Justin Jaczko (‘24) has committed to Montclair State University where he will be competing for the Men’s Swim Team in the New Jersey Athletic Conference.

Jaczko began swimming during elementary school after his mom signed him up for summer swim. Although he was already playing several sports, his mom thought he should give swimming a try since that was the sport that his older brother was doing. Within a few years, swimming became Jaczko’s exclusive sport.

As his passion for the sport developed, Jaczko’s swimming evolved into year-round training. His commitment to the sport requires Jaczko to train and swim for multiple teams throughout the year. Most recently Jaczko has trained with Cherry Hill East Boys Swimming (CHUBS) during the winter season, Wexford in the summer, and South Jersey Aquatic Center (SJAC) year-round.

During his senior year, Jaczko was named one of the CHUBS team captains for the 2023-2024 season. Jaczko enjoys the camaraderie of the East swim team. Swimming is a demanding sport, but having supportive teammates that set high standards, train hard, and cheer for each other during meets is part of the team culture. Jaczko values the strong bond that he shares with his CHUBS teammates.

“We are such a tight community. All the swimmers get along with each other. It is such a welcoming community because everybody knows the struggle of the sport,” said Jaczko.

With each year, Jazcko has mastered new skills to compete in a variety of events. While the 100m butterfly is his favorite event, Jaczko has worked hard to contribute to the team and develop the stamina to compete in other events including the 200m freestyle. Jaczko credits a long list of coaches, family and friends for helping him succeed as a swimmer, but looks to his fellow CHUBS captains, Jack Behm and JD Moyer for helping him advance as a swimmer and teammate.

“They really pushed me to be a better version of myself and be a good leader of the team,” said Jaczko.

After the CHUBS team won the state championship during his sophomore year, Jaczko knew that he wanted to swim in college. He continued to train and challenge himself to improve his skills. At the end of junior year, Jaczko began connecting with different coaches about opportunities to swim in college. From the start, Montclair stood out to Jaczko as the best fit for him because of the team culture and environment.

“The Montclair coaches were so nice. I went to an overnight stay, and I just knew that it was where I wanted to go to college,” said Jaczko.

Jaczko is excited to begin his college career and offers the following advice for students that want to swim in college.

“Put a lot of effort in all year because it is a very demanding sport. You don’t want to fall behind if you want to be a part of something bigger after high school,” said Jaczko.