EFFINGHAM — Effingham senior grappler Kaiden Stewart has cemented himself in Flaming Hearts’ athletics history with the season he produced on the mat.
Stewart finished the year 38-13. He advanced to the state meet and became the first EHS wrestler ever to earn a victory after defeating Reed-Custer’s Kaaden Wood, 6-1, in the second round of the consolation bracket.
Stewart lost to LeRoy’s Brady Mouser in the first round and De La Salle’s Jeremiah Lawrence in his second consolation match.
“This is what I dreamed of,” Stewart said. “Coming into my senior year, I had a lot of goals. This was one — to make it to state.”
It took a lot for Stewart to advance to the final weekend of the season.
He finished fourth at the Carterville Sectional the week before, going 3-2.
“Going in, I knew that to be able to make it to state, I was going to have to beat somebody that I wasn’t predicted to beat,” Stewart said. “I knew it was going to have to be a tough wrestler.”
Stewart opened the sectional with a 12-8 win over Carterville’s Brawnsen Bloodworth. He then beat Salem’s Rylan Moore by pinfall. Stewart lost to Vandalia’s Preston Waughtel in the semifinals by technical fall.
“We went in and knew that his first two matches should be easy for him,” head coach Bryan McMillian said. “They came out the way we expected, but the biggest thing was he needed to keep his head.”
Following the loss, Stewart regrouped and defeated Murphysboro’s Kaiden Richards by pinfall at 1:15.
The match, though, was not in Stewart’s favor.
“I was down in my match, 11-3, and I ended up flipping the kid over, putting him on his back, and pinning him,” Stewart said. “It was a moment to beat a kid that’s been wrestling since he was five. I know him; he’s a great wrestler, but it really felt good to beat somebody that I know has been wrestling for a while.”
Controlling a favorable lead, Richards made one mistake as he hung his head.
Stewart was able to capitalize after that.
“As soon as I saw the kid hang his head, I took advantage of it and put him on his back,” he said. “I had all that pressure and all that weight on my back, but I tried it and was successful with it.”
Stewart was emotional after the win.
His dream had just come true.
McMillian couldn’t be happier for Stewart.
“I’m extremely happy. Kaiden’s worked hard,” McMillian said. “He’s become a different wrestler. He thinks more. With [Richards], he was down, but he didn’t panic. He kept on wrestling and caught the kid. He could have very easily said, ‘I’m done,’ but he kept fighting.”