In the world of high school athletics, participants sometimes get frustrated when they don’t receive instant gratification for their hard work.
Robbinsville High’s wrestling team can feel fortunate that Chris Steward is not one of those people.
After his sophomore season, Steward had amassed an overall record of 6-27 after going 2-12 and 4-15. Hours of sweat, pain and exhaustion in the wrestling room, coupled with hungry nights from cutting weight, and all he had were six wins to show for it.
If there was ever a time to get frustrated and quit, that would have been it. Unless you are Steward, who said the thought crossed his mind, but having a brother, David, who also wrestled motivated him to keep going.
“I just felt eventually I would get better and if I worked harder it would be easier, and matches would be easier to win,” he said. “I just started working harder in the room and believing I could win and I just had that mindset, and it became a lot easier.”
And Steward became a lot better. As a junior wrestling primarily at 160 pounds, he went 29-10 with 17 pins and two technical falls. When districts arrived, he went up to 170 and reached the District 25 finals before falling to Hamilton’s Chris Stout, 7-5.
Steward made a quick exit in the Region 7 Tournament, losing to Moorestown’s Anthony Williamson 10-3 in the first round, but his overall experience last season has him thinking big this year.
“I want to place in the states,” Steward said of his goal.
Ravens coach Rich Gildner is looking for a big year from Steward now that he has turned the corner. Last year, Gildner said, was Steward’s breakout season, as wrestling as a sophomore in the upper weights can still make you feel like “a boy against men.”
“Last year, Chris finally broke through and started having confidence in himself, and that the hard work he did would pay off,” Gildner said. “He struggled a little big at the regions, but that’s part of the territory. You go into that environment, even if it’s at our gym, it takes some time to get used to that setting.”
It did not take long for Steward to realize it just wasn’t another dual meet.
“At first it felt kind of the same because it was hosted in our gym,” he said. “I felt at home, but it somewhat got into my head this is a higher up tournament than I’ve ever been in.”
Steward began wrestling in fourth grade for the Robbinsville Wrestling Association, as he followed David—two years his elder—into the sport.
“I thought it was really fun,” he said. “It was tough, but I kind of like that. My brother helped me a lot. He basically beat me up while we were wrestling.”
From the RWA, Steward wrestled at Pond Road Middle School for three years before entering Robbinsville. He went through some growing pains before becoming more assertive on the mat.
“We kind of noticed at the beginning of the year, just a difference in the way he was kind of carrying himself,” Gildner said. “As a freshman and sophomore he was pretty quiet and reserved. Last year he started being a little more vocal and setting an example for the younger guys.”
He was also setting an example with his performance.
“My freshman and sophomore years I was kind of shy, I guess,” Steward said. “And then last year I would just always be pushing, always be on a person’s head and wearing them down. “
He started the season by losing two straight meets at the TCNJ tournament to wrestlers from Point Pleasant and Colts Neck. He followed by winning a decision over Cherry Hill West’s Cody McHale and won seven of his next eight—five by fall.
“I started 0-2 and after that I realized I had to just be confident and go out and attack, and I had to use what I could to my advantage,” Steward said. “You just have to think you are the best and you’re better than the other people.”
Gildner felt that much of Steward’s success comes from sheer tenacity.
“I think he always finds a way to win,” the coach said. “When you look at some of the stuff he does, it might not be the best technique or the correct way of doing things. But he’s tough. He’s hard to score on and he never gives up on a match. He’s just overall solid as a wrestler. I wouldn’t say he’s weak in any area. He’s been wrestling a while, he knows the sport. He just loves being out there. He loves competing, he sets a good example for the younger guys.”
The coach is also happy that Steward sets big goals for himself.
“That’s most important thing,” the coach said. “We can set goals for our guys and what we think, but they might have different goals. He’s shooting high and that’s good.”
And despite the fact Steward basically exploded on the scene last year, Gildner added “I don’t want to say he came out of nowhere, because we knew he had the talent. He just had to get confident enough to use it.”
This past summer, Steward helped his cause by going to The College of New Jersey’s camp, as well as training at Elite Wrestling in Jackson several nights a week. That extra training, plus making it to regions last year, has given Steward even more confidence for this season.
“I was pretty excited to get to regions and do pretty well for the season,” he said. “It motivates me and shows me I can actually do good things.”
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