This story appears in the January 2020 edition of US Lacrosse Magazine. Don't get the mag? Head to USLacrosse.org to subscribe.

Clark Walter has always taken after his older brothers.

Each of the Walter brothers’ names start with the letter C — Colton, 28, is the oldest, followed by Chandler, 25. They also have a sister, Chanel.

When his brothers jumped on the trampoline in the backyard, Walter quickly joined the fray. When his brothers started playing roller hockey with their neighbors, he jumped right in.

“They played a bunch of sports,” Walter said. “I looked up to them and wanted to be an athlete just like them.”

Walter grew up a hockey player in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, but then he watched as his brothers picked up lacrosse sticks. His hockey friends also took up box lacrosse, so it was only a matter of time before he tried it out.

By grade school, Walter was a box lacrosse player. He added field lacrosse just a few years later, becoming so consumed with the sport that he stopped playing hockey.

Now a college senior at Limestone, Walter has used his lacrosse acumen to travel across the continent. With one year left in the Saints’ program, he wants to make sure he leaves the same way he arrived — with an NCAA Division II championship.

A four-year contributor and two-time All-American, Walter is one of four Limestone players returning who earned first-team honors last spring. And while Larson Sundown, Tyler Papa and Jordan Stouros each have the ability to take over a game, Walter provides consistency and versatility out of the midfield.

“The truth about Clark is that he’s Steady Eddie,” Limestone coach J.B. Clarke said. “You never have to worry about Clark. You’re never like, ‘Geez, I wonder if Clark is going to have a good day.’ Clark’s going to have a good day, and you worry about everyone else.”

After a successful 2019 season ended with a loss to Merrimack in NCAA championship game, Walter, coming off of a 53-goal campaign, has all the fuel he needs entering this spring.

“Last season didn’t end the way we wanted it to,” he said. “With it being my last year, I’m going to put everything on my mind to make sure that we get that win. This year is make-it break-it.”

Some of the anchors of last year’s 20-1 team have graduated — including midfielder Tyler Ponzio and attackman Brian Huyghue. The onus moves to seniors like Walter and Stouros, who served as captains last season. 

Walter admitted he’s not the most vocal leader.

“I’m the youngest in my family, so I didn’t really have to say that much,” he said. “My brothers were more vocal than I was. Working hard is the way I lead.”

Walter’s production has increased with each year he’s played for Limestone — 17 points in 2017, 43 in 2018 and 67 in 2019. His box lacrosse skills make him difficult to defend in the field game.

“He’s fearless,” Clarke said. “He’ll put his body in positions we’d ask him not to just from an endurance standpoint. He’s slippery. He’s a dasher and a cutter, and you just never seem to be able to get a hold of him. As a defense, you want to take his head off, and you can’t. He creates so much.”

Walter has routinely honed his skills over the summer, playing Junior A ball in his native British Columbia. This past summer, he was traded from his hometown Port Coquitlam Saints to the Langley Thunder. He scored 21 goals and added 21 assists.

Walter projects as a lefty forward and potential National Lacrosse League draft pick, but he’s reluctant to discuss his professional ambitions while focused on bookending his college career with NCAA titles.

“It would mean the world to win it all,” he said. “I’ve been putting in the work for the last four years. To end on top would mean everything. It would be the biggest accomplishment of my career.”