Westfield is home to a storied lacrosse program that has grown to be respected throughout the state of New Jersey. With five state championships under its belt, Westfield’s boys lacrosse team has proven themself to be one of the best. Collegiate-level lacrosse athletes have been produced annually within the program, one of the latest coming from the 2025 graduating class in Billy Gerne.
A member of two state championship teams, Gerne gained crucial experience and practice in his time at Westfield. Over his 3 seasons on the varsity team, Gerne tallied 61 goals, 27 assists and 44 ground balls.
Head coach William Wertheimer said, “I was confident [Gerne] would transfer well [to college lacrosse] because his work ethic was always unmatched. I knew he would continue improving over the summer and would flow right into his college career.”
In his freshman season at Trinity College, Gerne recorded 16 goals and 6 assists alongside 10 ground balls. With just one year under his belt, Gerne has already proven vital to this Trinity team and his role on the team is expected to continue to grow.
His time at Westfield proved to be very helpful in preparing him for collegiate lacrosse. Gerne said, “Every day in high school, whether it was a game or practice, I was playing with and against Division I caliber athletes, so the competition level was familiar.”
Even with his extensive experience in high-level lacrosse, Gerne noted, “The pace of play in college is far quicker than high school. Initially, I was shocked at the speed of the game, but I quickly adapted to it and gained my groove.”
The Trinity Men’s Lacrosse team earned a record of six wins and nine losses this year in the highly competitive NESCAC group. The Bantams are looking to build off this year to become a top-ranked Division III squad, and there is no doubt Gerne will be an integral part of this team for years to come.
