Panther Pride
We opened our spring season competitions last week, with the Panthers winning three out of four competitions. On Thursday, boys varsity tennis weathered the cold, blustery conditions and topped Bishop O’Connell 6-1. On Friday, varsity baseball travelled to Bishop O’Connell and fell to the host Knights 3-6. Also, on Friday, girls varsity lacrosse hosted St. John’s College High School, where they dominated from first to last whistle on their way to a 17-8 victory. On Saturday, boys varsity lacrosse defeated St. Vincent Pallotti 23-4. Check out some recent girls lacrosse photos.
On Friday the girls swim team competed in the 2025 ISL Swimming Championship. They fought very hard, resulting in Potomac’s highest ISL point total in recorded history and a fourth place finish.
Three Panthers, Kate Douglas ‘26, Maren Schwarz ‘25, and Cecelia Russell ‘27, were awarded All-ISL for their exceptional performances. Douglas also had an incredible night, winning first in 100 Back with a new school record (56.61) and missing first by 0.01 seconds in 50 free (23.69). Schwarz also finished 2nd in 100 Breaststroke; Douglas, Schwarz, Russell, and Paige Schedler ‘25 also placed 2nd in the Medley Relay; Russell finished 3rd in 100 Butterfly; and Maddie Steves ‘26, finished 4th in 100 Breaststroke. Congratulations to the girls and good luck to the boys who compete this weekend at the MAC Championship at Catholic University.
The VISAA Swimming and Diving Championships were held this past weekend at the Jeff Rouse Aquatic Center in Stafford. Our girls finished seventh out of 28 teams, and our boys placed 16th of 31. Leading the way for the Panthers was Kate Douglas ‘26– who not only took home two state titles (50 Freestyle and 100 Backstroke), setting a new team record in the latter but also won this event in an All-American consideration time. Douglas’ teammates of Maren Schwarz ‘25, Maddie Steves ‘26, and Cecelia Russell ‘27 joined her for a school record-breaking 200 Medley Relay, taking second, also earning All-State Honors. The four then teamed up for another Potomac record in the 400 Freestyle Relay. Individually, Schwarz earned sixth place in 100 Breaststroke, and Russell also brought home sixth in 100 Butterfly. For the boys, Luka Beslic ‘27 set a new team record in 100 Butterfly and also medaled in 100 Breaststroke, taking seventh; Henry Rossman ‘28 took fifth in 500 Freestyle and sixth in 200 Freestyle, and Jack Pinkus ‘28 finished eighth in Diving. The future looks very bright for the Panthers!
Varsity wrestling hosted 260 wrestlers from 29 teams for the VISAA State tournament in Spangler on Friday and Saturday. The Panthers finished 20th out of 29, which was the highest finish for a school with fewer than seven participants. Five of the six Panthers competing won at least one match, highlighted by Richard Perry ‘25, who finished in fifth at the 157 lbs weight class. Check out the gallery from day 1 of the VISAA tournament.
We are almost finished with winter sports, and what a season it has been. Last week, the boys varsity basketball team ended its season in the MAC quarterfinals with a 48-67 loss at Maret. Many players will return next year, and we know the future is bright.
The girls varsity basketball team ended its ISL season last week but continued this week in the VISAA playoffs. In the ISL, they topped St. Andrew’s Episcopal on Thursday 71-38 in the first round of the ISL tournament, then fell to perennial power Sidwell 46-68 on Friday. On Tuesday of this week, the fifth-seeded Panthers defeated St. Catherine’s in the first round of the VISAA tournament by a score of 56-44. Last night, they fell to St. Anne’s Belfield by one point in the quarterfinal match-up.
Over the weekend, the boys and girls varsity squash teams competed in High School Nationals for Squash. The boys finished 14th in their division, while the girls made it all the way to the championship match, where they fell to Blair Academy.
Congratulations to all our winter teams, athletes, and coaches on a great season. Spring sports have begun, with our first scrimmages starting this week!
Track and field finished their indoor season with two top-five team finishes at VISAA States. The girls team finished third out of 14 teams, and the boys finished fifth out of 16. A highlight of the meet was our girls 4x400m state championship. Amazingly, this was the seventh year in a row that the girls 4x400 team, under the tutelage of coach CJ Jones, was named indoor state champions. Rose Barabanov ‘27, Charlie Everhart ‘25, Ally Griswold ‘26, and Sydney Levine ‘28 comprised that gold medal-winning team. Noah Altschuler ‘25 was the highest-place finisher on the boys team with a silver medal performance in the 1600m event. Everhart (500m) and Griswold (300m) also earned silver medals in individual events. Caroline Kaleda ‘25 made VISAA Honorable Mention with her bronze medal in the shot put.
Last Tuesday in the VISAA quarterfinals, the Panthers had a dominant 14-8 victory over Collegiate. With this victory, the Panthers secured a spot in the VISAA semifinals for the second consecutive year. The girls traveled to Charlottesville to take on the number one seed, and the ninth-ranked team in the country, St. Anne’s-Belfield. The game was a back-and-forth battle, but the Panthers fell short by one goal in the final minute, losing 7-6. It was an impressive showing to wrap up an excellent season. Well done, girls lacrosse!
