Mercury All-Area: Justin Wixted’s ‘electric’ ability as a playmaker and finisher elevated repeat PAC champion Spring-Ford

Ever since he was in kindergarten, Justin Wixted knew lacrosse was the game for him.

“My older brother Pat had a practice, so I tagged along,” Wixted recalled. “I was entertained the whole time, and signed up as soon as I could.”

That was the easy part. It took a little while longer to find his home on the lacrosse field.

Wixted started as a midfielder before trying his hand as a faceoff man. It wasn’t until middle school that he found his permanent home at attack.

Perseverance pays off. Wixted led Spring-Ford in scoring with 53 goals and 39 assists in his senior season, leading the prolific Rams to a second straight Pioneer Athletic Conference title and earning Mercury All-Area Player of the Year honors.

On a balanced, unselfish offense that averaged 13 goals per game, Wixted’s singular playmaking and finishing ability took the Rams to another level in a 16-4 season highlighted by the PAC title, a No. 4 seed in the District 1 Class 3A playoffs, and a signature win over state runner-up Springfield-Delco.

“The word to describe him is electric,” Spring-Ford coach Kevin Donnelly said on Wixted.

It might have taken Wixted a while to find his position on the field, but he never stopped looking.

“I knew lacrosse was for me,” he said. “Ever since I started, I’ve always had a stick in my hand. I fell in love with the sport immediately and it’s become my passion.”

That passion not only sustained Wixted but pushed him to another level during a challenging start to his high school years. The Class of 2023 is the final group who saw their varsity careers directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent cancelation of the 2020 spring season.

“We’d had a couple weeks’ worth of tryouts and practices (before the season was canceled),” Wixted said, “so I was able to get out there and play with the older guys.

“Right away I saw high school lacrosse was different – the speed of the game, the strength of the players. I wanted to make an impact, so even when that season was canceled, I kept working, kept lifting, and trying to get better.

“That’s the best thing about lacrosse. I have so much fun playing it, it’s relaxing to me. It’s never a chore to work hard and get better.”

That internal motivation has been the number-one factor in Wixted’s improvement and sustained production that saw over 100 goals and 200 points in a three-year high school career.

It also allows the 5-foot-7 attackman to ignore any detractors or doubters. There’s been no shortage of people to tell Wixted he’s too small to have success – at the high school level or otherwise.

And while he’s proven them wrong by being named a U.S. Lacrosse All-American in 2023 while destined for Division I High Point University this coming fall, that’s a product of his own drive to succeed rather than a desire to make the naysayers eat their words.

“I hear that (I’m too small) all the time,” Wixted said, “and I guess I just don’t care. Honestly, I’m kind of glad about it. It fits my playing style – I’m quick, I can make the cuts. I just play my game and don’t really worry about proving people wrong.”

Wixted came up big for Spring-Ford on a number of occasions over the past three years. His individual accomplishments, including his 100th career goal in a game against Pope John Paul II in April, provide treasured memories mainly because of their role in creating his ultimate career highlight.

“The back-to-back league titles will always stand out to me, because that’s what everyone’s working for all year,” Wixted said. “When you’re lifting in the offseason, practicing every day … it’s all for (the purpose) of that championship.”

While the 2022 team took down all comers in winning the title, this year’s Rams faced some adversity in the form of a 10-9 loss at Perkiomen Valley on May 2. The game unfolded as the type of contest that can poke holes in a team’s confidence – failing to hold a lead, repeated mistakes to allow the opponent an opportunity, and an inability to find the one decisive play in crunch time.

But seasoned fans of local sports knew the Rams’ and Vikings’ stories wouldn’t end that simply. Sure enough, the two sides met again nine days later back at PV, this time with the PAC Championship in the balance.

“Truthfully, we didn’t talk about PV much after that first game,” Donnelly said. “It was about ourselves – clean up the mistakes, play our game, get better.”

“I think the loss drove us to work harder,” Wixted added. “But that was about proving it to ourselves, being the best team we can. It wasn’t about redemption; it was about winning a championship.”

Spring-Ford did just that, dominating throughout a 13-1 victory for their second straight PAC title.

Wixted and sophomore Brady Welsh led the Rams with four goals apiece, but in all, a half-dozen Spring-Ford players got on the scoresheet – not an uncommon occurrence through 2023.

“Our strength this year was in the fact that all our main offensive players embraced what we wanted to do, and did it as well as I’ve seen,” Donnelly said. “Justin led the team in scoring, but that’s not by design, it’s a product of his own ability.”

“Make plays,” Wixted simplified. “I don’t feel the need to score a bunch of goals every game. We move the ball, we look for the open man. Play like that and goals will come naturally.”

It doesn’t hurt that the core of Spring-Ford’s senior class has played together since third grade. In all, seven Rams seniors appear among All-Area honorees.

“It meant a lot, having one last season together,” Wixted said. “It made this season special. We never wanted it to end.”

But as Donnelly has said in the past, only one team gets to walk off the field a winner in that last game. For the Rams, that final game came against Garnet Valley in the District 1 playoffs, an 8-5 defeat that still gnaws at coach and player alike.

“It was definitely emotional,” Wixted said. “I’m still a little bothered by it. It hit me right away, that it was the end.

“But we left it all out on the field. It’s a season I’ll never forget.”

Next comes the payoff to Wixted’s stated dream of playing Division I lacrosse as he heads to High Point University next month.

High Point coach Jon Torpey invited Wixted to visit the campus after watching the attackman at a local Under Armour. It didn’t take long for Wixted to realize he’d found his next home.

“I’d always had interest in High Point, and the campus was impressive,” Wixted said. “But I felt an immediate connection with the coaches. Obviously, they talked about lacrosse but beyond that, they cared about me as a person.”

Wixted still figures to be around the area, whether watching his older brother finish his own career at DeSales University or on Spring-Ford’s campus in Royersford, where younger brother Aidan is a rising junior. As of right now, he says he’d like to move back to the area after college – maybe with a job in sports management, working for the Eagles, Phillies, or another of his favorite pro teams.

“I think no matter what, I’d have to be doing something with sports,” Wixted laughed.

For now, though, Wixted is focusing on following his passion on the field for the next four years.

Donnelly offered praise for the people who helped Wixted get to this point – father Patrick Sr., mother Lisa, his two brothers, and various coaches in school and club ball.

“That family backing is hugely important, and (the Wixteds) are a perfect example of proving that foundation, that character in all three boys that we want to see as coaches – the work ethic and the dedication to succeed,” he said.

Wixted returned credit to Donnelly and his staff at Spring-Ford, as well as numerous club coaches with aiding in his growth on and off the lacrosse field.

But the conversation ended as it began – with Wixted praising his family, specifically older brother and former Spring-Ford captain Pat.

“My parents made so many weekend drives to Maryland and elsewhere,” Wixted said. “They supported my goals and believed in me even when I doubted myself.

“My older brother Pat, he was my mentor. He gave me pointers along the way and paved the path for me to follow. I wouldn’t be where I am without my family.”