When Wyatt tried out for the men's crew at UVa (a single 1000 meter ergometer piece) he "was the second-to-last guy to make the team. And it was a very distant second to last. I was pretty skinny (185 pounds) and out of shape. At least that's my excuse."

Wyatt quickly improved, and in just his second year of college, he was already making trips to the national team training center, in Princeton, New Jersey, to test himself on the ergometer against some of the best rowers in the United States. "I don't remember it being intimidating as much as it was exciting and motivating. The coolest part for me was being mixed in among the best college rowers and among current national team rowers who I recognized from pictures. It was an exercise in staying focused on my own performance."

That focus and determination eventually paid off. By his fourth year of college Wyatt had grown to 6'4", weighed 210 pounds, and was pulling jaw-dropping numbers on the ergometer: 5:56 for 2000 meters. At the end of Wyatt's third year of college, he and the Virginia varsity 8+ won the gold medal at the 2000 Champion International Collegiate Regatta, in Worcester, Massachusetts. That race was one of the brightest moments in the history of Virginia Men's Rowing, and it was a prelude to much bigger accomplishments for Wyatt.

"The summer between my third and fourth year, I was invited to a selection camp for the Under-23 National Team at Cornell University. I made the men's pair and competed in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the Under-23 World Championships, finishing fifth. It was this experience that focused me on the goal of moving to Princeton after graduation to pursue the national team."

Wyatt not only became a national team member, he became one of its most respected and accomplished athletes. Here are some highlights of Wyatt's national team experience.

• Seven-time senior national team member
• Gold medalist, U.S. Men's 8+, 2004 Olympic Games, in Athens, Greece. The 8+ set a world record during its heat, rowing the 2000-meter course in 5:19.
• Bronze medalist, U.S. Men's 8+, 2008 Olympic Games, in Beijing, China
• 2007 USRowing Male Athlete of the Year
• Winner of the 2005 Diamond Challenge Sculls (men's single) at the Henley Royal Regatta, in England