Emily Shilson was a six-time Minnesota Girls High School state champion and qualified for the Minnesota AAA boys state championship three times, becoming the first girl to ever qualify for the tournament. She had a career record of 139-64 with 62 pins against boys, wrestling for Centennial High School and Mounds View High School. She earned all-conference honors twice and was honorable mention all-conference two times.

The daughter of Chad and Margaret Shilson, she won the Cadet World Championship in 2018 after capturing a silver medal in 2017, and made history in 2018 when she became the first U.S. wrestler to win a gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games. She won a gold medal at the Cadet Pan-Am Championships in 2016 and 2018 when she also earned the Golden Boot awarded to the Outstanding Wrestler. Shilson is a three-time junior national champion in both folkstyle and freestyle, a two-time Cadet Freestyle national champion and a Cadet Folkstyle national champion.

She organized family members and teammates to pick up litter in their community and the communities where they are training and competing, including around the Oklahoma City Memorial during the USA Girls Folkstyle Nationals. Shilson also lettered in cross country and has completed seven marathons and ultramarathons.

She has a 3.97 GPA and is planning to enroll and wrestle at Augsburg University.