Greenville's Martin Finds Future as On-Air Voice for Local Radio Broadcasts
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
March 20, 2026
Gracelin Martin can actually point to the moment where she glimpsed the rest of her professional life.
The current Greenville senior had just completed her first full season of working as a play-by-play broadcaster for radio station WGLM, and her watchful eyes took in the moments following a tense Lowell-Greenville basketball game. If she hadn't figured it out before, it dawned on Martin she loved it all: the back-and-forth of the game's action, the noisy crowd and the responsibility of detailing into a live mic what she was witnessing while looking forward to interviewing the participants afterward.
It was right about that moment that Martin decided the whole frantic atmosphere would be paramount in her future.
"I felt very accomplished," she said. "I didn't think a person so young could be in this role. I was kind of proud of myself."
Martin wasn't even 18 years old when longtime Greenville public address announcer and WGLM employee Bill Wilson noticed this eager young teenager with obvious people-person skills chatting easily with friends when an idea popped into his mind. The station needed someone to replace Serena Schroeder, another young student sideline reporter at Greenville football and basketball games who was going off to Michigan State. Wilson engaged Martin, and his suspicions were quickly confirmed. This, Wilson thought, was what he was seeking.
"He said I had this bubbly personality and would I consider broadcasting football and basketball games," said Martin, a basketball, track and cross country letter winner at Greenville. "Without hesitating, I said yes. I was 100-percent down with it.
"I saw an opportunity and took it. I never knew what could come of it."
So despite being just a 15-year-old high school sophomore with absolutely no radio background, Martin quickly fell in love with everything about the business of being a sideline reporter in football and a play-by-play broadcaster in basketball.
Wilson, who works Greenville football, basketball, track and soccer games, said he knew nothing of Martin at first except remembering seeing her play varsity basketball as a freshman. It wasn't her voice, mannerisms or really anything else that immediately leaped out at him. It was simply a sixth sense about matching up an obviously effervescent personality with a microphone.
"I had never met her, but I knew we were looking for someone to replace Serena and things just kind of clicked," he said. "She has this good personality, I thought she could be the one. She said she was interested, and it went from there."
Martin admits there was a definite gamble in being a teenage novice with a microphone thrust in front of her mixing with longtime coaches and athletes who doubled as high school friends. Would she freeze, stutter, flub questions, seem obviously underqualified or, worst of all, unprepared?
But by doing her homework and always being prepared, Martin found she easily could hit on the information she needed through interviews.
"The thought definitely crossed my mind," she said of the whole idea being a gamble. "I didn't know football inside-out like I knew basketball. I put pressure on myself to learn. But really, I felt ease from the beginning."
Dixon Huiet works as a WGLM analyst for Greenville football broadcasts. Part of a three-person crew, Huiet said Martin has an innate ability to grasp what intricacies fans need to know about what's happening on a football field or basketball court. The ability to pair the flow of a game with what fans want to know about what's happening is critical, he said.
"She's very fluid in understanding what needs to happen as a sideline reporter," he said. "And she knows how to step up, take the lead in broadcasting the play-by-play of a basketball game.
"She's come so far. She understands where to go and if she doesn't get the answer she wants, she can pivot. She's worked at it and evolved, and that's a skill."
Martin is astute enough to recognize where she can find help in improving as a broadcaster. She's noticed, for instance, how ESPN and ABC broadcaster Holly Rowe or the Big Ten Network's Dannie Rogers conduct their business on TV. Toss in tips from Schroeder, who recently graduated from Michigan State with a communications degree, and the confidence shown by Wilson and Huiet, and Martin feels comfortable in the business.
All broadcasters start somewhere, and Martin knows she's lucky enough to have started by interviewing coaches and athletes she's known for years. It's a crucial early stepping-stone which Martin doesn't underestimate.
"I knew a lot of the coaches and players from school and watched women like Holly and Dannie, and I thought this was something I could do," she said. "Honestly, you see a lot of females on TV, and bringing them into the broadcast business is a good thing. I enjoy learning from people who are better than me."
Martin’s upcoming plans include running cross country and track while entering Cornerstone University's communication program.
After honing skills in college, Martin said, who knows where her path will lead?
"I feel like not everything will be easy," she said, "but this will set me up and pave the road ahead."
