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Panther Pride

Panther Pride
Varsity Boys Tennis

Potomac boys varsity tennis continues to dominate, winning seven matches in a row and moving up to number 4 in the Virginia state rankings. Undefeated in the MAC, the Panthers have thrived because of the great camaraderie shown by the team. Having nine seniors, the team's chemistry has helped them overwhelm strong rivals in the past few weeks such as Paul VI, Bullis, GDS and a tight win against Episcopal High School this week. The Panthers are currently 8-2 overall and headed into two tough matches later this week against Sidwell Friends and Bishop O'Connell. 

Strong Start for Girls JV Lacrosse

The JV girls lacrosse team is off to a solid start, winning three of their first five games. A key to the team's success so far has been a balanced attack, with ten players having scored goals this season. The defense and goaltending have also been solid, only allowing 21 goals over the five games. With four weeks to go in the season, the team is looking to continue building on its early-season success.

Girls Lacrosse On a Roll

In the last week, the girls varsity lacrosse team has won games against Collegiate, St. Catherine’s, and Episcopal High School, and is currently ranked third in the VISAA state poll. On Tuesday versus Episcopal, Aria Patnaik ’25, Ava Moazzez ’25, Brooke Ambrose ’26, and Grace Jenkins ’27 all scored two goals, while midfielder Catherine LeTendre ’25 led the team in draw controls. The defense, led by Margit Crittenberger ’25 and Francie Taylor ’25 continues to play strong, allowing just 6.7 goals per game. Last Friday, goalie Caitlin Jarvis ’25 secured her 100th career save!

The Panthers return to action on the Turf Field tomorrow, April 26, at 4:15 pm, versus Madison High School, during Grills and Games.

Track and Field Brings the Power

The track and field team got off to a flying start with three meets over five days. Most of the team started the season at the Cronly Invitational at Episcopal High School on Friday, April 5. In cold and windy conditions, Ve Lee ‘24 had a couple of standout performances, running a huge PR in the 400m event and debuting in the 300m hurdle event with a 3-second win and VISAA State Championship qualifying mark. Several athletes, including Potomac’s boys and girls 4x400m teams, competed at the Park Invite in Severna Park, MD, on April 5 and 6. They each also ran individual events. To round out the first week, we had a contingent that competed at St. Alban’s on Tuesday, April 9. Michele Horton ‘26 had a spectacular meet, setting five PRs in all five of her events (100m, 200m, long jump, triple jump, and high jump). 

(Pictured in order: Cole Griswold ‘24, Sasha Minsky ‘24, Alex Mathews ‘24, Donovan Dais ’25, Reagan Exley ‘24, Mackenzie Fulgham ‘24, Tenley Overdeck ‘24, and Kate Tuttle ‘24)

Varsity Baseball Wins at Capital One Park

Prior to their Monday game at Capital One Park, the varsity baseball team took a minute to check out the solar eclipse. Then, they went to work putting together an impressive 11-1 win over visiting St. Andrew's. The team is off to a 7-3 start and is currently first place in the MAC at 5-0 and ninth in the VISAA state rankings. The team went 2-2 over Spring Break at the Ripken Experience in Myrtle Beach, SC, and has gone on a five-game winning streak since, including an exciting 8-7 walk-off victory in extra innings over Sidwell Friends last week. Two big home games are on deck today (April 11) against Maret and Friday, April 12, vs. Bishop O'Connell. Both begin at 4:30 pm.

Girls LAX Florida

The Girls Varsity Lacrosse team traveled to Jacksonville, Florida for its spring break trip. The team defeated Bartram Trail High School 16-8, reigning Class 2A Florida State Champs, and the Episcopal School of Jacksonville 17-6, before falling to Ponte Vedra High School 10-8 in its final game of the week. Stella Pence '25 continues to lead the attack in scoring, while the midfield, led by Amory Imperatore '25, has been pivotal in securing possession for the team. 

On Tuesday, Potomac beat Paul VI, the reigning VISAA State Champions, 10-5, with a 13-save performance by junior goalie Caitlin Jarvis. The Panthers are also playing strong team defense led by senior Abby Park. It was the first win over Paul VI since 2019. The Panthers return to action this afternoon at 3:30 pm at home versus Bishop Ireton in another important VISAA match-up. 

