Men's Track and Field | January 17, 2024

PHILADELPHIA - La Salle University and the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics are saddened by the passing of legendary track & field standout and 1955 graduate Al Cantello.

A beloved member of the University community, Cantello was a standout member of the La Salle track & field team during the 1950s. He was a two-time All-American in the javelin, set a world record in the event in 1959 and competed at the Rome Olympics as a member of the United States team in 1960. He was voted the world's greatest javelin competitor in Sport Magazine in 1964.

Following his career as an athlete, Cantello shifted his attention to coaching. After five years as an assistant at the Naval Acadmy, Cantello took over as head coach of Navy's men's cross country program in 1968 and became one of the top coaches in the country.

During his 50-year run as a head coach prior to his retirement in 2018, he was named Patriot League Coach of the Year eight times and NCAA Mid-Atlantic Coach of the Year on four separate occasions. His career winning percentage over cross country, indoor, and outdoor track & field meets was well over .700 and he led the Midshipmen to eight cross country titles over a nine-year span from 2008-16. Overall, his men's cross country teams advanced to 12 NCAA Championships and won a total of 19 conference titles.

He was inducted into the La Salle Hall of Athletes, the Penn Relays Wall of Fame, the Middle Atlantic Conference Hall of Fame and the United States Track & Field/Cross Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

A visitation to celebrate Albert Cantello Sr.'s life will be held on Wednesday, January 31, 2024, from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm at Kalas Funeral Home & Crematory, 2973 Solomons Island Road, Edgewater, MD, followed by a Mass of the Resurrection at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, 620 N. Bestgate Road, Annapolis, MD on Thursday, February 1, 2024, at 10:30 am. There will be a reception following the funeral in the Vice Admiral Lawrence N* Room at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The Al Cantello Sr. '55 Memorial Scholarship Fund at La Salle University, Philadelphia, PA. 

Checks can be made payable to La Salle University and mailed to La Salle University, 1900 W. Olney Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19141, Attn: Development Office. On the memo line, include that the gift is for the Al Cantello Sr. '55 Memorial Scholarship Fund.