Jan. 8—On the mat, you need a combination of smarts and brawn to defeat your opponent, and Glacier senior Aiden Sweat has neither.
The Wolf Pack wrestler moved up to 118 pounds this year after finishing third at 110 pounds in 2025 and making two state meets at 103 pounds (finishing fifth the second time).
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While a state championship may not be among Sweet’s accolades, he did capture a national title at the National Youth Folk Style Wrestling Championships in March. He defeated Julian Bigueur from California for the title.
Despite a late start, this was the pinnacle of Sweat’s life on the mat.
“I started a little later than others, but I started wrestling when I was nine or 10 years old and I haven’t stopped since,” Sweet said. “I just put in the work every day and just put in the time in and out of the gym, on the mat and off the mat.”
Sweet 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 sister, Sadie also won a national championship in the 10U girls division in 2025.
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Since returning to the Wolf Pack, Aiden has found himself leading his teammates to be better every day.
“I just want to set an example,” Sweet said. “Not just showing the kids the moves, but showing the effort you should put in and how determined you should be to win that game.”
“He’s on the mat every game,” first-year coach Mark Fisher said. “We go to games and he’s on the mat, coaching the kids, and it’s great. He’s gotten into that role and I think he enjoys his job as a leader and he’s able to do that. He walks the talk.”
One of the big changes for the Sweat and Wolfpack was the coaching change in the offseason: Ross Dankers left and Fischer came in for his second stint.
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“We’re definitely going to have some tough conversations in the beginning,” Fisher said. “It’s like this every time I take over a program and these guys are about to be seniors. You have to have these hard conversations to figure out what your expectations are, and he responded well.
“I think the other kids were watching and if I’d let him go a little bit, it might not have turned out the way it did.”
One thing that hasn’t changed is Sweet’s desire to be the best wrestler he can be, and he won’t let last season’s results determine his chances of competing for a state championship at MetraPark in Billings in February.
“The only good thing to come out of a loss is learning from it,” Sweet said. “I’m going to get better based on your losses and your mistakes, and I think I’ve learned a lot from my losses this past year and improved in a lot of areas, like my shot defense and everything on my feet.”
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On January 3, he won his second consecutive title at 120 pounds at the Pacific Northwest Classic in Spokane. In 2025, he finished 106th.
As for off the field, Sweet’s intelligence has drawn attention to his future in education.
Sweat maintains a 4.0 GPA and will attend Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, in the fall. He will continue his wrestling career with the Ivy League Bears.
“He’s a smart kid and a great wrestler,” Fisher said. “I think it’s a good fit for him.”
Sweet and his Wolfpack teammates return home on Friday for a crosstown doubleheader in Flathead.