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American wrestler Wyatt Hendrickson recently revealed Gable Steveson's demeanor before the finals of the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Hendrickson did end up on the winning side during the contest as he clinched his first NCAA title (5-4 by decision).
With this victory, Hendrickson halted Steveson's 70-match winning streak. Just a few days after the competition, Hendrickson opened up about Steveson's body language before the start of the final match.
Hendrickson stated that he felt that Steveson was intimidated by the confidence he carried to the wrestling mat and was also bragging about his Olympic gold medal. Additionally, he also mentioned that Steveson might have been a bit irritated with him carrying the US flag during his entry. He said (via Flowrestling, 26:00 onwards):
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"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."
"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."
During the conversation, Wyatt Hendrickson also remarked that he didn't understand the reason for Seteveson getting mad at him for carrying the flag, as several other wrestlers have done it in the past.
Wyatt Hendrickson opened up about his emotions after winning the 285 lb bracket at the 2025 NCAA Championships
Wyatt Hendrickson shared his emotions after winning the 285 lb bracket during the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships. In an interview after the contest, Hendrickson said that he would need a few days to settle down his emotions from this win.
Moreover, he also thanked his family and the Almighty for supporting him through thick and thin. He said (via USA Wrestling, 1:02 onwards):
"I think it's going to be a couple more days before the emotions settle down but I want to thank my family, I want to thank my lord and savior for blessing me."
Wyatt Hendrickson had two third-place finishes while competing for the Air Force Falcons in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Besides this, Hendrickson has also been a recipient of the Gorriaran Award during the 2022-23 wrestling season for having the most number of pins during the 2023 NCAA Championships.
In the same season, he also got the NCAA Fall Award for having the most number of pins across that season. Notably for his performances across this season, Hendrickson has also been nominated for the Dan Hodge Trophy, alongside Penn State Nittany Lions wrestlers, Carter Starocci (185 lb) and Mitchell Mesenbrink (165 lb), who also won their respective bouts during the 2025 NCAA Wrestling Championships.
