When sophomore guard Andy Christensen attended Bennington High School, he never received a grade lower than an “A.”

In fact, whenever the 6-foot-3, 300-pound lineman needed a few more right answers on an exam to get the highest mark in the class, he’d plead his case with the instructor.

Andy’s mom, Denise, said her driven son would often get his way with the teachers and was  driven at whatever he did.

““He’s strong-willed but kind of had a soft heart,” Denise said. “He was always pretty driven academically and athletically.”

Don, Andy’s dad, also said his son was pretty driven growing up and excelled in numerous sports, despite being fairly young for his class.

“He was young for his grade, but was always the biggest,” Don said. “He could always move though and was a top-notch student. I don’t know where he got it, but he didn’t get it from me.”

In middle school, Don was a volunteer assistant coach on Andy’s team. Then, Andy was a 6-foot, 240 pound fullback whose quickness and weight made him quite a load to bring down.

Once Andy arrived at Bennington High School, he switched positions and played line on both sides of the ball for the varsity squad his freshman year. Andy thought about possibly attending Creighton Prep, but decided to stay in Bennington because he liked the wrestling coach.

Denise said her son’s drive really showed in high school because he’d go into Omaha to work out multiple times a day.

“There was going to be a lifting coach coming to Westside one year,” Denise said. “He was excited about that, and we signed him up as a summer school class for that. He’d went four days a week at 6:30 in the morning and lifted with the kids at Westside. Then at night, he would go in the evenings with his buddies and run at Bennington.  He’d make an appearance so the coaches knew that he still was committed there.”

Andy’s drive paid off in high school as he received  second-team super-state honors from the Journal Star.

Football wasn’t the only sport Andy shined at in high school. During his senior year, Andy was a state champion in both wrestling and track. In wrestling, he captured the Class C heavyweight state title and the Class C state shot put title.

Denise said her son, who still shines academically as a construction management major, always wanted to be the best.

“He just liked to excel at everything he did,” Denise said.