The last weekend in January, two youth wrestlers from Bristol traveled to Fort Wayne, Indiana to take part in the USA Wrestling Youth Folk Style National Championships.

Both boys, Cam Ferreira, a 6th grader wrestling in the 70lb class, and Grayson Sylvaria, a 5th grader wrestling in the 58lb class, finished 8th in their respective weight groups and came home with the official title of All Americans.

“I was excited to go to my first national competition,” said Grayson. “My weight group was pretty stacked with 4 returning national champions so my goal was go make the podium. I went in unranked and was excited to come home an All American. I can’t wait to go back next year. Coach Stephen says that I have a real good chance at top 3 next year, especially since this was my first Nationals. He’s a great coach!”
“There was a lot of great competition, and I really enjoyed competing with kids from all over the country,” said Cam. “I am working hard to become a national champion — my goal at this event was to be an All American, and I gave it all I had.”

“It was a great experience, and all the hard work paid off,” said Cam’s father, Kevin Ferreira. “He loves to compete and I love to watch.”

A wrestling community grows in Bristol

Both boys train at Iron Faith Wrestling at 12 Gooding Avenue.
Iron Faith opened in Bristol, their second location, in the summer of 2023. The training facility is owned by Stephen and Katelyn Jarrell, also of Bristol. Stephen, a high school and collegiate wrester who also coached at the college level (Holy Cross and JWU) opened initially in Warwick, two months before the 2020 pandemic. They were forced to close for a year, but found that when restrictions finally lifted, athletes were hungry to get back to work.

Iron Faith’s youngest wrestlers can start at age 6; they also have some college age and adult wrestlers, though most are in the middle/high school age range.

Grayson’s mother Chelsea Sylvaria, loves the culture that Stephen and Katelyn have created at Iron Faith. “This club is doing a lot of great things, making great wrestlers as well as great humans,” she said. “They are learning on and off the mat.”

Their coach has equal admiration for his young wrestlers. “Cam first started wrestling with us in July of 2022 out of our location in Warwick. He has always been driven, fearless, and wants to improve,” said Jarrell. “He even has a decked out wrestling room in his house where he puts in the extra work.”

“Grayson started wrestling with us in March of 2024. Since then he has improved his wrestling at an impressive rate,” said Jarrell. “It helps to have the drive and love for the sport but what I would say is special about his situation is he has 2 perfect training partners who are just as invested in growing their wrestling skills — brothers Gavin and Griffin. There is no doubt in my mind that this wrestling family is going to make a big name for themselves.”

Soon after opening in Bristol, Stephen and Katelyn decided to make Bristol their home. “The community is great and we have everything we need here to bring these athletes to success,” said Jarrell.

Now that Grayson and Cam have placed top 8 in the country, their coach is looking forward to seeing what they can accomplish next as well as the rest of their teammates at Iron Faith Wrestling. The facility currently has 95 wrestlers of all ages; their most recent Middle School State Champs (alongside Cam) are Matthew Williams and State Finalist Hayden Lake, who competed last weekend in the state championships representing the Kickemuit Middle School. “KMS coaches Trevor King and Dominic Lombardo are caring and driven,” said Jarrell. “KMS placed second as a team this year in the state championships and I’m sure this is just the beginning for them and us.”

“We could not have the success we have without our amazing assistant coaching staff with Chris Francis, Christian Torres, and James Rocco. With all of our support here in Bristol we are going to be taking many wrestlers to the top in the country,” said Jarrell. “I’m so happy this is where we decided to grow our wrestling team.”