Wyatt Hendrickson’s preparation for his junior season began moments after his sophomore season ended.

Hendrickson, Air Force’s heavyweight wrestling star, lost two of his first four matches at the NCAA Wrestling Championships, finishing in the Round of 16. He entered as the weight class’ (285) No. 5 seed but didn’t finish as high as his ranking.

To the gym Hendrickson went.

“It was minutes after I lost,” Hendrickson said. “I grabbed my stuff and went to the gym.”

Hendrickson didn’t stay for long. The wrestler’s feeling of anger quickly turned into feelings of sadness, as he broke down.

“(Coach) Sam (Barber) came and helped me out, but mentally, I was like ‘I wish I could go back two days and redo this whole experience,’” Hendrickson said.

Fast forward a year, and last year’s pain has taken Hendrickson to new heights.

For the third time in as many seasons, Hen

drickson will compete in the NCAA Championships, held March 16-18 in Tulsa, Okla. He enters this year’s tournament as the No. 2 seed in the 285-pound class, his highest seed yet.

Hendrickson is 26-1 this year, winning the Big 12 heavyweight championship for his second season in a row. His only loss of the year came to Michigan’s Mason Parris, who enters the NCAA Championships as the No. 1 seed.

Sharpening aspects of his technique and becoming stronger have been paramount as Hendrickson has become even more dominant.

“You have to keep developing,” Hendrickson said. “You will never be the best at technique. Jordan Burroughs, the best wrestler, still works on his technique every day.”

The mental side of wrestling, though, has been just as beneficial as Hendrickson’s technical development.

Hendrickson and his teammates have put an emphasis on becoming mentally stronger this season.

Under the leadership of assistant coach Joe Johnston, the Falcons have “Mental M” days once a week. They have also begun reading the book “Mind Gym: An Athlete’s Guide to Inner Excellence” by Gary Mack, which is available for the wrestlers to check out any time.

“A lot of people say they do mental training, and they do it maybe once a year — they don’t go back to it,” Hendrickson said. “Being consistent, that’s been big for me.”

Barber, who has coached Air Force for nine seasons, added, “I think he manages matches much better. He shows up and he can manage matches and he can go out there and wrestle with a game plan and a pace.”

Confidence is key in wrestling. In such a physical sport, one needs to believe they are able to physically manhandle the opponent to actually do so.

That said, Hendrickson believes he was overconfident in his prior two seasons at Air Force.

Increased humility has been an integral part of his continued development.

“Confidence is big, but I was a little too confident in some spots,” Hendrickson said. “I wanted to be more humble in training, which I’ve done this year.”

Now, days away from competing on college wrestling’s biggest stage for the third time, Hendrickson feels more ready than ever.

“The biggest thing I learned is it’s a whole ’nother ball game,” Hendrickson said. “From the get go, you have to prepare physically and mentally for every match. It’s unlike anything else there is.”

As a freshman, Hendrickson fell in the Round of 12, just one win away from reaching All-american status. A year ago, his run ended in the Round of 16.

Hendrickson believes focusing on each match as it comes will allow for a longer journey in this year’s tourney.

“I think I was a little overconfident (last year) and didn’t take it one match at a time,” Hendrickson said. “You can’t be looking later on in the bracket.”

The feeling of defeat Hendrickson experienced after his second loss at nationals a year ago is one he hopes to never feel again.

That same feeling, still pitted deep inside of him, is driving him as he goes for redemption.

“That day, I was like ‘365 days till I’m back here,’” Hendrickson said. “Right off the bat, it was a driving factor.”

“Those two experiences, I think, are things we’re going to look back after this weekend and say, ‘Hey, those were some of the main reasons that we stand on the podium this year,’” coach Barber said.