Wyatt Hendrickson caps off huge year as first three-time Schalles Award recipient

Editor’s Note: WIN’s recently published Volume 31 Issue 9, the Annual Awards Issue, is available for immediate digital access to subscribers. Subscribe here (Print/Digital/Combo). WIN will announce the remaining award winners over the course of the next week. Photo by Sam Janicki.

By Tristan Warner 

The storybook ending to Wyatt Hendrickson’s stellar senior season continues to garner recognition, as the Oklahoma State heavyweight has now been named as the first ever three-time recipient of the prestigious Schalles Award, awarded annually to the nation’s top pinner.

Hendrickson, who won the award in 2022 and 2023 while representing Air Force, will add this latest honor to the NCAA’s Most Dominant Wrestler award as well as the 2025 WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy.

The Schalles Award, presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate pinner, is named after Wade Schalles, who set the college pin record at Clarion (Pa.) State where he also won two NCAA championships (1972-73). During his career, Schalles defeated 153 of 159 opponents, pinning 109.

He was named a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1991.

The legendary Schalles commented, “What do you say about the first three-time Schalles award winner? Besides well-done, and congratulations champ! And what’s most noticeable is you’re a man who carries himself with quiet dignity — a gentleman of character, someone who’s been forged by discipline and defined by grace. You’re a leader by nature and an inspiration to everyone in the sport of wrestling.”

On the year, Hendrickson’s dominant fifth-year senior campaign saw the Newton, Kansas native compile a 27-0 record with 13 pins, eight tech falls and a bonus-point percentage of 81.5.

In the postseason alone, Hendrickson flattened three of his four opponents at the Big 12 Championships, with two of those falls occurring in the first period. At the NCAA Championships, the Cowboy pinned three of five opponents, which included a first-period disposal of eventual fourth-place All-American Isaac Trumble of NC State.

“The most dominant way you can beat somebody is by pinning them,” Hendrickson stated. “Matt Treaster was my first coach at age five in Newton, and he taught me the cross-face series.

“I was always a pinner. I always tried to pin everybody and carried that with me. I realized in college that the best way to mentally compete with a guy is by being relentless. They will want to quit and find a way out. Somebody who refuses to give up is hard to beat.”

Cowboy head coach David Taylor said, “I’m just so proud of Wyatt for everything he’s accomplished this season. This is all a testament to his work ethic and the belief he had in himself. His development throughout the year was really special to watch.”

Entering the national tournament as a No. 2 seed, Hendrickson steamrolled his first three foes before cruising past defending NCAA champion Greg Kerkvliet of Penn State, 8-2, in the national semifinals.

Then, in one of the sport’s most dramatic upsets of all time, Hendrickson upended two-time NCAA champion, two-time Dan Hodge Trophy recipient and 2020 Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson of Minnesota in the finals via a thrilling 5-4 decision.

The United States Air Force second lieutenant did not miss a beat as he transitioned seamlessly from folkstyle to freestyle wrestling on the Senior level.

Hendrickson, who won the U.S. Open at 125 kg and is poised to compete for a Senior World Team slot at Final X on June 14 in Newark, N.J., will now work to add accolades to his wrestling resume in the year 2025.

But now that his storied collegiate career has concluded, fans will always remember the sole, and potentially someday first, three-time recipient of the Schalles Award for his pinning ways.

Incredibly, in  a time in wrestling where there is less pinning … of his 123 career collegiate victories, Hendrickson pinned 59 of those opponents, meaning just shy of 50 percent of his collegiate wins came via fall.

For more information on WIN’s awards, including the Schalles Award and the announcement stories/stats of previous winners, click here.