St. Charles wrestling club successful at competition
SCN Youth Wrestling Club in St. Charles is a nonprofit, public charity which is designed to introduce and train young athletes from ages 4 to 14 in the sport of wrestling. The organization, made up of kids, parents, and coaches, is committed to developing basic and advanced wrestling skills in a fun, competitive environment. Wrestling at SCN is about goal setting and achievement, and the use youth wrestling as an avenue to develop the character and work ethic of the young athletes to ultimately help them maximize their potential in all aspects of their adulthood later in life.
Founded in 2002, it has become one of the leading youth wrestling programs in Illinois and is receiving national recognition as well.
In its sixth season and as a relative newcomer to the club wrestling scene, the club has an enrollment of more than 100 kids.
It is led by Scott Jaffe, Walt Jimenez, Joe Silvestro, Brian Field, and head coach, Aaron Gilson. There is also ample support from many fathers as coaches and mothers as administrators. The club in a very short period of time through private contributions and donations has built its own state of the art wrestling and strength training facility.
After the grueling four-month, folkstyle wrestling season ended in March at the state level, the USA Wrestling National championship series began. First, with the ASICS USA Wrestling Folkstyle National Championships held in Cedar Falls, Iowa earlier this year in April, and over the Fourth of July weekend, youth wrestlers from across the country competed in Orem, Utah at the ASICS USA Wrestling Freestyle and Greco Roman National Championships.
SCN wrestlers represented Illinois wrestling well, and enjoyed tremendous success during the offseason national series. Listed below are USA Wrestling recognized SCN All-Americans:
• Peter Ferraro: 7 years old, eighth place, USA Folkstyle Nationals
• John Jimenez: 12 years old, sixth place, USA Folkstyle Nationals
• Nate Jimenez: 7 years old, second place, USA Folkstyle Nationals
• Nick Ferraro: 12 years old, fifth place, USA Greco-Roman Nationals; and fifth place, USA Freestyle Nationals
• Anthony Bosco, 12 years old, second place, USA Greco-Roman Nationals; and third place, USA Freestyle Nationals
• Angelo Silvestro, 14 years old, second place, USA Greco-Roman Nationals; and third place, USA Freestyle Nationals
• AJ Jaffe: 10 years old, first place, USA Folkstyle Nationals; first place, USA Greco-Roman Nationals; and first place, USA Freestyle Nationals
AJ Jaffe is the only wrestler from Illinois, and one of only nine wrestlers in the country that won national titles in all three disciplines. AJ will be recognized by USA Wrestling as a 2008 Triple Crown Champion and will be honored in USA Wrestler, the official publication of USA Wrestling, which is circulated throughout the United States.
Other SCN athletes competing at the national level, were Eddie Greco who was a member of the Illinois Cadet National team along with his older brother and SCN alumni, Pat Greco, who earned All-American honors by going undefeated at the Cadet National dual tournament held this June in Kansas City, Mo. Both young men also qualified to compete in the USA National Championships in Fargo, N.D. in July. Pat Greco earned High School All-American honors by placing eighth in the national championships.
Angelo Silvestro and SCN teammate, George Fisher, were members of the Illinois Schoolboy National team which competed in Indianapolis, Ind. this past June. Angelo earned All-American honors by recording a 16-1 record at the national dual tournament.
Angelo will be joining other SCN teammates Eddie Greco, Ryan Riggs, and SCN alumni Pat Greco, Nico Jimenez, and Eddie Breen by attending Marmion Academy in Aurora this fall.