Evanston’s Scott casts eyes on national prize

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Incoming junior Tiaira Scott (left) trains with Alex Pemberton at the Evanston Township Summer Wrestling Camp in preparation for another run at the junior nationals.| Curtis Lehmkuhl~Sun-Times Media

Updated: October 26, 2011 1:44AM

WRESTLING — Evanston’s Tiaira Scott went from wrestling novice to near-world beater in less than a year.

Now, less than two seasons into her career as a grappler, the incoming junior heads to next month’s Women’s Junior Freestyle National Championships (July 15-23 in Fargo, N.D.) with her eyes on a national title.

“Yes, I’m better prepared (than last year),” said Scott, a member of Evanston’s boys wrestling team who finished second in the 220-pound weight class at last year’s national club event. “I think I’ve concentrated more, focused on my goals and what I want. I think I’ve gotten better from staying after practice, asking more questions and working harder.”

Additionally, last year’s 220-pound champion Ronny Elor (Calif.) is no longer eligible for the event because she has graduated from high school.

Whether she captures the crown this year or not, Scott’s future appears to be bright. She may wrestle in college, as nearly 50 universities now have women’s wrestling programs — and possibly the Olympics, which added women’s wrestling as a sport in 2004.

Scott already has been in contact with former Evanston boys state champion Shannyn Gillespie (1984), who’s currently the freestyle coach at the United States Olympic Education Center (USOEC) in Marquette, Mich., where elite women’s wrestlers train for national and international competitions.

All of this for Scott, who didn’t even consider wrestling as an option until learning about it during an eighth-grade orientation.

“I wanted to try boxing, but it wasn’t at our school. So I looked at wrestling and it sounded interesting,” said Scott, who enjoys reading crime scene investigative books and reads the Bible ahead of every match.

Scott’s initial transition to the sport and the Evanston wrestling program was made easier by the fact that the 2009-10 squad contained three other girls: then-seniors Kathleen Alfredson, Chloe Besson and Janelle Jones — the latter a national champion in the folkstyle division.

The presence of the trio meant that Evanston’s male wrestlers had long since accepted the idea of having talented girls on the squad. Alfredson, Besson and Jones also helped Scott hone her technique, though they certainly didn’t take it easy on her.

“I practiced with Janelle and it was hard for me. She made me cry every day,” Scott said. “But it motivated me and I wanted to be just like her.”

Though Scott initially practiced with the girls, she mostly has competed against boys on the high school level. She was part of the freshman team last year and was on the sophomore or JV squad in the winter.

With just one other girl on the team last season, Scott’s training partner was senior Andre Laden, an alternate in the 215-pound division in February’s IHSA Class 3A individual state meet.

“I think (practicing against Layden) has improved me,” said Scott, whose chances of gaining a spot on varsity next season will be bolstered by Layden’s graduation. “He’s very hard to wrestle and I had to try to take him down. He’s very strong.”

The fact that Scott practiced against Layden, one of the team’s top performers, shows Evanston head coach Rudy Salinas is not lying when he says female members of his team get no special treatment.

“We don’t coach boys and girls — we coach wrestling,” Salinas said. “The girls do everything: climb the ropes, run the stairs, all the contact drills. There is no deviation in the training. If (the girls) are true to the sport, they don’t want any accommodation because of gender. (The girls who have been part of the program) are ladies, in character and definition. But on the mat, they are wrestlers, they are competitive and they are feared.”

Hard work put in as a freshman clearly helped prepare Scott for her first wrestling offseason last summer. She captured the title in her weight class at women’s club tournaments in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin before finishing runner-up at the big tournament in North Dakota. Scott also spent some time at a training camp for top female prep wrestlers in Minnesota.

Currently, Scott is training a few days a week at Evanston as she prepares for this year’s trip to Fargo.

She also is looking ahead to her future in the sport, in high school and beyond.

“I think I can (make varsity) this season,” said Scott, whose younger brother, Courtney, was a freshman in the Evanston program last year. “But (regardless) my goal is to stick with the team, stay positive and try to motivate younger kids to stay on the team. I want to go to college and wrestle and go to the Olympics. (US Olympic training center coach Gillespie) said that if I go to college and wrestle, I could possibly (join the USOEC Residency Program) and train for (senior) national and international events.”