CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (ESPN CLARKSVILLE) – Northwest High School’s Athletic Department is pleased to share that Blake Spink has committed to wrestle at Campbellsville University located in Campbellsville, KY.

Blake signed his commitment paperwork in a signing ceremony held February 23, 2018 at Northwest High School.

Blake started wrestling in 9th grade at Northwest High School and qualified for state as a sophomore. After his tenth grade year, Blake started wrestling with a local club league, Knuckleheads Wrestling. After his junior year, Blake began wrestling at the national level as a part of the Alliance Wrestling Academy in Clarksville, TN.

Through the Alliance Wrestling Academy, Blake was an All-American Wrestler at the Nuway Nationals. In his senior year of wrestling at Northwest High School, Blake earned runner-up at the regional tournament, then battled his way to state Runner-Up at the 2018 state wrestling tournament.

“I think it is a school that really fit me: a small place, strong wrestling program, everyone talks about how their wrestlers are the best around. They recruit small town boys like me and make them into national champs and all-Americans and at the same time get a good education,” Blake said.

“Northwest is incredibly proud of Blake and his accomplishments, both in the classroom and on the mat,” Northwest Athletic Director Jessica Peppard said. “Blake has been a great leader for our wrestling program, and I have no doubt that he will do the same for his team at the next level. We are excited to see Blake continue his wrestling career and expect to see him do great things.”

Northwest High School’s wrestling coach Ben Smitherman also shared his thoughts on Blake’s success.

“Blake has been one of our leaders for a couple of years now. We realized he was going to be a good wrestler as a sophomore when the hard work started shedding off some of the ‘baby weight.’ It got him all the way to the state tournament then. We could not have realized that he would reach this level of success. The state finals was beyond all of our expectations, even those of us closest to him that knew how good he could be. It’s been an unbelievable run. His hard work showed, not just on the wrestling mat, but in the wrestling room. One of our true leaders, his knowledge of the sport probably exceeds even my own. It has been a real pleasure to watch him mature into the young man that he has become, and we are super excited for him to compete at the next level at Campbellsville,” Smitherman said.