Channel 3 Sports is proud to continue its “Student-athlete Shout out” feature series during the 2015-16 school year. Each installment will spotlight the recent accomplishments of a deserving Northeast Ohio high school athlete.
St. Ignatius senior rugby player Andrew Baldado
St. Ignatius High School senior Andrew Baldado is a senior captain and three-year letterwinner for the Wildcats’ 15 a-side rugby team.
Baldado played full-back on Ignatius’ last two state-championship winning teams and is serving as the team’s fly-half this spring.
In the season's first four games, Baldado scored 50 of the teams 123 points, converting 12 of the team’s 19 tries and scoring two penalty goals.
Recently selected to the U19 Filipino National Team, Baldado has played in Ireland and the Philippines during his standout amateur career.
“Andrew is a special talent in American rugby,” St. Ignatius head coach Dan Arbeznik. “He can see space and exploit it with his foot, athleticism, speed, ball-handling skills, power or quickness. Defensively, he is quick over the ball and will rarely miss a tackle or assignment.”
Baldado, a National Merit Finalist with a 4.0 GPA, has won five rugby state titles at St. Ignatius – two in rugby 15s and three in rugby 7s – and hopes to add to that total in June.
The Wildcats, who are regularly ranked among the nation’s best rugby teams, are currently competing against teams throughout Texas during the school’s spring break.
We've arrived in Austin! @RugbyOhio #messwithtexas2016 pic.twitter.com/AEz3DU7Jvn
— SIHSVarsityRugby (@SIHS_Varsity15s) March 30, 2016
Want to nominate a Northeast Ohio school athlete for a Student-athlete Shout-out? Email vdorsey[at]wkyc[dot]com.
For more Northeast Ohio high school sports news, scores, photos and videos, visit WKYC.com/hss.
