Tulare County Board of Supervisors recognizes Jennah “The Gem” Creason for her USA Boxing National Championship Title, commitment to school and extracurricular activities
VISALIA – Since the age of four, a local Visalian has had her sights set on a dual world championship. Now 16 years old, she is being recognized for achieving a national boxing title and a state wrestling title.
On March 28, to conclude Women’s History Month, the Tulare County Board of Supervisors recognized Jennah “The Gem” Creason for her mixed martial arts accomplishments. Creason most recently achieved the USA Boxing National Championship Title while also maintaining a 4.0 grade point average as a Redwood High School student. Creason is not only an all around athlete, she is also involved in several extracurricular activities through school as well as in the community.
“I just want to say thank you so much, I really appreciate it, it’s a big honor,” Jennah said to the board. “You don’t understand how [much] this means to me being recognized by the people who help our county run, it’s incredible.”
The 16-year-old boasts a 26-3 record and three TKO’s or technical knockouts, in her career. In addition to boxing, Jennah trains in six other martial arts – Jiu-jitsu, Wrestling, Muay-Thai, Judo, No-Gi and holds a brown belt in Shotokan Karate. Her father Larry Creason Jr. said she began wrestling at age 4 and has since found a way to participate and pick up the other sports on her own. Recently she made the USA Boxing Youth Team, where she will be able to compete at the international level. Jennah said she is excited to step into this next chapter of her life in such a big way.
“[Making the team] is just incredible. It definitely makes me more motivated and makes me want to push myself to be better,” Jennah said. “I’m super excited to see what God has for me this year.”
Jennah said she dreams of fighting in the 2024 Olympics and holding a World Champion title in both Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and boxing at the same time. Larry said that her MMA dream started when she saw the first UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey fight when she was younger. Despite all she currently has under her belt, Creason is incredibly motivated to do more. Creason is a two-time USA Boxing National Champion; a two-time Desert Showdown champion; a one-time Jr. Golden Gloves Champion; a one-time Gold/Silver States Champion; and a one-time National Silver Gloves Champion.
“That I know of, there hasn’t been anybody who has [held a title in both MMA and boxing] yet,” Jennah said. “So I am hoping to be the first one ever to do that. It would be something that would be incredible.”
At the age of 8, Jennah began attending the Visalia Police Activities League Boxing with one goal in mind, to become a world champion in mixed martial arts. She discovered her older brothers and sisters had won Junior Olympic medals for wrestling and from that point on she knew she had to be better than them. Additionally, being a female in a male dominated sport has also given her motivation to fight even harder. Larry said she would always practice at home in any spare time she had. According to Jennah, in MMA you always have to be one step ahead and that is why she practiced at home, to be one step ahead of everyone else.
Jennah’s main goal in fighting is to get to the top, so that once she does, she can give all the glory to God according to her father. Larry said Jennah has been determined about anything she wanted since day one. Once she learned about God, she brought him into the church and he said it has changed his life forever. Jennah said having her faith is something that brings her peace and helps her get through the tough times. Balancing eight sports, school and volunteer work is not easy, but she said having faith helps her tremendously.
“In a sport that I do, there are many hard times where, you’re down and you’re struggling, and it’s never going to be easy, that is for sure. There are new obstacles every day, but having [faith], where I can really find myself again, and really be at peace, is something that honestly helps so much,” Jennah said.
In addition to training nearly seven days a week, Jennah is involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), the Middle Eastern Club and she volunteers her time helping the homeless as well as at the Tulare Animal Shelter.
“[Achieving a national title] is something that doesn’t just happen all the time. It’s hard enough for our high school leagues to get to state and do that, but to get to a national level is quite an accomplishment,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Dennis Townsend said at the meeting.
