Brailyn Zulski in running for Youth Athlete of the Year grand prize

PELLSTON – When you’re from a small town, it’s a rarity to get recognized on a national stage.  

For a young athlete named Brailyn Zulski, she’s on a big stage right now.  

And those closest to her and beyond are hoping she’ll be able to get over the finish line, just as she’s done so many times already during her athletic career.  

Born on Larks Lake, Zulski is currently a quarterfinalist in the national charity inspired event called “Youth Athlete of the Year.” Having made it past several voting rounds since the poll started near the end of July, Zulski is in the top one percent of kids left nationally who are competing for a grand prize scholarship, which is $25,000 and a photo shoot in Sports Illustrated.

The contest is primarily to raise awareness, with donations going to The V Foundation, which is for cancer research, as well as Why Not You Foundation, which is based on empowering young minds.  

“It’s very heartwarming,” said Sara Zulski, Brailyn’s mother. “She couldn’t have gotten this far without the support from the community and friends and family that have jumped in to help. I just can’t stress enough that I’m proud of her for being willing to put herself out there and understand there’s going to be moments where you’re not always going to win but it’s about how you fight and get back up. Putting in the effort to get where she is is great to see.” 

Just 13 years old, Brailyn has already accomplished plenty during her athletic career, as she’s the first female from the Northern Michigan area to make the Midwest regional soccer team for the Olympic Development Program. To make the squad, she had to compete against hundreds of girls from the Midwest, which makes up 12 states, and she was chosen as one of 18 girls rostered. There will be an inter-regional tournament in January in Florida where all of the regions from around the country will battle it out for the championship.  

“I am very thankful to be a part of a scholarship opportunity that is raising money to research cancer,” Brailyn said. “Cancer has impacted many people’s lives around us and I’m beyond honored to be participating in a charity event that is working to fight it. I think it’s so cool to have come this far because of the support of the community. Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed their time toward helping me reach my goals.”

In addition to being a key player on her travel soccer team Midwest United FC NMFC, Brailyn has also broken multiple school records as a member of the Harbor Springs Middle School track and field team. As a student, she maintains a grade point average near 4.0. 

“She’s kind of shy, she’s a humble person, so it’s a little bit hard for her to put herself out there,” Zulski said of her daughter. “She knows she can play soccer, but she always thinks that there’s someone better out there, and this for her has been more of a self-confident help. Seeing the amount of supporters she’s had has really boosted her confidence and being able to take on more tasks and competing against people she doesn’t know.” 

As for the Youth Athlete of the Year quarterfinals, people can vote until 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 18. The link to go vote is https://athleteoftheyear.org/2025/brailyn-f31c. People can vote daily and if they choose to donate, the donations would be tax deductible and going to great causes.  

Of course, it’ll be a challenge to reach the semifinals, but if not, Brailyn and the Zulski family are thankful to everyone in the Northern Michigan community who have done their part to help make this a wonderful memory for a small-town athlete.

“When they say it takes a village, it truly, truly does,” Zulski said. “We wouldn’t be here without all of the support we have around us, and that’s why we’re kind of just reaching out to the rest of Northern Michigan in the hopes that we can get more people interested in the cause and helping one of their homegrown kiddos make it to that finish line.” 

Contact sports editor Jared Greenleaf at jgreenleaf@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @sportsCDT