Dearborn Divine Child track star wants it known: 'No surprise who Aubrey Wilson is'

Dearborn Divine Child sophomore Aubrey Wilson didn't need to run.

Although she qualified in March for the 2025 Michigan high school girls track and field state championships, Wilson decided to participate in four events Saturday, May 17 during a regional finals tournament at her school.

She didn't need to attend the tournament, but wanted to use the opportunity for practice along with supporting her teammates who were looking to qualify, and help the school win back-to-back regional championships.

"I have my own personal goals for track and field this season and I just want to make sure that I do the best of my ability to reach what I set for myself," Wilson, a 15-year-old from Rochester Hills, said.

From left to right: Voyager High School students Jaylah Stewart, 16, and T’Qwain Walker, 18, warm up alongside Aubrey Wilson, 15, and Rayshawn Thomas, 16, during a track and field event at Divine Child High School in Dearborn on Saturday, May 17, 2025.

Wilson's support came in handy as the Divine Child girls team won its second consecutive regional title, collecting 196 points across all events. Wilson took the top spots in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, along with leading team's 4x200 and 4x400 relays to the top spot.

"This is my year and I'm just really excited and I feel all the hard work that I've been putting (in) that I didn't last year is really showing now that I'm really in it to win it," Wilson said.

After winning a state championship last year in the 100m, Wilson is looking to continue her pursuit of greatness on the track. This year, she is top the leaderboards in multiple events including both the 100m and 200s, the long jump and 4x400 relay. She also became the first sophomore in school history to be named a team captain.

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Wilson is also a third-generation track star dating to her grandmother, Paulette Schumacher. Her mother and two aunts ran track as students at Detroit Cass Tech.

Wilson's journey in the sport began while she was in a running club as a kid in Memphis, her grandmother said. Schumacher said although Wilson "excelled" in the club, her nerves got the best of her and she stopped running. Wilson picked up the sport again after moving to Michigan and attended Reuther Middle School in Rochester Hills.

Aubrey Wilson, 15, a sophomore and team captain of the Dearborn Divine Child track and field team, smiles as she sits on a bench before competing in the 100-meter and 200-meter dash during a track and field event at Divine Child High School in Dearborn on Saturday, May 17, 2025.

Wilson's talent drew the attention of the coaching staff from neighboring Rochester High and recruited her to join the team. But the family decided to send Wilson an hour south down Telegraph Road to work with a familiar face at Divine Child.

"Randy Williams coached all my daughters," Schumacher said. "We had decided (beforehand) that Randy was the best person to work with her, because he's more than a coach. He's part of the family because he was with the kids when they were younger."

Williams has been the director of the girls track and field team at Divine Child for the past three years and has coached boys track and field and football for more than 30 years. He helped Wilson's aunt (Keisha Schumacher) earn a scholarship to Kentucky State while she was at Cass Tech.

Williams said he was honored the family trusted in him to train Wilson.

"They wanted (Wilson) to be with someone that they trusted and believe in and believe in (her) because they knew that Aubrey has a good talent," Williams said.

In her first year on the team, Wilson broke the school's records in the 100m and 200m, long jump and 4x100 and 4x200 relays, according to Divine Child track and field coach Danny Foster. This year, Foster said she broke her own records in the 100m and 200m.

Foster said Wilson's work ethic has keyed her success.

"She stays behind, works late, she goes to the weight room," he said. "She does some of everything that's required of her and more. So when you say, 'what makes her the athlete that she is?' it's because of the time and effort and she doesn't take anything for granted."

During the regional tournament, Wilson took top honors in her preliminary rounds and helped Divine Child set another record in the 4x200 event, even amidst a discrepancy. An appeal was made by one of the participating coaches to rerun the relay after one of the officials accidently fired off a round for their gun – an indication normally for runners to reset – about 20m into the race, Williams said.

With state finals set to begin May 31, Wilson is looking for a bit of redemption and to build upon her success.

"I want to put my name on the platform," Wilson said. "I did win the state championship for the (100m). But got second for the 200m, so I'd like to change that this year. And I just want to make a name for myself so there will be no surprise who Aubrey Wilson is."

Eric Guzmán covers youth sports culture at the Free Press as a corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support this work.

Contact Eric Guzmán: [email protected]; 313-222-1850. Follow him on X: @EricGuzman90.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Dearborn Divine Child track star wants it known: 'No surprise who Aubrey Wilson is'