Brady Mahler’s goal for senior season is to become Baldwin’s all-time leading scorer in lacrosse

I was looking through the county history and Baldwin history, and there was only one person who’s had more goals than me. Next season I could definitely beat it, so that’s the goal for next year.”

Brady Mahler Baldwin High School junior

After discovering that he is in second place on Baldwin High School’s all-time scoring list in boys’ lacrosse, Brady Mahler has set his sights on taking the top spot next year.

Mahler, who first took to the sport in kindergarten, recently finished his junior year at the high school. He is an attacker on the lacrosse team and its captain, and has successfully balanced classes with athletics, maintaining a high weighted GPA throughout the year.

“I was looking through the county history and Baldwin history, and there was only one person who has had more goals than me,” Mahler said. “Next season, I could definitely beat it, so that’s the goal for next year.”

According to BlaxEight.net, Baldwin’s Terry Riordan amassed a total of 74 goals, and Mahler has 52. Mahler said he planned to focus on surpassing Riordan next season.

“One of the main things for me is that I take a lot of shots,” Mahler said. “And, obviously, a lot of them go in, but some don’t. So I’m just trying to improve my shooting.”

Standing 6 feet 4, Mahler noted that his size is one of the main reasons he’s a prolific scorer. As well, his older cousin and brother both played lacrosse, so he’s been immersed in the sport for most of his life. But despite his years of training, he said, he makes sure to pay equal attention to his classes.

“I think I found a good balance between my sports life and education,” Mahler said. “Education has always been my priority in my schooling career.”

At the midpoint of the school year, his guidance counselor told him that he had a weighted GPA of 116.2, and with the help of honors and AP classes, he was able to push his average even higher. Mahler has taken a total of nine AP classes so far, and he added that he doesn’t plan on stopping as a senior next year.

He took AP Human Geography as a freshman, and then last year, he enrolled in AP Seminar, World History, Computer Science A and Statistics. As a junior, he took AP U.S. History, Research, Physics 1 and Language and Composition.

Mahler said he spends a great deal of time studying and focusing on school. Lacrosse, he said, is more of a fun hobby that he likes to play on weekends.

In his free time, he is also active in the Tunnels for Towers Foundation, a charitable organization that was founded in honor of New York City firefighter Stephen Siller, who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. According to T2T.org, the foundation has raised a total of $500 million for those affected by the attacks.

“The donations that the foundation receives take care of the families of people who lost their lives on Sept. 11,” Mahler said. “More specifically, the foundation helps pay off their houses and, overall, takes care of them.”

Each year, the foundation hosts an event at the World Trade Center that Mahler and his family take part in. On June 4, Mahler woke up at 4:30 a.m. and headed to 1 World Trade to race up 2,222 steps in the Tunnel to Towers Tower Climb, which honors the firefighters and police officers who died on 9/11.

He placed 41st overall out of 855 participants, and the Mahler team raised more than $26,000 this year, his family said.

In addition to his involvement with the foundation, Mahler is working on his Eagle Scout project, planning to plant trees in Baldwin Park. His goal is to plant at least 100 3- and 4-foot trees throughout the park.

“If I can do more, I’ll do more, but if I can’t even do 100, I’ll just do as many as possible,” he said. “The plan is to plant these trees, and then for them to be maintained so the park looks more beautiful.”