LSJ Male Athlete of Year: AJ Martel left winning legacy at Mason

AJ Martel has noticed the trend of athletes in multiple sports tending to perform better overall because of their wide range of skills.

And he took that approach to heart during his high school career at Mason.

"I only had four years of high school to work with so I just tried my best to be involved in as much stuff as I could to make the most out of it," Martel said.

Martel certainly did that.

Martel was a contributor in five varsity sports — football, wrestling, swim and dive, track and field and baseball — and contributed to league titles and more in each. And that success has led to Martel being named the Lansing State Journal's Male Athlete of the Year,

Martel, who will continue his football career at Hope, earned all-state recognition in football, wrestling and track during his decorated high school career and has been a state diving finals qualifier. Every varsity team he played on won a league championship.

Martel played a significant role in helping the Bulldogs become a factor at the state level in football. His interception in the 2021 district final win over Haslett is viewed by Mason coach Gary Houghton as one of the most significant plays for the Bulldogs as they made their rise in recent seasons. That play was one of many made by Martel as part of a strong career where he became the school's all-time rushing leader and helped Mason to a Division 3 state runner-up finish.

Wrestling was Martel's least favorite of the sports despite his father, Brian, being the longtime leader of the varsity program. Yet he helped the program win league, district and regional titles this winter and reach the state semifinals of the team tournament.

In track, Martel was a state champion in the 300 hurdles as a junior while helping the Bulldogs to a Division 2 state runner-up finish. Martel was all-state in the event again this spring and was part of record-setting relays.

From November: After being limited by injury, Mason football's AJ Martel gets 'priceless' final moment

Martel returned to his baseball roots, as well, this spring and was a contributor as the Bulldogs claimed a league title and made the Diamond Classic.

He also joined the diving team as a junior and helped contribute to a conference championship.

"The first time he tried diving he was an all-conference diver," Houghton said. "That was with very minimal coaching because he was dual-sporting with wrestling. He's just an exceptional athlete and he pushes himself to be the best he can be at everything he gets involved in whether it's academics, or athletics. He puts a lot of pressure on himself, but he gets a lot of results."

Part of the driving force for Martel came during his days in middle school when he was thriving in football and track. He was told then others were eventually going to catch up to him from a physical standpoint. Martel made it a point to prevent that from happening.

"A lot of people doubted that he would ever be a big star in high school," Brian Martel said. "You get those kids that maybe you developed a little bit early or matured a little bit early and I think that always kind of weighed on his shoulder a little bit. (It was) people don't think I have the work ethic to be good at the next level and the next level after that and I think that keeps him going quite a bit. He wanted to prove any doubters wrong."

Martel proved his abilities while succeeding in his desire to leave a legacy in athletics and in the classroom as Mason's valedictorian.

"I wanted people to remember who I was," Martel said. "As I moved through high school and got more experiences, it turned into I wanted to make more connections and become closer with people that I normally wouldn't.

"Especially this year, I could see the impact I was having on the youth athletes in Mason and how they kind of looked up to me and they saw me out in all these sports. I heard from all of them and it was like I'm going to go out for football now, I'm going to try and run track. I think having that positive impact on those kids and also just forming the positive relationships I did throughout high school was just a big driving force for me."

Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on X @brian_calloway.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: LSJ Male Athlete of Year: AJ Martel left winning legacy at Mason