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Oklahoma State

Wyatt Hendrickson stuns Gable Steveson 5-4 to win NCAA Wrestling title at 285 pounds

IMG_6598by:Nick Kosko•03/22/25•

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Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Wyatt Hendrickson pulled off one of the most stunning upsets in college wrestling history, beating Gable Steveson 5-4 in the NCAA Wrestling finals. But perhaps, it wasn’t a massive upset in Hendrickson’s mind. 

Steveson returned to college wrestling at Minnesota following three years away. He had stints in the WWE and NFL and looked unbeatable as he chased a third national title. 

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This was a different level to Steveson. But, the same could be said about Hendrickson, an Air Force graduate and grad transfer at Oklahoma State. 

“My arms have never felt so strong,” Hendrickson said. “All I know is I kind of felt like when I got that takedown he gave that second to relax and I took advantage of that. I don’t know if I had a claw (grip) … but I was just, like, I was looking at the clock and I’m, like, I’m squeezing him. I made up my mind. I was, if he did stand up, I didn’t want to lock my hands. I don’t want to get a locked hands call. But I was squeezing.

“And I was, if he stands up, I’m just going to lock and pick him up and just hold him in the air for the last couple seconds because I’m, like, I have made it this far. And I knew I was going to win this match.”

Hendrickson showed something was different. He forced a tight scramble in the first period but trailed 4-2 going into the third period. Despite giving up a takedown, Hendrickson fired a shot with less than a minute to go. 

Hanging onto a single leg, Hendrickson kept sliding forward, beating Steveson’s sprawl and switched to a double for a go ahead takedown. 

Steveson, who won the Olympic Gold Medal in 2021, was Goliath. Hendrickson, a two-time third place finisher, shined on the biggest stage when it mattered the most. 

“At the beginning of the week, Brandon Mason, our doctor, we went to Life Church and he was, like, hey, guys great sermon,” Hendrickson said. “I was listening to the sermon. He was talking about David and Goliath. And David had a vision of victory before he stepped on the mat.

“I kind of carried that with me all week. Even though he went after Goliath and everyone was, like, this can’t be done, he had a mind of a champion, he had a vision of victory. Leading up to this tournament I knew that my head had to be in the right place if I wanted to end up on top.”

Hendrickson, who’s a lieutenant in the Air Force, will continue his wrestling career for the next three years. Then it’s continuing to serve his country.

“From the very beginning I knew I wanted to make the military my career, which was obviously I chose the Air Force Academy, I was looking at more than wrestling, I was looking at my career goals, life goals,” Hendrickson said. “I could accomplish all those at the Air Force Academy. Wrestle in the Big 12. Get a world-class education, being part of something bigger than myself.

“I’ll wrestle for three more and then I’ll do my — I plan on staying for 20. Yes, I’m planning on making a career out of it. As soon as I am done wrestling, doing my required, but it will be about nine years. I plan on, if it’s not broken, it doesn’t need to be fixed.”