BATAVIA — Batavia star wrestler Casper Stewart has announced that he will be remaining in New York State for the next phase of his career after he stated that he will be attending the United States Military Academy at West Point, Army, next season.
The No. 1-ranked overall in-state prospect among rising seniors in New York according to New York Wrestling News will be continuing a family tradition of attending a United States service academy — father Rick, head coach at Batavia, has been serving in the Army National Guard for 20 years, while he had a grandfather and great-grandfather attend the United States Navy and one great-grandfather attend the United States Army,
Stewart has made four tripes to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Championships in Albany and has put together a 12-6 overall record.
The Blue Devils star followed up a winless debut in Albany in 2019 by stringing together NYSPHSAA Large School State finishes of third, fourth, and third in 2020, 2022, and 2023 at 113, 138, and 152 pounds, respectively.
Last season he entered the state tournament at a perfect 47-0 record and was seeded No. 2.
Last winter at the NYSPHSAA Championships, Stewart had a 15-0 technical fall against four-time Section X champion Colden Hardy of Massena and a 51-second pin of Iona Prep’s Eric Grant, before eventually suffering a 5-2 defeat at the hands of three-time state medalist and eventual champion Frankie Volpe of Hauppauge. The loss to Volpe was a reversal of their Eastern States Classic title bout, won by Stewart, 8-3.
Stewart would go on to close out his 51-1 junior campaign by posting decision victories over Charlie Foster and Landon Lazarek.
At the Fargo National Championships, Stewart has put together three AA finishes, taking seventh in 2022, while he has never finished lower than blood round status in either of the two international styles.
A quarterfinalist in both Greco Roman and Freestyle this past July, Stewart earned All-American status for the third time in Greco Roman in Fargo.
At 152 pounds, Stewart rolled in the Round of 64, 12-2, over Colorado’s Jonathan Malovich. In the Round of the 32, Stewart was able to edge Mitchell Faglioni of Virginia, 3-1. In the Round of 16, Stewart, again, was on cruise control with an 8-0 blanking of Illinois’ Fernando Lopez, placing him in the quarterfinals.
In the quarters he would face U17 World Champion Joel Adams. Adams took a 9-6 victory, but the match was protested due to a missed call that would have put Stewart up in the match. The protest was granted and the two would have to wrestle again, with Adams putting together a 10-2 victory in the second bout.
Stewart’s knee injury came in the first matchup with Adams.
Stewart would go on to a 12-2 technical fall win over Alabama’s Daishun Rowe in the Consolation quarterfinals before having to default.
Meanwhile, wrestling a 145 pounds, Stewart would advance to the Consolation Round of 12 (blood round) and was one victory away from All-American status in freestyle.
In Round 1 (round of 128), Stewart took care of Jackson Young of New Jersey via 10-0 technical fall. In the Round of 64, Stewart once again cruised, this time with a pin of Antonio Alvila of Wyoming in just 1:17.
On Day 2 in the Round of 32, Stewart again picked up a 10-0 technical fall win, this time over Parker Pisarchick of Pennsylvania. Stewart would then outlast Illinois’ Noah Manuel Tapia 10-6 in the Round of 16 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Stewart would drop his first Freestyle match of the tournament in the Round of 8 against Logan Paradice of Georgia, to fall back to the Consolation Round. In the Round of 12, Stewart dropped a hard-fought, 15-10 decision to Minnesota’s Alex Braun.
Among his many accolades to date, Stewart — a varsity wrestler since seventh grade — has won five Section V championships, including the Class A2 crown this past winter when he pinned Webster Thomas’ Jonathan Schmitt in 1:27 to claim the 152-pound title, while he was a 2023 Eastern States Classic winner, a three-time USAW Fargo 16U/Junior FS/GR All-American a 2022 NHSCA All-American and a 2022 U.S. Open U7 AA finish.
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