest upset in NCAA history".

He won the 2026 US Open at 125 kg, qualifying him for Final X in June.

Hendrickson holds the rank of second lieutenant in the United States Air Force.

Freestyle record

Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event Location

Win 36-11

Coralville, Iowa Win 35-11

Win 34-11

Win 33–11

Las Vegas, Nevada Win 32–11

Win 31–11

Win 30–11

Win 29-11

Tampa, Florida

Win 28-11

Tirana, Albania Loss 27-11

Win 27-10

Win 26-10

Loss 25-10

Zagreb, Croatia Win 25-9

Win 24-9

Win 23-9

Fishers, Indiana Win 22-9

Durant, Oklahoma

Loss 21-9

Zagreb, Croatia

Win 21-8

Cleveland, Ohio

Win 20-8

Newark, New Jersey Win 19-8

Win 18-8

Monterrey, Mexico Win 17-8

Win 16-8

Win 15-8

Las Vegas, Nevada Win 14-8

Win 13-8

Win 12-8

Loss 11-8

State College, Pennsylvania Win 11-7

Loss 10-7

Win 10-6

Tirana, Albania Win 9-6

Win 8-6

Win 7-6

Loss 6-6

Colorado Springs, Colorado Win 6-5

Loss 5-5

Win 5-4

Loss 4-4

Las Vegas, Nevada Win 4-3

Win

Win 3-3

Loss 2-3

Loss 2-2

Las Vegas, Nevada Loss 2-1

Win 2-0

Win 1-0