PHOTOS (Top) Gracelin Martin interviews Greenville football coach Scott McDougall during a game this past season. (Middle) Martin receives “Senior Night” recognition from WGLM’s Bill Wilson and Will Wydeck this winter. (Below) Martin describes the action for her audience. (Photos provided by the Greenville athletic department.)
2022 Scholar-Athlete Finalists Announced
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 19, 2022
The 120 finalists for the Michigan High School Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete Awards for the 2021-22 school year, presented by Farm Bureau Insurance, have been announced.
The program, in its 33rd year, has recognized student-athletes since the 1989-90 school year and again this winter will honor 32 individuals from MHSAA member schools who participate in at least one sport in which the Association sponsors a postseason tournament.
Farm Bureau Insurance underwrites the Scholar-Athlete Awards and will present a $2,000 scholarship to each recipient. Since the beginning of the program, 864 scholarships have been awarded.
Scholarships will be presented proportionately by school classification, with 12 scholarships to be awarded to Class A student-athletes, six female and six male; eight scholarships awarded to Class B student-athletes, four female and four male; six scholarships awarded to Class C student-athletes, three female and three male; and four scholarships awarded to Class D student-athletes, two female and two male. In addition, two scholarships will be awarded at-large to minority recipients, regardless of school size.
Every MHSAA member high school could submit as many applications as there are scholarships available in its classification, and could have more than one finalist. Brownstown Woodhaven, Freeland and St. Johns have three finalists this year. Nineteen schools have two finalists: Ann Arbor Pioneer, Detroit Catholic Central, Fenton, Fowler, Frankenmuth, Hillsdale Academy, Holland, Holland West Ottawa, Kingsford, Livonia Churchill, Livonia Franklin, McBain Northern Michigan Christian, Montague, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, Ortonville Brandon, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, Saline, Traverse City West and White Lake Lakeland.
Multiple-sport participation remains the norm among applicants. The average sport participation rate of the finalists is 2.91. There are 81 three-plus sport participants in the finalists field, and all but two of the 28 sports in which the MHSAA sponsors postseason tournaments are represented.
Of 407 schools which submitted applicants, 26 submitted the maximum allowed. This year, 1,434 applications were received. All applicants will be presented with certificates commemorating their achievement. Additional Scholar-Athlete information, including a complete list of scholarship nominees, can be found on the MHSAA Website.
The applications were judged by a 58-member committee of school coaches, counselors, faculty members, administrators and board members from MHSAA member schools. Selection of the 32 scholarship recipients will take place in early February. Class C and D scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 8, Class B scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 15 and Class A scholarship recipients will be announced Feb. 22. All announcements will be made on the MHSAA Website.
To be eligible for the award, students must have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.50 (on a 4.0 scale) and previously have won a varsity letter in at least one sport in which the MHSAA sponsors a postseason tournament. Students also were asked to respond to a series of short essay questions, submit two letters of recommendation and a 500-word essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics.
Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan was founded in 1949 by Michigan farmers who wanted an insurance company that worked as hard as they did. Those values still guide the company today and are a big reason why it is known as Michigan’s Insurance Company, dedicated to protecting the farms, families, and businesses of this great state. Farm Bureau Insurance agents across Michigan provide a full range of insurance services – life, home, auto, farm, business, retirement, Lake Estate®, and more – protecting nearly 500,000 Michigan policyholders.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.
