WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — She’s been making her mark on the mat in Rhode Island and New England, but Payton George has taken her skills even higher this year. She earned All-American honors nationally in freestyle and folk style, capped by the 12U championship at 100 pounds at the Nuway Combat Summer Nationals.

“We definitely know she had it when she got on the mat because she enjoyed the wrestling and that’s a big part of it,” said Nicolas O’Connell, owner of Top Flight Wrestling Academy. “It’s hard to get kids at that age – that young – to enjoy something as difficult as wrestling and she really took it in stride.”

Her introduction to the sport came through family.

“I got involved with wrestling because first my brother did it and then I saw him doing it and then I wanted to try it and liked it,” George said. “I like doing something challenging and not something everyone can do every day.”

George will begin 7th grade at Winman Middle School this fall and she will continue to travel around the region for tournaments. Her aim is to keep growing on the mat and eventually wrestle in college. Her rise comes at a time of great growth in the sport.

“It definitely makes me feel happy to meet people and see the younger generation wrestling and the sport growing in general,” she said. “It’s already growing so much and getting so much bigger. I love seeing the little girls wrestle and winning more girls divisions at tournaments.”

“At the age she’s at now and the success she’s having early on, she’s going to catch a really, really good wave going into college because every years there’s more and more Div. I, Div. II and III programs popping up which means more scholarship opportunity,” O’Connell said. “Her being almost the frontrunner in the state in women’s wrestling right now will really have a large impact on her future I feel like.”

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