Cody Thorn
Article Takeaways:
- Mackenzie Blue excels in both pole vault and wrestling, facing a challenging decision for college.
- Her dedication to both sports is evident in her achievements and rigorous training schedule.
- Despite sacrifices and tough choices, Blue remains focused on her goals, driven by a passion for competition and self-improvement.
Mackenzie Blue is in a unique position heading into her final year of high school.
The junior at Justin Northwest is a two-sport athlete who will have options to do pole vault or wrestling at college.
“I will see what happens,” Blue said. “It will be a tough decision but hopefully one that will benefit me either way. I’m privileged to say I do two sports and I’m good enough to be recruited in both of them.”
Perhaps the most telling sign of what kind of athlete Blue came in early April.
She took third place at the district track and field meet in the pole vault to qualify for regionals. The next day, she won her bracket the North Colleyville Clash at Colleyville Heritage in the 16U/Junior division.
“Having someone great at multiple sports in our mat room is a huge advantage,” said outgoing Northwest wrestling coach Jessica Fresh. “Not only because Mack is super athletic and helps set an example of what it takes to achieve high goals, but it also encourages other kids to do other things. She also has a 4.0 grade point average, so she clearly knows how to time manage and lead from the front.”
Track and field has always been Blue’s first sport, starting the week before she turned 7 years old. She started wrestling in eighth grade and has taken to it. Coach Fresh came to the middle school to teach the sport and Blue was hooked.
Blue joined Spartan Mat Club in Fort Worth and started committing more to wrestling her freshman year.
“Being from Iowa, it is our norm to start in kindergarten or sometime in elementary school,” Fresh said. “She has been able to have success in wrestling because she has a natural athletic ability and she sets really high goals and is someone that works her butt off. Mack bought in early to the program and has held a high expectation for herself. She loves to compete and loves to win.”
Fresh said that Blue not reaching her goal has motivated her to improve after a pair of top-three finishes at state.
As a sophomore, she was the runner-up in Class 5A at 132 pounds — helping the Texans win the team state title. This year, she was third at 132, winning four in a row after being upset in the quarterfinals.
She is 94-13 in the past two seasons.
Blue is putting in the work this offseason to get better on the mat, starting with competing in freestyle and greco. But, she is also juggling track and field practice….
