A 17-year-old Atlanta judoka was named to USA Judo's 2026 Cadet World Team, a 20-athlete roster of competitors ages 14 to 17 selected for the IJF Cadet World Championships in Guayaquil, Ecuador.
USA Judo listed Searcy in the men's 50-kilogram division and ranked him third in the world heading into the championships, according to USA Judo. That ranking differs from figures reported by Atlanta News First, which described Searcy as ranked number one in America in the cadet 50-kilogram category and, elsewhere in its report, as ranked number two in the world. The discrepancy between the two sets of figures could not be resolved, and it remains unclear which ranking list or date each outlet was drawing from.
The IJF Cadet World Championships were held in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Aug. 20-23.
From the Warren Boys and Girls Club to the World Stage
Searcy's judo roots trace back to the Warren Boys and Girls Club in southeast Atlanta, where a 2021 annual report from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta noted that then-12-year-old Jannaco had already spent two years training in the sport. The report described him training under Sensei Joshua White, a BGCMA alumnus who began his own judo training at age four at the former W.W. Woolfolk Boys and Girls Club in Atlanta.
White has said he built his organization, Black Ice Judo, to pass along the same chance he was given as a kid. “Through my company, Black Ice Judo, I'm excited to give back the opportunity that was given to me,” White said, according to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta. White is a fifth-degree black belt and multiple-time national and international champion, per a report from Tribune242.
A Coach with His Own International Résumé
White's own competitive path recently intersected with the international judo circuit again. He said he had just returned from serving on the United States coaching staff at the Cadets World Championships, where the team came home with a gold medal. “I just got back from the Cadets World Championships where I was a part of the US coaching staff and we brought back a gold medal,” White said, according to the same Tribune242 report.
Black Ice Judo runs classes across at least two Atlanta locations. Sessions are offered Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at the Warren Memorial Boys and Girls Club at 790 Berne Street SE, and Tuesday and Thursday at a West Midtown location, according to the organization's own site, Black Ice Fitness. Monthly fees for the judo classes run $150, collected via automatic debit or credit on the same day each month, per the same source.
A Program with a Track Record
Black Ice Judo's youth program has posted results before Searcy's own rise. Students brought home 14 gold medals and seven silver medals at the 2021 South Carolina State Championships, the program said. In March 2021, the organization was recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt charitable organization.
