Most students at Mounds View pick a single sport and stick with it. Senior Gavin Wilson picked seven. Over four years at Mounds View High School, Wilson has competed in soccer, tennis, badminton, table tennis, volleyball and bowling while quietly building a reputation as the best amateur pickleball player on campus. Throughout Wilson’s high school career, he has earned four state-level finishes and captained two teams.

His profound motivation for sports began prior to high school. “My challenge when I was younger was to try a new sport every season,” said Wilson. “I just wanted to keep that going throughout high school to build a good network of people and try new things.” Mounds View’s physical education programs gave him the chance to continue his interests while also allowing him to explore new activities.  Mounds View’s phy-ed curriculum offers students access to a range of competitive athletic electives beyond the traditional team-based model. Courses like Competitive Sports give students structured time to engage in recreational and competitive athletics throughout their high school careers, a resource most students use only once, if at all. Wilson took it a record number of eight times.

His participation spans nearly every corner of what the school’s athletic programming offers. In some sports, he competed at the varsity level. In others, he stepped into leadership roles. As bowling team captain in both 2024 and 2025, he helped guide the team to a fourth-place state finish in 2025 while also competing as an individual at the state tournament both years. In tennis, he served as JV captain in 2025. In table tennis, he was a part of second-place finishes at the state level in both 2025 and 2026. “For bowling, it was really good to be a leader in that I was a mentor for the younger people,” Wilson said. “In tennis, it was more about being the soul of the team, being there as a driving force to get them motivated.”

The numbers behind Wilson’s athletic career tell the story plainly. In bowling, he posted a personal average of 209 points in a Saturday morning league alongside fellow seniors Lucas Bramsen and Trevor Doffing, the highest average in the league. The trio claimed the highest team game and highest team series, and finished first overall. Wilson also logged the most match points won with 78.

Also, in table tennis, Wilson earned a spot in the state finals for two consecutive years, claiming second place both times. “You have to go in with the mindset that you’re going to make it to finals,” Wilson said. “It’s about knowing where to put each player because we each have different strengths.”

Beyond school sports, Wilson competes in pickleball, picking up the sport over the summer before his freshman year on courts near his house. He has since beaten every casual player at Mounds View he set his sights on and joined the Shoreview Pickleball Club as its youngest member.

Looking back, Wilson frames his four years less as a collection of titles and more as a network of communities built one sport at a time. “Having all those different communities to be a part of helped me get to know a lot of people in the school,” Wilson said. “I like being able to win for the school and win for the team.”

For underclassmen, Wilson offers a simple takeaway rooted in his own experience: Try something new, even when it feels uncertain. “You never know if you’re going to end up having a passion or find out that you have an innate talent for something,” Wilson said. “You won’t know until you try.”