Oklahoma State’s Wyatt Hendrickson shocked Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson with a 5-4 victory in the heavyweight final at the NCAA men’s wrestling championships on Saturday night, with President Donald Trump present.
Hendrickson, who transferred from Air Force, was behind in the final match until he scored a takedown in the last minute, marking the only takedown Steveson allowed all season.
After his win, Hendrickson saluted Trump, draped a U.S. flag over his shoulders, and went over to shake Trump’s hand and hug him in celebration. Trump had attended the event previously in 2023, when he was a presidential candidate and the tournament was held in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“It’s bigger than worlds, Olympics, anything,” an emotional Hendrickson said right after the victory.
He became the first Oklahoma State wrestler to win an NCAA heavyweight title since Steve Mocco in 2005.
Minnesota’s Steveson, who was aiming for his third national title, had a 70-match winning streak. The 2021 and 2022 national champion retired after the 2022 event. He tried professional wrestling with WWE, mostly with the NXT developmental brand. After being released, he tried out for the Buffalo Bills last year, despite never playing organized football. He didn’t make the roster and later returned to Minnesota for this season.
Steveson started the third period with a 3-2 lead, but Hendrickson scored a takedown with about 20 seconds left. The crowd erupted as the clock ran out.
The two had met once before, with Steveson winning by technical fall in the second round of the 2021 NCAA tournament.
Penn State earned its third four-peat, dominating the competition to claim its 12th national title in men’s Division I wrestling under coach Cael Sanderson. Only Iowa’s Dan Gable has more titles, with 15.
Carter Starocci won his unprecedented fifth national title, defeating Northern Iowa’s Parker Keckeisen 4-3 in the 184-pound final. Keckeisen was the defending champion in the weight class.
Starocci, whose previous four titles were at 174 pounds, stayed humble about his achievement.
“It means a lot to me, but as for me — I never want to downplay the moment — but I mean, it’s always cool, but one thing that Coach Cael really instills in us, this is all just preparation for the next thing.”
Penn State’s Carter Starocci won four NCAA titles at 174 pounds and made it an unprecedented fifth with a winPenn State, becoming just the second program to have 10 All-Americans in one season (Minnesota did it in 2001), scored 177 points, surpassing its record from last year. The Nittany Lions secured another championship when Mitchell Mesenbrink won the 165-pound final with an 8-2 victory over Iowa’s Michael Caliendo. Mesenbrink remained undefeated this season after losing in the national final the previous year.
Nebraska finished second with 117 points and had its best tournament ever, with Ridge Lovett winning at 149 pounds and Antrell Taylor winning at 157 pounds. Oklahoma State placed third with 102.5 points, and Iowa finished fourth with 81 points.
NC State freshman Vincent Robinson defeated Oklahoma State’s Troy Spratley 2-1 at 125 pounds, and Illinois’ Lucas Byrd won 3-2 over Iowa’s Drake Ayala at 133 pounds.
At 141 pounds, Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez came back from a 5-0 deficit to defeat Nebraska’s Brock Hardy 12-9, earning his second consecutive national title. Hardy was the No. 1 seed.
At 149 pounds, Lovett defeated defending champion Caleb Henson of Virginia Tech 1-0. Lovett became the first Nebraska wrestler to win a national title since Jordan Burroughs in 2011.
Taylor of Nebraska held on to beat Purdue’s Joey Blaze 4-2 at 157 pounds.
Oklahoma State’s Dean Hamiti won the 174-pound title, defeating Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole 4-1 in overtime. O’Toole, the national champion at 165 in 2022 and 2023, challenged a takedown during regulation, which was reversed and allowed him to reach overtime. In sudden victory, another takedown was challenged, but this time, it was upheld, and Hamiti celebrated with first-year coach David Taylor.
Iowa’s Stephen Buchanan defeated Penn State’s Josh Barr 5-2 in the 197-pound final. Buchanan has been an All-American at Wyoming, Oklahoma, and now Iowa.
