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Wyatt Hendrickson and Zahid Valencia recently opened up about their experience of training under the former World No. 1 P4P, David Taylor, at the Cowboy Regional Training Center in Stillwater. The latter started his coaching career in May 2024 after dominating the wrestling mat for the last 20 years.
After dominating the NCAA Division 1 Championships 2025, where he defeated Gable Stevenson in the finals, Hendrickson is all set to compete in the Final X, which is slated for June 14, 2025. He will be seen locking horns with Trent Hillger in the 125kg category. On the other hand, Zahid Valencia, who is also a prominent name in the wrestling community with two NCAA titles, will also be contending at the Final X.
Valencia recently joined the Oklahoma Regional Training Center in Stillwater in October 2024, and most recently opened up about his experience there. Both Hendrickson and Valencia sat for an interview ahead of Final X with USA Wrestling and revealed why it was special for them to compete at Stillwater under David Taylor.
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"Yeah, I think for me, I was happy where I was at ASU, was my home and I felt very comfortable there, content, but just wasn't getting over that hump, a lot of seconds a lot of thirds, so I think just trying to get out of my comfort zone and moving out getting to a new place having new coaches having new partners more partners especially around my weight that was able to push me to the next level different lifestyle," said Valencia.
Calling Stillwater a special place, Hendrickson added:
"I tried sprawling on Zahid and he picked me up I'm like what the heck is going on but, no, Stillwater is just it's a special place, and especially for me I think the biggest thing when you're trying to improve as a wrestler is having coaches that see stuff a different way."
Zahid Valencia will compete in the 86kg category against Kyle Dake.
David Taylor reacted to Wyatt Hendrickson winning the 2025 Dan Hodge Trophy
Wyatt Hendrickson recently received a major wrestling award after winning the 2025 NCAA Championships under David Taylor's tutelage. Shortly after this win, Hendrickson won the prestigious 2025 Don Hodge Trophy, which garnered the attention of the OSU coach.
David Taylor reacted to Hendrickson's significant milestone by sharing a video of the latter on his Instagram story and penned a sweet note that read:
"Let's go Cowboy! 3rd wrestler in the Oklahoma State wrestling history to win the prestigious Dan Hodge Trophy (wrestling Heisman) 🤠" wrote Taylor.
David Taylor was one of the most significant wrestlers, as he also won two Dan Hodge trophies while representing Penn State during his collegiate career. Along with this, the former wrestler also nabbed two NCAA titles and three Big 12 Championships.
