SI Honors Belding SAC Member Wilker
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 11, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A nationally-known media giant like Sports Illustrated can seem worlds away from a town of fewer than six thousand just left of middle in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.
Belding senior Greta Wilker figured the New York-based magazine would never find someone like her. But it did, and this week readers all over the world have the opportunity to find out why.
Wilker was chosen as SI’s High School Athlete of the Month for May, with the video below appearing at SI.com and an article to follow, she believes, later this week or soon after. Wilker was nominated for the award – she’s not sure by whom – and was first contacted by Sports Illustrated near the end of her basketball season in March.
A camera crew came to Belding in mid-April and spent two days shooting video of Wilker at school, training dogs at her Paws with a Cause class and then during her softball game and track & field meet. Another reporter came out the next week to spend a few more days reporting for the written story that will appear on the website and in part in the magazine this month.
“When you watch the other kids who got picked … some of the things other kids are doing are ridiculous,” Wilker said. “To think I was up at the same level as those other kids, it’s pretty cool.”
Wilker, a member of the MHSAA Student Advisory Council, has some pretty “ridiculous” achievements herself. She’s her class’ top student with 4.2 grade-point average weighted to include Advanced Placement classes, and she’ll graduate with 16 varsity letters – four each in volleyball, basketball, softball and track & field. In her spare time, she trains service dogs that are placed to assist people with hearing and other disabilities.
She will study and play softball next at Emory University in Georgia with another big goal in mind – she hopes to eventually become a pediatric orthopedic surgeon.
Performance of the Week: Walled Lake Northern's Lyla Turmell
June 18, 2026
Lyla Turmell ♦ Walled Lake Northern
Senior ♦ Softball
Turmell certainly met the moment of playing in her team's first MHSAA Finals championship game Saturday at Secchia Stadium. Northern's ace pitcher threw a one-hitter and hit a home run as the Knights defeated Grand Haven 2-1, clinching not only the softball program's first championship, but the first Finals team title in any sport in Walled Lake Northern history.
An all-state first-team selection as both a senior and junior, Turmell led the Knights to a 39-3 record this spring. She threw a five-hitter and struck out 11 batters as Walled Lake Northern defeated Northville 2-1 in its Semifinal on June 13, and she struck out nine with the first-inning home run in the championship game win over the Buccaneers. Turmell will continue her academic and softball careers at Toledo, where she will study nursing.
@mhsaasports 🥎POW: Lyla Turmell #walledlakenorthern #softball #highschoolsports #performanceoftheweek #MHSAA @lyla turmell ♬ Girly and cute synth pop - SAKUMAMATATA
@mhsaasports 🥎POW: Lyla Turmell #funfacts #tiktalk #performanceoftheweek #highschoolsports #MHSAA @lyla turmell ♬ Bright and fun upbeat pops, Kids, Animals, Pets, Fun, Cute, Happy, Playful, Upbeat(1465232) - SAKUMAMATATA
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Previous 2025-26 honorees
June 12: Charlotte Cook, Detroit Country Day lacrosse - Report
June 4: Morgan Emerick, Utica Eisenhower tennis - Report
May 29: De-Mani Roberts, East Kentwood track - Report
May 22: Taleon Guess, Temperance Bedford golf - Report
May 15: Zacchaeus Brocks, Detroit Catholic Central track - Report
May 7: Savanah Thompson, Howard City Tri County soccer - Report
April 30: Eliza Schwass, Ludington track - Report
April 23: Emily Postema, Ravenna softball - Report
April 16: Katie Berkshire, Gaylord track - Report
March 26: Kayla Hairston, Goodrich basketball - Report
March 19: Liam Smith, Otsego swimming - Report
March 12: Jack Sayen, Houghton hockey - Report
March 5: Devin Patrick, St. Clair Shores Lake Shore - Report
Feb. 26: Madison Nieuwenhuis, Plainwell wrestling - Report
Feb. 20: Sophie Ramey, Allen Park competitive cheer - Report
Feb. 13: Cam Ryans, Grand Rapids Northview basketball - Report
Feb. 6: Melanie Kolnitys, Midland Dow basketball - Report
Jan. 29: Stella Musialowski, Huron Valley United gymnastics - Report
Jan. 22: Baylor Perkins, Grand Blanc swimming - Report
Jan. 15: Delaney Vanier, Flint Kearsley bowling - Report
Jan. 8: Stevie Hall, Detroit Cass Tech basketball - Report
Dec. 18: Ethan Martha, Ishpeming Westwood basketball - Report
Dec. 11: Louis Smith, Three Rivers wrestling - Report
Dec. 4: Traverse Moore, DeWitt football - Report
Nov. 28: Elizabeth Eichbrecht, West Bloomfield swimming - Report
Nov. 20: Brady Kieff, Blanchard Montabella football - Report
Nov. 13: Ella Laupp, Battle Creek Harper Creek swimming - Report
Nov. 7: Hunter Eaton, Charlevoix cross country - Report
Oct. 31: Stephen Gollapalli, Lansing Christian tennis - Report
Oct. 23: Talya Schreiber, Pickford cross country - Report
Oct. 16: Avery Manning, Dexter golf - Report
Oct. 9: Brady Van Laecke, Hudsonville football - Report
Oct. 2: Sarah Giroux, Flat Rock volleyball - Report
Sept. 25: Sam Schumacher, Portage Central tennis - Report
Sept. 18: Kaylee Mitzel, Saline field hockey - Report
Sept. 11: Natasza Dudek, Ann Arbor Pioneer cross country - Report
Sept. 4: Kate Posey, Big Rapids golf - Report
PHOTO Detroit Country Day's Charlotte Cook launches a shot during the Division 2 championship game while surrounded by a pair of East Grand Rapids defenders. (Photo courtesy of Hometown Life.)