U17: Stewart freestyles his way onto the World Team

05/01/2025 12:56 PM

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LAS VEGAS, NV • Be it Illinois or Las Vegas, Aaron Stewart remains and always is Aaron Stewart. The four-time Fargo and two-time Illinois state champion is now going overseas to compete in the World Championships for Freestyle, and for those who did not know Stewart is must-see wrestling, they will soon be exposed to it.

The University of Illinois commit walked into the Open as the number one seed in a monstrous 80kg weight, and he exited not only holding true to his seed, but by overcoming some adversity along the way.

Early on, throughout his first three bouts, Stewart was seemingly untouchable. He would outscore his opponents 30-0 and do so in a combined time of 2:08. However, as he reached the quarterfinals, Stewart would have to hold off an eight-seeded wrestler from Bally, Pennsylvania, named Nicholas Singer. Singer, who went 12-0 in last years’ 16U Freestyle and Greco-Roman National Duals, as well as being a Fargo All-American, placed fifth at the Walsh Ironman last season over Aaron Stewart; however, it was a win by Medical Forfeit.

So now, the match that was not wrestled in December, was being wrestled in April, in Vegas.

The bout would open in Singer’s favor. Stewart would be charged with two Passivity calls and lead to a point and choice in par terre for Singer. Singer would take that opportunity and turn it into three additional points and, with thirty-five seconds remaining in the first, take a strong 4-0 lead.

Stewart, however, always explosive and never out of a position or match, used those last thirty-five seconds, truly only the final eighteen, and made the most of his time.

With about twenty seconds left in the first, Stewart shot in on an explosive low double leg takedown that knocked Singer backwards. And even though Singer was able to belly out and only concede a two-point takedown, Stewart’s fast transition into a gut, hoping from right to left, was too much for Singer to defend. With a left-sided gut locked, and a dive and pull and arch, Stewart would be awarded with another two-points on the exposure.

The score was now 4-4 with 0:12 remaining, and the two wrestlers would simply hold still like statues in the center of the mat until the break came.

Out of the break, and with a 4-4 match with Stewart holding criteria based on two two-point moves, Singer came after him. And each time that he shot and faked and grabbed and snapped, Stewart remained poised and attentive, but never overanxious or panicked.

Stewart, to his credit, continued to hand fight hard, change levels, and look for attacks. And as each shot came in, Stewart, calm, cool, and collected, would down block, front head, and hold position. And as time was winding down, and Singer went for a headlock, Stewart would counter and add an additional four points with another turn.

A challenge brock would be thrown, the takedown, now ruled a slip, was called, but Stewart would win on criteria and advance.

In his semifinal bout, Stewart would be less dramatic and takeout the five-seeded Isai Fernandez of TMWC going 2-2-1 in the first, and then 2-2-2 in the second; the match ended at 3:11 due to technical superiority.

Now in the finals, Stewart would have a best-of-three series against Salah Tsarni of the DMV RTC out of Maryland. Tsarni, who was a 16U Fargo All-American and undefeated at the National Duals.

In the first match, Stewart lost to Tsarni in a series of one-point scores: activity time, step out—which was originally a Tsarni throw off the mat that was changed to a step-out with five seconds remaining—and a lost challenge point as Stewart had to start back down in par terre and tried to escape and expose Tsarni. In that final sequence, Tsarni did an exceptional job of not allowing his back to be exposed out of Stewart’s defensive position from bottom.

With this loss, Stweart would have to come back and win the next two matches. It would not be impossible, but it would have to be won one match at a time, and Stewart would have to find his offense.

At the start of the second match, Stewart came out much more aggressive in his hand fight and in working to control his offense. And even though Tsatni was not conceding anything, it was clear that Stewart was the wrestler in need of the early score.

However, even though Stewart was attacking more, Tsarni’s control of the mat pushed Stweart to be placed on activity time. And as time was expiring, Stewart would be in position to score. Tsarni would fend him off long enough for the activity time violation, awarding him the first point of the match, bit Stweart would score a takedown in that sequence and go up 2-1 with twenty-five seconds remaining in the period. Unfortunately, as Stewart looked to score on top, Tsarni found his way out the back door and scored a reversal five seconds later to tie the score at two, but Stewart would hold criteria.