2021-22 Scholar-Athlete Award Finalists
GIRLS CLASS A
Cookie Estelleh Baugh, Ann Arbor Pioneer
Amelia Weyhing, Ann Arbor Pioneer
Piper Barnhart, Brownstown Woodhaven
Sophia Lustig, Brownstown Woodhaven
Madison Hissong, Fraser
Brooke Myers, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern
Ana Todesco, Grosse Pointe North
Sonya Konon, Harrison Township L'Anse Creuse
Greta VanZetten, Holland
Elzien Zomer, Holland
Natalie Blake, Holland West Ottawa
Ella Spooner, Holland West Ottawa
Abigail Lueck, Livonia Churchill
Samantha Provenzano, Livonia Franklin
Erica Molnar, Livonia Stevenson
Laura Leiti, Midland Dow
Alexandria Stacy French, Richland Gull Lake
Ella DeGraw, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek
Kiera Hall, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek
Kate Meinecke, Royal Oak
Alexis Maloney, St. Johns
Sara Schermerhorn, Traverse City West
Hannah DiGiovanni, Troy Athens
Maeve Spicer, White Lake Lakeland
BOYS CLASS A
Nathan Pawlowicz, Battle Creek Lakeview
Brady Wright, Birmingham Seaholm
Nathan Jerore, Brownstown Woodhaven
Colin Pearson, Caledonia
Joseph Marano, Dearborn Edsel Ford
Conner Bell, Detroit Catholic Central
Neil Zhu, Detroit Catholic Central
Chase Gibson, Fenton
Nick Temple, Fenton
Ben Taylor, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central
Ross VanBlois, Grandville
Owen Swisher, Livonia Churchill
James Oberman, Livonia Franklin
Colin Koot, Mason
Klay Grant, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer
John Bungart, Orchard Lake St Mary's
Thomas Randall, Orchard Lake St Mary's
William Goelz, Petoskey
Blake Coy, Saline
Amod Talekar, Saline
Kaden Keller, St. Johns
Jake Lasceski, St. Johns
Ethan Tennant, Temperance Bedford
Michael T. Schermerhorn, Traverse City West
Caiden Carlson, White Lake Lakeland
GIRLS CLASS B
Elise Rose Johnson, Benzie Central
Sydni Mudge, Birch Run
Claire Thomson, Clawson
Faith Breinager, Frankenmuth
Emma Kerkau, Frankenmuth
Sophia Argyle, Freeland
Whitney Farrell, Freeland
Haley Zerlaut, Fremont
Maggie Duba, Grand Rapids West Catholic
Magdalaina Menghini, Kingsford
Claire Meacham, Montague
Mallory Moore, Ortonville Brandon
Paige Thwing, Ortonville Brandon
Alina Stanczak, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
Ashley Bower, Portland
Rylee Tolson, Stockbridge
BOYS CLASS B
Zachary Elmouchi, Ada Forest Hills Eastern
Thomas Hamann, Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard
Jeff Ren, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Jace DeRosia, Chelsea
Jared Hanson, Escanaba
Liam Anderson, Essexville Garber
Alex Duley, Freeland
Jack Rellinger, Grand Rapids Catholic Central
Curtis Knapp, Jonesville
Michael A. Meneguzzo, Kingsford
Seth Thompson, Manistee
Jerome Korten, Marshall
Cale Coppess, Montague
Bennett Blase Hitzelberger, Richmond
Joseph Hayes, Shelby
Derek Distelrath, St. Clair
GIRLS CLASS C
Haley Anne Newland, Bad Axe
Karly Smith, Beal City
Isabel Contreras-Spencer, Grass Lake
Gillian Kuehnle, Hartford
Gabrielle Carey, Iron Mountain
Jillian Koski, Ishpeming Westwood
Jordan Fox, Lake City
Isabel Henige, New Lothrop
Trinity Kolka, Sanford Meridian
Anna McPherson, Saranac
Ryann Locke, Springport
Korah Honig, St. Louis
BOYS CLASS C
Mert Oral, Ann Arbor Greenhills
Dylan David Reisig, Bridgman
Cole Garrison Stone, Carson City-Crystal
Samuel Peterson, Charlevoix
Ryan Doty, Clinton
Jack Davis, Holland Black River
Jack Hollebeek, Grandville Calvin Christian
Isaac Backman, Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep
Ty Ruddy, Ottawa Lake Whiteford
Joshua M. Fairbanks, Roscommon
Jonah Cerone, Royal Oak Shrine Catholic
Alex Tanner, Whitmore Lake
GIRLS CLASS D
Ashton Hord, Felch North Dickinson
Mia Riley, Fowler
Tara Townsend, Frankfort
Alaina Roush, Harbor Springs Harbor Light Christian
Anna Roberts, Hillsdale Academy
Meredith VanDerWeide, Hillsdale Academy
Skylar Wiesen, Leland
Megan Bennett, McBain Northern Michigan Christian
BOYS CLASS D
Cole Robinson, Bellaire
Jack Matrella, Bessemer
Brayden M. Steenwyk, Ellsworth
Jacob Rademacher, Fowler
Eli Shoup, Mason County Eastern
Jonas P. Lanser, McBain Northern Michigan Christian
Samuel Paga, Petoskey St. Michael Academy
Ashton McNabb, Three Oaks River Valley