Varsity Softball Competes at the Beach

The varsity softball team traveled to Myrtle Beach during the second week of Spring Break and won all four scrimmages by a combined score of 51-4. The team was led in the circle by a trio of pitchers with Abby Rebhan '24 pitching a total of 12 innings, while allowing six hits and striking out 22. Leyton Mayrhofer '27 pitched three scoreless innings while striking out six and allowing no hits, and Zora Burrell '25 also pitched three scoreless innings while allowing no hits.

Offensively, the team accumulated 49 hits, led by Anna Castellano '26 and Alexis Vaughan '25 with nine hits each, followed by Rebhan with seven. Hayley Richardson '24, Fae Butler '24, Paige Schedler '25, and Rebhan combined for 23 runs batted in. Charlotte Parry '27 did an excellent job behind the plate splitting time with Schedler. Addie Wolff '26, Richardson, Butler and Mayrhofer played flawless defense in the outfield.

Potomac Hosts State Meet, Wrestlers Shine

This past weekend, Potomac hosted the 2024 VISAA State Wrestling tournament for the first time in school history. Held in the Spangler Center for Athletics and Community, the event marked the first time the tournament was hosted in Northern Virginia since 2005. Thirty-one teams, 247 wrestlers, coaches, event staff, and spectators filled Spangler with exciting wrestling action over the two-day event. Pictures from the event can be found here, courtesy of Becky Cullinan.

Your grappling Panthers wrestled their best yet, with six wrestlers earning All-State honors. Evan McNamara '27 earned fifth place, Adar Weinman '25 earned eighth place, Jeremy DeLaVille '24 earned sixth, Robbie Pence '27 earned fifth, Richard Perry '25 earned seventh place, and Jason Seeber '25 took sixth. The team finished 12th overall in the standings. Finally, the team was honored with the Sportsmanship Award for the entire tournament. A special thanks goes out to our entire Potomac community, who pitched in to help make the event a huge success! Read coverage from the Gazette Leader

Wrestlers Grapple Their Way to Second Place

The Potomac wrestling squad notched two second place finishes in each of the MAC conference events. First, at the MAC individual tournament, the team hauled in a bunch of medals. Adar Weinman '25, Robbie Pence '27, Richard Perry '25, and Jason Seeber '25 all earned first place and All-MAC honors. Evan McNamara '27, JD Bulford '27, and Jeremy DeLaVille '24 all earned second place finishes. DeLaVille was also named as an at-large All-MAC honoree. Laith Weimer '24 took 3rd, while Anthony Cipriani '25 took 5th, and Lucas Boulter '25 tied for 5th.

In the team dual event, Potomac outpaced GDS 51-24, wrestled near flawlessly against St. Andrews 72-6, and notched a strong win against Sidwell 48-33, but came up short against St. James 48-31. Kaj Horowitz '27, McNamara, Bulford, Weinman, DeLaVille, Aoife Cullinan '27, Pence, Will DeCamp '24, Perry, Cipriani, Deven Tuladhar '26, Boulter, Seeber, Weimer, and Bryce Hall '24 all notched at least one win on the evening.

Next up, Potomac hosts the VISAA State Wrestling Championship Tournament February 16-17. Come out and support your grappling Panthers. Onward for Potomac!

Squashing the Competition

Last week both girls varsity and coed JV had decisive wins against Stone Ridge, sweeping both matches at 9-0 including several individual shutouts. Both girls and boys varsity were back in action on Tuesday, February 6, and celebrated senior day with two more dominating wins of 9-0 against Episcopal. Well done squash squad!

Tip-Off Mania

The Spangler Center for Athletics and Community was packed for music, dance, and some great basketball on Friday night. Parents, students, faculty, and alumni filled the gym with a 'blue out' to show their Panther Pride.

