For much of Jack Walton’s ‘17 life, his focus has shifted between two passions: lacrosse and football. He began both football and lacrosse at a young age, and since then his natural ability has led him to stand out in both. Although his focus at times has leaned towards one over the other, his decision to sign at Tufts University this winter officially made him a two-sport collegiate athlete, something LT varsity football head coach Kurt Weinberg has never seen.

“We’ve had guys that have played both and excelled in both, but to be able to play both on the next level is something very, very special,” Weinberg said.

By the end of his freshman year, Walton was competing on the East Coast for lacrosse and beginning to gain attention from college coaches. By sophomore year, he committed to DI lacrosse at High Point University.

“[Walton] is almost always the most athletic guy on the field. His size and speed allow him to do whatever he wants and he can really take over games,” lacrosse teammate and close friend Charlie Kidder ‘17 said.

Despite this commitment to lacrosse, Walton chose to continue his love for football into his junior year, his first year playing at the varsity level. His standout ability became very clear after becoming the defensive MVP as a junior, and later the overall MVP his senior year. After these successful seasons, Walton chose to rethink his college commitment at HPU. Soon, he began talks with Tufts about potentially playing both lacrosse and football at the DIII level.

“I realized that Tufts is a great school, and the combination of playing football and lacrosse, in addition to the academic opportunity that exists at Tufts, it was the best fit for me,” Walton said.

Still, Walton is not expecting an easy workload. His future will consist of coinciding schedules, rigorous academics, and an overlapped lacrosse season and football off-season, as well as football season and lacrosse off-season, LT varsity lacrosse head coach Seth Molek said.

“He’s going to have a big load on his plate, but I’m not really worried about it,” Molek said. “It’s going to be really tough, but if anyone can do it, he can do it.”

Molek believes that in Walton’s time at Tufts he will win a national championship. Tufts is known to have a solid lacrosse program, and Walton brings the team a lot of promise with both the athletic edge and the intelligence to make plays happen, Molek and Weinberg said. Walton is now a two-time All-American athlete, speaking volumes to his ability, Molek said.

“He really does everything,” Molek said. “He guards the best player, he’ll do the half-time speeches, he clears the ball, he blocks shots, he scores, he makes assists, he’s an All-American for a reason. If we need something done, we go to him.”

Walton has displayed impressive dedication and determination in order to get to where he is today, Molek said. Hours of practice, as well as additional time at training facilities like Get Fast Inc, have pushed him to better himself as an athlete, Walton said. Still, Weinberg believes his greatest asset is his intelligence.

“It’s a complex game that we play and Jack’s able to understand it, process it and get into action very quickly,” Weinberg said. “He asks questions, next-level questions beyond what a lot of guys ask. You can tell he has a very high level of understanding.”

As his senior year comes to a close, Walton feels grateful to have had the experience of competing in LT’s program and creating bonds with his teammates. He said the best part about the game is the guys he gets to play with, especially Kidder, who encouraged him to start lacrosse back in fifth grade. Kidder remembers playing with him in his back yard, before Walton understood how to play.

“When he first started playing, he had no idea what he was doing, so I could usually dominate him,” Kidder said. “Things have changed a little bit since those days.”

Through his time at LT, Walton has displayed incredible dedication and skill in two entirely different sports, Weinberg said. The ability to dominate the field in both of these vastly different arenas, according to both Molek and Weinberg, is what makes him so special of an athlete.

“I give him all the credit in the world for doing it,” Weinberg said. “His load at Tufts is going to be a daunting task, but I know he’ll do well, he’s smart, athletic, and can do a lot of different things. It’s impressive to be able to play two very different sports on the college level. Not many people can do that.”