Schools
Whiz Kid of the Week: Sierra Madre's Nick Budincich Earns Letters in Class and on the Field
In between AP academics and music, this Loyola HS Junior throws a mean discus.
This week’s Whiz Kid of the Week goes to Sierra Madre resident, Nick Budincich. A junior at Loyola High School near downtown Los Angeles, Budincich has already earned two varsity letters in track, and has been the school’s best thrower in shot put and discus since his freshman year.
Budincich was chosen by Loyola as a top track athlete to participate in the first Nike Nationals Track Meet at University of Oregon, held the day before the famous Prefontaine Meet, July, 2010. Budincich threw the shot and discus at the event. Nike flew all of the athletes to Orgeon, expense paid. One of the treasured items athletes like Budincich came home with were a pair of shoes made only for the athletes participating in that meet.
He started both offense and defense on Loyola’s freshman team, then decided to narrow his focus to academics and track events, now carrying AP Calculus and AP Biology, plus honors English and honors Spanish.
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A member of Sierra Madre Congregational Church, he has been a member of the Youth Group Worship Team since 7th grade, first as a guitarist, then as worship leader in 9th grade. Budincich just recently stepped down from that position to focus on reaching his athletic goals this season in shot put and discus.
In junior high, he won his school’s Battle of the Bands competition two years in a row, and graduated in 2008 with Best Male Athlete award and MVP in track, football, volleyball and basketball from High Point Academy in Pasadena.
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This month, Budincich joined his father, Dr. Michael Budincich for the sixth time in mission trips to Mexico to help with free medical/dental clinics for the indigent, or to build simple homes for those in need, organized by the Manos con Alas or Hands with Wings foundation.
In 2009, Nick also worked at Camp Barnabas , a Midwest camp for children with severe disabilities, caring for a 21 year old, blind and mute quadriplegic. The camp has been featured on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition with Ty Pennington.
Wow! Right on, Nick!