With eighteen seconds left, it looked as if each wrestler was going to stand center and allow the time to expire, but, instead, Tsarni became seemingly anxious and took a bad shot. Stewart’s quickness not only allowed him to react, but it allowed him to chase the corner down, come behind, and score in those closing seconds.

Stewart went into the break with a 4-2 lead.

Once the second period began, Tsarni attacked. Almost immediately, he was in on Steart’s leg and looking for a takedown; however, as the two went out of bounds, he would only be awarded a pushout.

Off the next restart, Tsarni would concede another point to Stewart in terms of locking fingers. From here, Tsarni was appearing frustrated with the flow of the match. This was noticeable when Stweart went down with an elbow injury to his knees after his hand was caught, possibly twisted, inside of Tsarni’s singlet, and the official stopped the match, but Tsarni continued an attack and knocked Stweart over as he was grabbing his elbow. A point was awarded to Strewart and Tsarni’s corner would challenge the point—they would win their challenge and be awarded with a pushout.

After these events, there was now 1:20 remaining in the match and Stewart lead, 5-4.

With another restart came another attack from Tsarni. Stewart was able to defend, hold center, and relay on his hand fight and quickness and front head to fend off any offense Tsarni was trying to put together. Stewart would win the only match that mattered at the moment, match two, and now it was down to winning one match for a spot on the World Team.

Match three would see Stewart’s growth through the three bouts. In his first match, Stewart allowed Tsarni to control the tempo and center of the mat. In the second match, Stewart found his offense and controlled center. Now in the third, he would have to put it all together one more time with little to no mistakes to earn his championship.

Tsarni, as he had been, remained aggressive as the whistle blew and earned a step-out point forty-five seconds into the bout. Fifteen seconds later, as the two wrestlers’ heads collided, Stewart needed an injury timeout to recollect himself.

Coming out of the injury, Stewart went right to work. He would score a takedown off a sweep single to his left, and then he added a gut wrench to the sequence to go up 4-1. From there, Tsarni would defend and the two would come back to their feet, but those would be the only points scored in this one even though the second period would bring about throws and challenges and great flurries.

In the end, it would be Stewart standing tall with the win and the now opportunity to represent the United States in Athens, Greece, come

Here is a look at Stewart’s tournament:

Challenge Tournament:

RD.128 • Bye

RD.64 • defeated Chris Anguiano, Surfside X Wrestling • TS, 10-0 (0:30)

RD.32 • defeated Barrett Mieras (32), Immortal Athletics Wrestling Club • TS, 10-0 (0:29)

RD.16 • defeated Leif Larwin (16), Bend Senior High School • TS, 10-0 (1:09)

QTR-F • defeated Nicholas Singer (9), Steller Trained Wrestling • Dec, 4-4

SEMI-F • defeated Isai Fernandez (5), Titan Mercury Wrestling Club • TS, 11-0 (3:11)

Best-of-Three Series:

MATCH.01 • was defeated by Salah Tsarni (3), DMV RTC • Dec, 3-1

MATCH02 • defeated Salah Tsarni (3), DMV RTC • Dec, 5-4

MATCH.03 • defeated Salah Tsarni (3), DMV RTC • Dec, 4-1

Looking Ahead to Athens for Freestyle at 80kg

Looking ahead, here is the schedule for the U17 World Championships in Athens, Greece, for all three divisions: Greco-Roman, Women’s Freestyle, and Men’s Freestyle. The championships will take place from July 27 through August 08. All times listed are Central Daylight Times, and they are approximate and as closely aligned with UWW’s schedule as possible.

Monday, July 28th

09:30 a.m. • Greco-Roman: Qualification Round, 48-55-65-80-110kg

05:00 p.m. • Greco-Roman: Semifinals

Tuesday, July 29th

09:30 a.m. • Greco-Roman:Repechages, 48-55-65-80-110kg

11:30 a.m. • Greco-Roman: Qualification Round, 45-51-60-71-92kg

04:00 p.m. • Greco-Roman: Semifinals

05:00 p.m. • Greco-Roman: Finals, 48-55-65-80-110kg and Award Ceremonies

Wednesday, July 30th

09:30 a.m. • Greco-Roman:Repechages, 45-51-60-71-92kg

11:30 a.m. • Women’s Freestyle: Qualification Round, 43-49-57-65-73kg

04:00 p.m. • Women’s Freestyle: Semifinals