Marty Wilson excelled beyond the norm in two sports, football and wrestling in his time at Lisle High School. In football, Marty played four years, was voted all-conference for three of those years and all-area his senior year. After graduating from Lisle, Marty went on to play football at Northern Illinois University.

It was in wrestling, however, where Marty made history. He competed in wrestling all four years at Lisle and was named all-conference in his junior and senior years. Also, in his junior year, he finished third in the state wrestling meet. In his senior year, he finished as a state champion, winning the 275 pound division. Marty had a big personality and was widely recognized as one of the best athletes of his era. He was awarded the Brian Piccolo Award by the Carlin Nalley Foundation. The Piccolo Award is given to outstanding male senior athletes at Lisle Senior High School.