Oklahoma State University Athletics
October 29, 2026 | Cowboy Wrestling
ASTANA, Kazakhstan – Former Oklahoma State NCAA champion Wyatt Hendrickson will open his second-straight Senior World Championships at 125 kg on Friday morning beginning at 12:30 a.m. CT.
Hendrickson, Team USA's representative at heavyweight, drew No. 3 seed Shamil Sharipov of Bahrain in the qualification round Friday at Barys Arena in Astana, Kazakhstan. Sharipov pinned Hendrickson in the final of the Zagreb Open earlier this year and won a world bronze medal in 2025.
The opening bout is one of the toughest draws in the bracket for an unseeded wrestler. FloWrestling ranks Sharipov No. 3 in the world at 125 kg entering the event, with Hendrickson sliding in at fifth entering the tournament.
Hendrickson is seeking his first senior world medal after dropping his opening match at the 2025 World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, to Abdulla Kurbanov of Russia. He's in the bottom half of the 30-man bracket, the same half as No. 2 seed and reigning world champion, Iran's Amir Hossein Zare.
Despite the tough draw, a loss Friday would not necessarily end his tournament. Under United World Wrestling rules, wrestlers who lose to either finalist enter repechage and can still compete for bronze.
Road to Astana
Hendrickson earned his spot on the World Team for the second straight year by sweeping 2024 Olympian and 2023 world bronze medalist Mason Parris, 9-5 and 7-1, at Final X on June 19 in Newark, New Jersey.
He reached Final X by winning the U.S. Open in April in Las Vegas. He recorded four technical falls, pinned Demetrius Thomas in the first 30 seconds of the final and outscored his opponents 46-5.
In May, he won his second straight Pan American Championships gold in Coralville, Iowa. He also took silver at the Zagreb Open and bronze at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series in Tirana, Albania.
Hendrickson owns three wins over world medalists this year, two against Parris and one against Meshvildishvili. His only losses have come against world medalists.
The 125 kg bracket begins at 12:30 a.m. CT Friday, Oct. 30, with medal matches at 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 31. All sessions stream live on FloWrestling, and live results are available at uww.org.
For season-long coverage of Oklahoma State wrestling, visit okstate.com and follow @CowboyWrestling on Instagram and X.
Hendrickson, Team USA's representative at heavyweight, drew No. 3 seed Shamil Sharipov of Bahrain in the qualification round Friday at Barys Arena in Astana, Kazakhstan. Sharipov pinned Hendrickson in the final of the Zagreb Open earlier this year and won a world bronze medal in 2025.
The opening bout is one of the toughest draws in the bracket for an unseeded wrestler. FloWrestling ranks Sharipov No. 3 in the world at 125 kg entering the event, with Hendrickson sliding in at fifth entering the tournament.
Hendrickson is seeking his first senior world medal after dropping his opening match at the 2025 World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, to Abdulla Kurbanov of Russia. He's in the bottom half of the 30-man bracket, the same half as No. 2 seed and reigning world champion, Iran's Amir Hossein Zare.
Despite the tough draw, a loss Friday would not necessarily end his tournament. Under United World Wrestling rules, wrestlers who lose to either finalist enter repechage and can still compete for bronze.
Road to Astana
Hendrickson earned his spot on the World Team for the second straight year by sweeping 2024 Olympian and 2023 world bronze medalist Mason Parris, 9-5 and 7-1, at Final X on June 19 in Newark, New Jersey.
He reached Final X by winning the U.S. Open in April in Las Vegas. He recorded four technical falls, pinned Demetrius Thomas in the first 30 seconds of the final and outscored his opponents 46-5.
In May, he won his second straight Pan American Championships gold in Coralville, Iowa. He also took silver at the Zagreb Open and bronze at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series in Tirana, Albania.
Hendrickson owns three wins over world medalists this year, two against Parris and one against Meshvildishvili. His only losses have come against world medalists.
The 125 kg bracket begins at 12:30 a.m. CT Friday, Oct. 30, with medal matches at 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 31. All sessions stream live on FloWrestling, and live results are available at uww.org.
For season-long coverage of Oklahoma State wrestling, visit okstate.com and follow @CowboyWrestling on Instagram and X.
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