Junior Jacob Schulte is the current co-vice president and co-president-elect of the men’s lacrosse team. Established in 2003, men’s lacrosse at Wake Forest is a part of the SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference, MCLA (Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association) and ALC (Atlantic Lacrosse Conference). With weekly games against conference opponents, the team is among the most impressive club teams Wake Forest has to offer. 

As Schulte approaches the end of his third year on the lacrosse team, he is grateful for the experiences the sport has given him, in particular the sense of community. While the team will finish this season sometime in May, depending on future results, Schulte’s senior year will allow him the opportunity to lead his team, along with his future co-president, junior Dakin Moore. 

Christina DeNovio: When did you first start playing lacrosse? 

Jacob Schulte: I started playing in sixth grade. I transitioned from football to lacrosse because I moved to Greensboro right around that time, and they didn’t have a football team. I played mostly baseball growing up. I had a coach named Ira Vanterpool, who played at Syracuse, that ended up making the lacrosse team a really good experience for me. I played club pretty much all throughout high school. Then, I started playing club lacrosse here my freshman year. 

CD: Did you think about playing Division I or Division III lacrosse in college? 

JS: I got a few Division III offers, and I didn’t really pursue it that much because that’s not what I wanted out of school. My experience playing club lacrosse here has allowed me to make so many friends outside of my current social circle. It’s allowed for the intermingling of Greek Life and people who are involved in so many different things. I’ve met so many really respectable people. It’s just been a really nice thing for me because it’s not too intensive, but we’re also able to come out and play at a high level. 

CD: What made you decide to become a part of club lacrosse here? 

JS: My senior year of high school, I went to this senior All-Star game in Greensboro — it was a Triad thing. A bunch of my club teammates were there. The Wake Forest club lacrosse coach is also the coach at Davie High School, and he was there. He came up to me after the game because he realized that I was going to Wake Forest. He told me that I should definitely come out and that we’d be in contact. During my freshman year, he sent me an email on the first day of practice for me to come to the club interest fair. I got my name down on the email list, and I ended up coming out to practice. 

CD: Could you describe the try-out process? How does playing time distribution work? 

JS: People can basically just join the team. It’s kind of a system where the guys who show up the most that get playing time. If you don’t come to practices, then you don’t get to play in games. It’s flexible in the sense that if you have too much going on that week, you don’t really have to come to the field. It’s not too much of a commitment. In previous years, it was a more intense commitment — you could get cut and more was expected of you. That shied players away from trying out and being on the team. We started doing it in a way where you come out when you need to and allow the most committed players to play in games. That’s really just brought out a lot more people and it’s made our team a lot better. 

CD: How did you get your leadership position on the team? 

JS: The previous leadership was run by one guy, Jeffrey Guiliano. He was the president throughout COVID-19. He just sent out a leadership application. I had been coming out during COVID-19, which is not something that many people were doing. I kept on coming to practice because I enjoy playing, and it’s good for exercise and stuff. So, I just sent in an application and got the co-vice president position this year with Dakin Moore. Dawson Muller and Jack Sanders are the co-presidents right now. We were happy to be working together. 

CD: How often do you practice and play games? What months of the year do you play? 

JS: We practice two times a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Kentner Stadium, where field hockey plays. We practice from 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. We have games almost every Sunday. We have one more game this year, and then we have the ALC semi-finals and finals. Hopefully, we’ll go to Round Rock, Texas for the MCLA National Championships, but it is during exam week. We do the Tuesday and Thursday practices throughout the fall, and we have a few just exhibition games and scrimmages in the fall too. The spring is when it starts to pick up — Feb. 6 was our first game this year. And then the longest we can go would be May 9 if we make it to the finals. 

CD: Can you describe your win this past weekend against Coastal Carolina? 

JS: It was the best game of the season, absolutely. It was so intense from start to finish. It was back and forth the whole game. Going into the fourth quarter, the score was 8-8, and then it ended up 11-10 right at the end. It was insane because on the last possession, they had the ball, and we were up one and we basically had to keep them from scoring for the last minute or so. The game was full of a lot of ups and downs. 

CD: What are your favorite things about being a part of club lacrosse? 

JS: It really comes down to the friends I’ve made, because they’re people I probably would have never made friends with throughout my time at Wake Forest. It doesn’t really matter what year you are or which fraternity you’re in. People are always just excited to come out and play lacrosse — it’s really been a nice community to be a part of. 

CD: Do you think Wake Forest lacrosse could one day become a Division I team? 

JS: There would have to be a lot of organizational things that would have to change for it to shift into a Division I team. We’d need a Division I coach and a lot more resources. I’m not sure how it works, but it would definitely be cool to see. It probably won’t happen during my last year here, but hopefully one day. There is definitely a lot of talent in the ACC. 

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.