On the mat you need a mix of brains and brawn to take down your opponent, and Glacier senior Aiden Sweat has no shortage of either.

The Wolfpack wrestler moved up to 118 pounds this year after a third-place finish at 110 in 2025 and two state appearances at 103 — the second producing a fifth-place result. 

Though the state championship may not be among Sweat’s honors, he does hold a national title from the Junior Folkstyle Wrestling National Championships back in March. He defeated Julian Bigueur from California for the title. 

It’s the culmination of a life on the mat for Sweat — despite a late start. 

“I started a little later than others, but I have wrestled since I was nine or 10 and haven’t stopped since then,” Sweat said. “I put in the work every day and just put in the hours in and out of the gym, on the mat and off the mat.” 

Sweat got his start thanks to his father, Nathan, who was a wrestler in his own right. Nathan Sweat helps coach Aiden and Sadie — Aiden’s younger sister who also claimed a national title in 2025 in the 10U girls division. 

Back with the Wolfpack, Aiden finds himself leading his teammates to get better every day. 

“I just try to set an example,” Sweat said. “Not just by showing moves to the kids, but by showing the effort you should be putting in and how determined you should be to win that match.” 

“He will sit on the mat for every match,” first-year coach Mark Fischer said. “We go to tournaments and he sits on the mat and he is coaching the kids and it’s great. He has stepped into the role, and I think that he likes the job of just being the leader who can do it too. He walks the walk and everything.” 

One major change for Sweat and the Wolfpack was a coaching change in the offseason: Ross Dankers departed and Fischer stepped in for a second tenure. 

“We definitely had to have a couple hard conversations at first,” Fischer said. “Every time that I have taken over a program it has been that way, you have these guys that are coming up to be seniors. You have to have these hard conversations to establish what your expectations are, and he responded well. 

“I think the other kids were watching, if I let him go a little bit it might not have ended up like it is now.” 

One thing that hasn’t changed is Sweat’s drive to be the best wrestler he can be, and he is not letting last season’s results define his run at a state title at MetraPark in Billings in February. 

“The only thing that comes from losses is learning from them,” Sweat said. “Getting better based off your losses and mistakes, and I think that from my losses that I had over the past year I have learned a lot and have improved in a lot of ways like my shot defense and everything on my feet.” 

He nabbed his second consecutive title at the Pacific Northwest Classic in Spokane back on Jan. 3 at 120 pounds. He won there at106 in 2025. 

As for off the mat, Sweat’s smarts have drawn some major attention for his future in education. 

Maintaining a 4.0 GPA, Sweat is committed to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island in the fall. He will continue his wrestling career for the Ivy League Bears. 

“He is just a brilliant kid and a great wrestler,” Fischer said. “I think it fits him well.” 

Sweat and his Wolfpack teammates are back on the mat at home Friday as they welcome in Flathead for a Crosstown dual.