Wrestling at Oklahoma State ‘Part of the Journey’ in Wyatt Hendrickson’s Air Force Career

Wyatt Hendrickson dreamed of being a pilot in the Air Force even before he wanted to wrestle.

Hendrickson transferred from Air Force to Oklahoma State this past offseason for his fifth and final year of eligibility. Being a military academy, Hendrickson couldn’t stay at Air Force for his extra year of eligibility because of COVID, so he was granted a waiver to transfer in the unique situation.

Growing up in Newton, Kansas as a grandson of a veteran, Hendrickson would gaze at the sky watching the air shows at McConnell Air Force Base in nearby Wichita. He was such a fan, he went to meet the smiling pilots and knew then what he wanted to do with his life. And wrestling wasn’t even part of his plans yet.

“I was like, ‘OK, this is a pretty sweet deal,'” Hendrickson said. “Then I looked into it, the wrestling opportunity came, and I was like, ‘Well, I’ve already met some of the best pilots in the world who are flying these planes. I could follow in their footsteps and do the same thing.'”

There was a catch, though. Hendrickson wrestles at heavyweight, which tops out at 285 pounds. The weight limit to be a pilot for an F-35 is 245 pounds. He was 270 pounds with gear when he first tried. For now, though, Hendrickson can’t afford to lose any weight to accomplish his wrestling goals.

“As soon as my wrestling career is over I’ll be able to cut some weight, but until then, I gotta keep lifting, I gotta get big,” Hendrickson said. “(Penn State’s Greg) Kerkvliet is not, he’s not gonna start cutting weight either, so I gotta be big to compete.”

On the mat, Hendrickson was a two-time All-American for Air Force after finishing third at the NCAA Wrestling Championships the past two years. His finish in 2023 made him Air Force’s first All-America wrestler since 2003. As a sophomore and junior, he was named the NCAA Most Dominant Wrestler after leading the nation in pins two seasons in a row. And Hendrickson accomplished all this while juggling military obligations off the mat. But, at least for now while at OSU, wrestling is his top priority for the first time.

“In the past, it’s been, ‘Hey, you only have an hour and a half or two hours to wrestle a day at this time,'” Hendrickson said. “To now, it’s like, ‘Hey, wrestle whenever you want. We’ll fit in the other stuff later.’ So that’s a big change. I can show up 30 minutes early, get recovery in, get my stretching in, stay 30 minutes — I can stay an hour after if I wanted to and do recovery again. It’s a lot less stressful. I’m not like, ‘After this I gotta run and do this, I gotta run and do that.’ I’ve put in the hard work and that stuff, so I like to kind of relax.”

Even while at OSU, Hendrickson is still considered active duty as a second lieutenant, but he said his commitment clock doesn’t start until he concludes his wrestling career, including at the senior level. Hendrickson has four years and plans to stay in Stillwater after graduation for three years to train with Cowboy RTC to prepare for the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028. When his wrestling career ends, hopefully in the Olympics, Hendrickson then has a five-year commitment to the Air Force.

“I’m gonna make a career out of the military regardless,” Hendrickson said. “This is just part of the journey for me.”