Madisyn Blackburn has been named the ITG Next 2022 Northeast Florida Female Wrestler of the Year, presented by Wolfson Children’s Hospital, Baptist Health, and the Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute.

Blackburn is a senior female wrestler at Clay High School in Green Cove Springs, Florida. Clay wrestling has a long-standing tradition of winning. They have won 22 straight district titles and 18 regional titles to date. 

Blackburn recently won the Florida High School Athletic Association inaugural girls wrestling state championship.  

She began taking mixed martial arts classes at a young age. Her father was a professional MMA fighter, and she wanted to follow in his footsteps. 

When Blackburn was in junior high, she began wrestling as it was the competitive sport closest to MMA that she could find. When she began, every girl got to go to the state championships as there were no regionals or sectionals for girls. They all competed in a high school gymnasium. 

“We didn’t have to qualify, so anybody could go, so like every girl went to state, and it was just packed the first two days,” said Blackburn. 

During her senior year, she finally got the same experience that the boys wrestlers had as girls wrestling was now a sanctioned event. She was able to compete in an actual arena with a full postseason. 

“It was quite exciting,” said Blackburn. “When I found out it happened, I stood up in the middle of my class and told everybody that we got sanctioned.” 

Blackburn said she loves the way that Clay High School has treated her, making every day feel like she is at home with family. She said she never realized how close everyone was until she was part of it, and now it is something she can never forget. 

“I never looked at Clay as the medals they’ve won and stuff,” said Blackburn. “Because when you come there, it’s like a really tight community.”

Blackburn said that when she won her state title her senior year, she went into the tournament knowing there was not a single girl there that could beat her. She was confident that she was going to make this inaugural event even more memorable for her and her family. 

“Due to how the season went and how the previous tournament (regionals) went, I was walking into state like, ‘I’m going to win this. Nobody is going to take this from me,’” said Blackburn.

In February of 2022, Blackburn committed to continue her wrestling and academic career at Brewton-Parker College in Mount Vernon, Georgia. 

Written by: Kennedie Weems