US Open champ William Henckel reveals the process behind committing to Penn State

William Henckel, a rising talent in wrestling, has committed to the Penn State University wrestling program, led by wrestling icon Cael Sanderson. Henckel talked about his decision to attend Penn State's prestigious wrestling program.

The Connecticut native wrestles for Blair Academy, New Jersey and has become one of the top prospects. He has won two National Prep Championships, and in 2021, he clinched the Fargo 16U freestyle title in the 145-pound category. He won the 79 kg title at the US Open U20 Wrestling Championships.

During his recent discussion with Zach Seyko on the Locked on Nittany Lions podcast, the wrestler shared why he committed to the Penn State wrestling program, which won the 2025 NCAA Division I men's wrestling team title.

"I think especially on my visit, I think what really made it like I wanted to go here was just you know how much they love wrestling," Henckel said. "Obviously, wrestling is a lot about everybody wants to win and everybody wants to do well, like nobody wants to lose." [5:42 onwards]

He continued:

"That's just unrealistic, but I love wrestling and I want to make it my life. So it's the kids in there they do make it their life and they love it. So I just kind of saw what I'm about in that room, and I just gravitated towards it."

William Henckel is a two-time Beast of the East champion. In his senior season with Blair Academy, the wrestler competed in two categories in the 175-pound and 190-pound divisions.

William Henckel reflects on his win at the 2025 U20 Open championship

William Henckel is considered an emerging talent in the world of wrestling. He recently clinched a prominent victory in the 2025 U20 Open championship by winning the title in the 79kg category by defeating California’s Brock Mantanona in the finals, 12-8.

Through his interview with USA Wrestling, the wrestler shared his thoughts after his title win, highlighting the significance of his support system.

"I just felt good, kind of relying back on my training," he said. "I've had a good little training cycle here for the past few months. I've been thinking about this one for a while. Just great people around me to help me get it done. Just hard work and relying on my training." [0:09 onwards]

Henckel was one of the wrestlers from Connecticut who placed in the top eight of their weight classes at the U.S. Open championship.