Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: 2024 Terry Griffey Award winner JT Laufersweiler is pictured here with his parents, Mark and Susan. The honor annually goes to the top male student-athlete at St. Edmond.

Throughout his St. Edmond career, JT Laufersweiler was faced with making difficult decisions.

Time and time again, Laufersweiler made the correct choice.

Figuring out his next move after graduation was another tough choice to make.

Laufersweiler — the winner of the 2024 Terry Griffey Award, which goes to the top Gael senior boy athlete — decided on the University of Northern Iowa, passing on several other offers to play football at the next level.

“I thought UNI was the best place for me to go and pursue an education degree,” Laufersweiler said. “It was a very difficult decision, and I had lots of people pushing me to do both.

“I think it’ll be tough to get used to having more of an open schedule instead of constantly going to practices everyday. That’s one thing I will miss.”

His love for athletics, though, will not go away — thanks to his many teammates and coaches along the way.

“I have been so involved in sports over the years and I want to keep with it and help the younger generations, so I plan to get into coaching,” he said. “I also have so much experience with so many different sports…I think I could coach multiple sports, which could take me anywhere.

“There are too many teammates to name, but they all inspired me to do one thing or the other. I think one of the biggest things for me was holding myself accountable through the years. I hope that’s something some of the younger guys take from me. I think my biggest influence from the coaches was Coach (Matt) Dillon. He always had complete trust and confidence in me, and I think that will help me down the line when I become a coach.

Laufersweiler was a standout on the football field, while also playing basketball, soccer, track and baseball over the past four years. He threw for over 1,900 yards and had 35 total touchdowns and earned all-district status for the Gaels in 2023.

Laufersweiler followed that up by helping lead several new players on the basketball court as one of just three seniors, scoring 130 points while collecting 92 rebounds and dishing out 74 assists.

Laufersweiler split his spring between playing for the Fort Dodge soccer team and running track at St. Edmond for the first time. He qualified for state with the Gaels, landing a spot inside Drake Stadium.

While he met plenty of his own goals, Laufersweiler does have one regret.

“I think if I had to change one thing about my years as a Gael athlete, I would have wanted myself to be more of a vocal leader when I was younger,” he said. “I never really did a lot of talking…I just did what I was supposed to do and tried to do it to the best of my ability every time.

“Some advice I would give to younger athletes is do as many activities as you can while you can, because it goes by very quickly. I had a lot of fun making memories with all my teammates, and I want all of the younger athletes to do the same.”

Named for Lt. Terrence Griffey, a 1958 graduate of St. Edmond, the award was first handed out in 1968. Griffey was killed in action during the Vietnam War in 1966.

“It’s an honor to be named with some of the best athletes to ever come through St. Edmond,” Laufersweiler said. “I remember growing up watching the Gaels and thinking I wanted to be just like them someday.”

Other finalists for the award were Thomas Cosgrove, Hayden Derrig, Leo Ehn and Sam Mericle.