By Stephen Levitt ‘22, Sports Writer 

Newark Academy has produced many accomplished student-athletes over the years, including Chris Jacobs ‘83, a two-time Olympic swimmer, and Maya Hayes ‘10, a professional soccer player who helped lead the US women’s team to victory in the 2012 World Cup. In the past four classes, there have been 46 students who went on to play college sports. These last four classes have been highlighted by terrific scholar-athletes like Anthony Giachin ‘17 and Veronica Czyzewski ‘18, two exemplary student-athletes who live the values of Newark Academy.

Anthony Giachin ‘17 is currently the third baseman for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Giachin helped lead the Newark Academy varsity baseball team to the State Sectional Championships in 2015 and 2017. Although Giachin was key for the Newark Academy baseball program, he explains that the team made an even bigger impact on him: “Before Newark Academy, I found that baseball was more of a chore than anything, and it was something I did simply because I was good at it. However, once I started playing every day with people that I genuinely loved being around, I could not get enough of it.” Fueled by an impressive freshman year in 2018, Giachin helped lead his team to an upset win against the United States Naval Academy in the Patriot League Championship. In only his first year at the collegiate level, Giachin took home various awards including Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American, Patriot League Rookie of the Year, and Patriot League Tournament MVP. Giachin followed up his impressive freshman year with an even better 2019 season. As a sophomore, Giachin had a .316 batting average, 6 home runs, and led the Patriot League with 67 RBI’s. Giachin not only won highly regarded athletic awards, but he also won many prestigious academic honors, including being named to the All-Patriot Academic Team and being recognized as a CoSIDA Academic All-American. Giachin takes his dedication to the college as a student-athlete seriously, both on the field and in the classrooms, as seen through the various student-athlete awards he has won. Giachin understands the importance of Newark Academy and the effects it had on his work ethic, saying, “I would not have been able to have the success I have had in both academics and athletics without the development Newark Academy offered me.” Giachin continues to make the community of Newark Academy proud both on and off the field.

Veronica Czyzewski ‘18 currently attends Harvard University where she is part of the school’s prestigious fencing team. While attending Newark Academy, Czyzewski was named the USA Fencing 2017 High School All-American First Team and earned recognition for her talents when she was the 2017 and 2018 Junior Olympics Champion and the 2018 Junior Olympic Team Champion. When asked about her experience at Newark Academy, she says: “My experience at NA was excellent! I loved my teachers at NA, who were so supportive and became more like my friends than my teachers.” When it came to choosing Harvard, Czyzewski explained: “I chose Harvard because I knew I’d get a phenomenal education, one that no other school could replicate.” Czyzewski now majors in economics and minors in Spanish at Harvard. Once arriving at Harvard, Czyzewski quickly made her presence felt. As a freshman, she finished third place in sabre at the NCAA Championships and finished third at the 2019 NCAA Regionals. These accomplishments earned her a spot on the All-American First Team and the All-Ivy Second Team. Knowing that Czyzewski was attending Harvard as a student-athlete, many people might think that she would struggle to make time for both academics and sports, but Czyzewski points out that Newark Academy taught her how to balance both academics and athletics: “Being a student at Newark Academy while handling this crazy schedule prepared me for the hectic grind that is Harvard.” Czyzewski continues to demonstrate the Newark Academy values, whether she is fencing in the NCAA Regionals or taking exams.