LIMA, OH (WLIO) — Lima Central Catholic's Andrew Baldauf is a busy man. He's a four-sport athlete for the Thunderbirds: football, baseball, and in the winter, both swim and basketball.

Karlee Turner said, "The thing that stands out is he is always asking about how to be better. He's always asking about his times and his technique, and he's putting in the dedication. So, he's always trying to improve, and I think that helps make him a well-rounded athlete in all sports."

Baldauf said, "When I was young, my parents put me in a lot of sports, I think just wanting me to try everything out, and it turned out that I liked everything, so I just carried that on."

A wrist injury kept the Thunderbird senior out for most of swim and basketball season, but now he's back—ready to make the most of his final run with both teams.

"I tried to just make the best of it and do everything that I could to stay in shape, and just once I was able to come back like I am now, I had the best opportunity to compete," Baldauf said.

On top of a busy athletic schedule, Baldauf is a stellar scholar with a 4.15 GPA.

Colin Stolly said, "I think the intensity that he brings on the football field, he takes into the classroom and works with the same mindset, not necessarily the same skills, because they're both different, but the mindset of being good at what you do and excelling in everything that you do is kind of what we talk about at LCC quite a bit. And Andrew really does that and takes that personal and makes sure that it happens."

After graduating from LCC, Baldauf plans to major in pre-medical biology with hopes of attending medical school.

"So eventually I want to go to medical school and become an anesthesiologist, which is my end goal. And ever since I was a kid, my grandpa was a doctor, so I've been around the medical field, and that's just kind of made me fall in love with it," he said.

Through the highs and lows of his senior year, Baldauf says it's the community around him that's made the biggest impact—one that challenges him, supports him, and helps him grow both on and off the field.

"I think I'm lucky to be in this community and it's one that pushes you. So it's just made me a better person, and I know it has with my classmates and it's just one that I feel like it's the type of community you want to be a part of," Baldauf said.

Congratulations to Andrew Baldauf — our newest McDonald's Scholar Athlete of the Week.

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