Take a trip down memory lane and celebrate a year of incredible athletic achievements by visiting our Athletics Gallery on Panther Prints.
Our Athletics Office has released the fall schedule for our teams. Be sure to check some games out and show your Panther pride!
What a way to officially kick-off the school year! The atmosphere was electric, and the weather was perfect for the Back to School Cookout on Friday afternoon. Six Panther teams were in action, and all six walked away with victories. Varsity volleyball won 3-1, JV volleyball 2-0, both over Jackson-Reed, boys varsity soccer defeated Flint Hill 3-0, girls varsity soccer was victorious by a score of 2-0 over Bishop Ireton, girls varsity tennis topped Elizabeth Seton 6-1, and to cap off the night, varsity football had a dominant performance, securing a 48-22 victory over Saint John’s Catholic Prep.
In other action for the week, varsity golf knocked off traditional public-school power Langley High School on Thursday by a score of 142-164, and varsity field hockey had a strong week capped off by a fun Saturday at the Madeira Play Day!
We’d like to extend gratitude and appreciation to Potomac parent Becky Cullinan, who has been a staple on the sidelines with her camera this fall taking official athletic photography for the school. Don’t miss her action shots, and check back often for new galleries.
Athletics had a strong restart to competition after a slight hiatus due to last week's class trips. Our varsity and JV teams are performing well. Varsity golf (5-0) and varsity tennis (3-0) are leading the way, and boys varsity soccer is also undefeated (3-0-1). Varsity volleyball has also had a very strong start against very strong competition, with a record of 3-1. The girls varsity soccer and varsity field hockey teams have even records, and have been playing well against top-level competition. Check out the upcoming team schedules.
We currently have two teams ranked in the latest editions of the Virginia Independent School Athletic Association Coaches Polls! Girls varsity tennis, who are now 5-0 including a very strong win over Collegiate at home on Friday, rank first in division 1. Boys varsity soccer (3-0-2) landed at fourth in the boys soccer division 1 rankings, which were released prior to their 2-2 draw with second ranked Episcopal on Friday. Other highlights from last week include golf remaining undefeated, girls varsity soccer defeating Georgetown Visitation in Game of the Week Action, varsity field hockey holding their own on a tough road trip, varsity football grinding out a 9-6 victory over Bishop O'Connell (see photo gallery), and girls varsity volleyball coming back from a roadtrip to Richmond with victories over St. Catherine's and Collegiate.
The recent weather has caused us to adapt, improvise, and overcome, and perhaps most importantly – give our coaches and athletes the ability to apply our core value of perseverance.
On Tuesday, varsity girls soccer had a dominating performance, defeating Maret 5-1. Varsity boys soccer traveled to GDS that same day and battled the elements and the Hoppers to earn a 1-0 victory.
In other action last week, JV and varsity volleyball continued their winning ways with dual wins over Stone Ridge. JV defeated Madeira soundly on Thursday, but unfortunately, the varsity volleyball match against Madeira was canceled due to moisture inside the host gym. The varsity volleyball team is currently ranked fourth in the first VISAA Volleyball Coaches Poll. Also on Thursday, in the “Game of the Week”, varsity tennis dominated Holy Child to earn a 9-0 victory and remain undefeated. Varsity and JV field hockey also had impressive performances last week. JV topped Flint Hill 2-0, while varsity beat Jackson Reed 7-0 and Flint Hill 3-0. The varsity field hockey team’s performance of late earned them a ninth place ranking in the first VISAA Field Hockey Coaches Poll. In the “commute of the week”, the boys JV and varsity teams traveled to Saint James. After a longer-than-expected trip, both teams shook off the bus legs and earned matching 5-1 victories. On Saturday, during a brief window of dryness and sunshine, the varsity football team earned another impressive victory, topping visiting St. Stephen's - St. Agnes by a score of 20-14.
Congratulations to the 2024 MAC golf champions! The team won by an impressive 42 strokes over second place Sidwell. This marks the team's fourth championship in five years. Colton Rodgers '28 was the individual champion with a tournament low score of 72. He was followed by Jack Smith '26 and Ben Spencer '28 tied for second with a 73. Katie Lee '26 came in fifth with 79, Connor Wood '25 in sixth place with an 80 and Michael Dillow '27 in eleventh place with an 82. It has been a tremendous season culminating with an outstanding championship performance. Well done, Panthers!
For the second year in a row, Potomac was named the overall champion in both the Independent School League and the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference by achieving the best overall league records across all sports. The MAC awarded our boys program the Directors Cup for the third consecutive year, and the ISL awarded our girls program the James W. Lewis Trophy for the second consecutive year. This is the first time in 25 years that a co-ed school has won both championships in back-to-back years.
Thank you to our scholar-athletes for their dedication and perseverance on and off the field and our coaches for their leadership. The culture and success of our US athletic programs are a direct result of tremendous community support. On behalf of all our athletes and coaches, thank you to the entire Potomac community for your support and belief in all of our teams. Congratulations, Potomac!