Wyatt Hendrickson Makes United States World Team

There was celebration and heartbreak for the Cowboy RTC on Friday in New Jersey.

Former Oklahoma State NCAA champ and Hodge Trophy winner Wyatt Hendrickson won his Final X best-of-three series against Mason Parris to clinch his spot on the United States World Team for the second straight year. However, two Cowboy RTC athletes dropped their best-of-three series, with Jax Forrest and Zahid Valencia each falling in three matches to their foes.

Hendrickson’s first match against Parris was a tight one, with the Cowboy winning 9-5 in a back-and-forth affair where Hendrickson had to avoid a few big moves. He scored on a takedown and exposure that ended up being the biggest sequence of the bout.

These two rivals meet again this Final X. Wyatt Hendrickson wins 9-5 in round 1.#USAWrestling #FinalX2026 | Presented by @kerberoscm | Live stream, brackets, and more at link in bio. pic.twitter.com/LwuzLQutM8

— USA Wrestling (@USAWrestling) June 19, 2026

Hendrickson won the second match more comfortably, taking it 7-1. The two were in an exchange as the final whistle sounded, with Parris trying to score a leg lace after the whistle that drew some ire from Hendrickson and looked to tweak his knee.

Hendrickson was the United States’ heavyweight rep last year, as well. He was unable to medal at Worlds, but we’ll see if the experienced gained in 2025 will help him in 2026.

Forrest’s bouts with Blaze were a clash of styles. Blaze relies on sound positioning and defense, while Forrest wants to start rolling.

Blaze took the first match 2-2 on criteria with the deciding point being a step out and the other three all being inactivity points. So, Blaze was able to slow the match down.

That wasn’t as much the case in Match 2, where Forrest was able to open up things a bit late. The Cowboy took that bout 6-1.

Jax Forrest beats Marcus Blaze in match two and forces a third #finalx pic.twitter.com/Jn4pfN2gGB

— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) June 19, 2026

But Blaze bounced back to take the series-deciding Match 3 5-2. The match-deciding sequence was on the edge of the mat, where Forrest attempted to reposition himself to thwart off a takedown attempt. Blaze was able to eventually get behind Forrest and then got two exposure points when it looked like Forrest was waiting for a whistle. Forrest motioned for a challenge brick, but the Cowboy corner didn’t throw it.

Valencia, who didn’t wrestle at OSU but trains in Stillwater, won his first match against Kyle Dake before Dake won the final two. It was a star-studded series with Valencia winning a world championship last year and Dake having four world titles to his name.

A pair of Cowboys also won true-third matches to earn a spot on the National Team. Landon Robideau’s opponent dropped out Thursday, meaning he didn’t even have to wrestle at the event. And then Dustin Plott clobbered Seth Shumate 10-0 in 2:25 seconds. Spots on the National Team come with a monthly stipend from USA Wrestling, as well as some assistance with travel.