Adam Hendrickson’s freshman season with the University of Regina wrestling team has been a dream come true.

The local product earned a bronze medal last week at the Canada West wrestling championships, which secured him a spot at the U Sports National Championships this weekend in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

“I went in there not knowing what to expect, but I came out feeling pretty proud of myself and happy for our team,” said Hendrickson. “I’m really excited to head to Sault Ste. Marie, it should be a blast.”

Hendrickson went 1-2 at the CanWest Championships to pick-up the bronze medal in the 90-kilogram weight class. Hendrickson said he didn’t set any expectations going into the tournament and he’s happy with the result that he was able to get.

“It was a surprise, there was only four guys in my category, so I figured out the math and when I was up to wrestle this one guy that it would be the bronze medal match, so it put a bit of pressure on me and it was really exciting to walk off the mat with a win,” said Hendrickson.

“The moment I realized that I was going to nationals, it was a really just fantastic moment, all my friends were congratulating me and it was surreal.”

The match that Hendrickson is referring to is his decision win over University of Calgary’s Hamdan Mirza. It was a match that didn’t exactly go according to play right off the start for Hendrickson, but he found his groove as the match went on and was able to secure the win.

“I had a different strategy at the beginning, but then my coach at the half told me exactly what he wanted me to do, so I went with his strategy and that got me the win,” said Hendrickson. “I had to switch it up and it my coach coaches me through it.”

That win would clinch him a spot at nationals, which for a first-year wrestler is a big accomplishment. Hendrickson said he’s made a lot of progress in his first year wrestling at the U Sports level.

“This was my first time wrestling at that weight, a month before I dropped in weight to fill the spot in that class,” said Hendriclson. “It was gruelling at first, but everything has been building up to that bronze medal moment because I put in a lot of work this year.”

While his CanWest medal was a big moment, Hendrickson is focused on putting together the best performance possible at the national championship this weekend.

“I’m just really looking to get the full experience, I’d like to come home happy with the way I performed on the weekend, not necessarily come home with any hardware, just be happy with how I wrestled,” he said.

The national championship opens on Friday morning and runs through Saturday. Click here for a schedule and results.