Alex Hedrick Returns to Team USA After Leaving for Mission
The wrestler won the Grand View Open and secured a top-three national ranking after serving in New York.
By Aiko Petrov ·
Alex Hedrick has returned to the U.S. national wrestling team after completing a two-year missionary service in New York. The 25-year-old California native won the Grand View Open title in the 130-pound division earlier this year. She now holds a top-three national ranking, which qualifies her for U.S. National Team support, including funding, training, and competition opportunities.
Hedrick’s path to the national roster was interrupted in 2024. She placed third at the Olympic team trials that year, a result that was not enough to secure a spot for the Paris Games. Following that competition, she decided to leave the sport to serve a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She officially became a missionary in October 2024, assigning to the New York Syracuse Mission.
The decision to step away at the height of her career was a personal struggle for Hedrick. She had held a coveted roster spot on Team USA for several years. As a college graduate in her mid-20s, she knew she would be older than most of her fellow missionaries. She prayed for clarity, stating that she would only go if the Lord made it clear to her. She felt that clarity six months before the 2024 Olympic trials.
Hedrick grew up in a wrestling family. Her father, Pete Hedrick, competed for BYU under coach Mark Schultz and later coached in Fair Oaks, California. Hedrick was often the only girl in the room during her youth. She took seventh place in the Northern California boys championships in eighth grade. She watched Jennifer Page compete at the 2012 Olympic Trials, which inspired her to pursue the sport at an elite level.
She chose to attend Simon Fraser University in Canada for its strong women’s wrestling program. She won two national titles there and claimed the U23 national crown in 2021. Her college career overlapped with her time on Team USA, where she earned a bronze medal at the 2022 U23 World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain. She is now pursuing graduate studies in coaching and athletic leadership.
Missionary life presented physical and emotional challenges. Hedrick reported feeling micromanaged after living alone for several years. She noted that working with companions six or seven years younger than her was difficult. President Kory Coleman and Sister Carolie Coleman, her mission leaders, said her maturity proved to be an asset. They gave her leadership roles that required sacrifice. Hedrick said the experience taught her the importance of being on a team and working with others.
Hedrick maintained her physical conditioning during her mission. She located a stationary bike, an elliptical, and a treadmill in her living spaces. She found old dumbbells on the side of the road. In her final service area, she discovered a wrestling club that practiced at the local meetinghouse. She used the mats for stance and motion drills and borrowed a throw-dummy from a local middle school. Her final missionary companion, Brynn Campbell, said they worked out every morning, even when temperatures dropped to 20 degrees below zero.
Hedrick’s mission concluded earlier this year. She immediately returned to training and competing. She relocated to Colorado Springs to be close to the U.S. Olympic Training Center. She is now focused on the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
