On July 22, senior Justin Giacalone announced his verbal commitment to continue his academic and athletic career at Muhlenberg College via Instagram.
Giacalone first started his lacrosse journey in second grade and immediately “fell in love with the sport.” Ever since then, he has played lacrosse year round for both Westfield and club teams, 3D Garden State and TriState Lacrosse, always knowing he wanted to play at the collegiate level.
He has made an incredible impact on the WHS lacrosse team ever since his junior year, earning a starting position on varsity, and will continue there his senior year. His sophomore year, Giacalone won a ring with the WHS lacrosse team, which he mentioned was a great achievement for him and the program.When he was younger, Giacalone had played every position ranging from offense to defense, and growing up he preferred playing offensively. This all changed during the fall of his sophomore year when he started playing short-stick defensive midfielder. He knew that was the position for him, and the position he would continue to play for the rest of his high school and college years at Muhlenberg.
Giacalone decided Muhlenberg College was the place for him after visiting. He liked that the university had a mix between competitive Division III athletics, and rigorous academics. “When I visited the school I thought it was the perfect balance between all the things I wanted between the coaches, the facilities, the academics and the school itself. The community too, it was really amazing.” He was also influenced by the bonds between players, and the college’s spot in the Centennial Conference.
Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college located in Allentown, Pennsylvania with roughly 1,700-2,000 students enrolled. Their lacrosse program is NCAA Division III, and they compete in the Centennial Conference. The team finished last season with a 10-8 record and a 5-3 mark in the conference. They finished their season as the No. 4 seed in the Centennial Conference playoffs, and set a single game scoring record winning 23-5 over McDaniel College.
It is no doubt that Giacalone’s transition into his freshman year at Muhlenberg will be effortless, and as senior captain and close friend Koby Waldman said, “Both on and off the field [Justin is] just an all around competitor. On the field he’s probably one of the hardest working guys on the team. Constantly giving one hundred percent in simple practice drills, diving for balls, diving for ground balls. He’s really just a hard worker.”
Not only that, but Waldman mentioned, “He’s always around to pick you up if you’re ever down, or even will just go and hangout with you if you’re having a rough day. He’s just a fun guy to be around and makes the locker room a better place.”
Giacalone notes that he has so much to be grateful for, and that so many people have helped him find himself on his lacrosse commitment journey. “Coach Wertheimer, Coach P and the whole Westfield lacrosse staff are incredible, and have tremendously helped me in my growth as a lacrosse player.”
In addition, he mentions the team saying, “Going into this last season for me, I think we have a really great group of guys, and I’m excited to see what we accomplish. I’m really grateful for all of them and couldn’t do it if I didn’t have them.”
For all younger athletes who wish to pursue sports at the collegiate level in the future, Giacalone has a word of advice: “The process can be very stressful at times. It’s important to remember that you love playing the sport you play for a reason. Lacrosse is something I love to do, and I always think about how grateful I am for every opportunity to play as not everyone has those same chances. I am just so grateful.”