The girls team started the evening with an emphatic win over Collegiate School. Our pep band fired up the crowd for halftime entertainment and the boys team followed up with a win over The Heights. The dance team also performed to keep the fans hyped for the evening. Congrats to the girls team for winning the tournament in the finals against Stone Ridge. The boys fell to Collegiate in a tight final game. Pictures from the girls and boys game can be found on Panther Prints.

Cross Country Finishes Season with a 1-2 Punch at VISAA Championships!

The top 10 runners on each of Potomac’s Cross Country teams traveled to Woodberry Forest last week. The boys team defended their title by defeating St. John Paul the Great by 41 points (54-95). Sasha Minsky ’24 led the Panthers to finish as the state individual runner up. Potomac’s depth won the day, placing six finishers in the top 20. Luke Carter ‘26 (10th), Eli Levine ‘26 (12th), Alex Mathews ‘24 (14th), Trip Moser ‘26 (16th), and Zach Dalva-Baird ‘25 (17th) also earned all-state honors. Max Zeldes ‘24 (35th), Noah Altschuler’25 (41st), Avi Agrawal ‘26 (43rd), and Javi Almonte '25 (46th) completed the team finish. Out of more than 160 competitors, all 10 Panthers finished close to the top 25% – displaying a depth of unmatched team strength. 

The girls achieved their highest place finish in Potomac’s VISAA XC history as runners-up. Audrey Rentzepis ’24 summoned a furious finish to pass several runners in the last 150 meters of the race to finish as the individual fourth place. Emmy Holland ‘24 (10th) also cracked the elusive top 10 (out of 140 competitors). Rose Barabanov ’27 stunned with an all-VISAA performance as a ninth grader while Avery Miller ‘26 (21st) finished just outside the all-state honors. Arielle Kouyoumdjian ‘25, in her first race returning from an injury, rounded out the scoring five for Potomac in 23rd. Vivi Evans ‘27 (29th), Kate Tuttle ‘24 (30th), Isabella Song ‘27 (71st), Brynn Windisch ‘27 (82nd), and Tenley Overdeck ‘24 (83rd) also ran strong for Potomac contributing to the most cohesive team performance and smallest team spread of all the schools. Combined with the girls second place finish, Potomac cross country won the day at Woodberry Forest. Read coverage of the boys and girls teams in the Gazette Leader.

Girls Varsity Win NOVA Tournament Championship!

For the first time since the inception of the tournament, Potomac’s girls varsity soccer team beat Bishop O'Connell 3-2 in a rematch of last year’s title game to emerge as champions of the NOVA Tournament. The team took a 2-0 lead and although O'Connell valiantly battled back, Potomac never relinquished their lead. Read the recent coverage in The Washington Post.

All-Met Honors for Fall Athletes

Congratulations to the following fall scholar-athletes on receiving All-Met honors from The Washington Post: Reagan Exley '24 (soccer) - First Team; Connor Wood ’25 (golf) - Second Team; Sasha Minsky ’24 (cross country) - Honorable Mention; Alden Marin ’26 (soccer) - Honorable Mention; Abby Collis ’24 (soccer) - Honorable Mention; Chloe Lee ’25 (soccer) - Honorable Mention; Bella Kim ’25 (field hockey) - Honorable Mention; Patrick Ritter ’25 (soccer) - Honorable Mention; Jack Smith ’26 (golf) - Honorable Mention.

College Signing Day

At a ceremony yesterday, 21 scholar-athletes from the Class of 2023 announced their plans to play sports at the college level. Students, their families, coaches, and faculty gathered in the Spangler Center for Athletics and Community to celebrate their accomplishments. Nationwide, a little over 6% of high school athletes (about one in 13) play a varsity sport in college, and less than 2% of high school athletes (one in 57) play at NCAA Division I schools. These 21 college-bound athletes comprise 18% of Potomac’s graduating class. Enjoy photos from the ceremony.

Michelle Ahn – Archery (Columbia University)
Marcus Burrell – Baseball (Williams College)
Kelly Crittenberger – Baseball (Northwestern University)
Carter Lawrence – Basketball (Franklin & Marshall College)
Tyler Lawrence – Basketball (Dickinson College)
Caelan McCormack – Basketball (St. Lawrence University)
Ella Adamec – Field Hockey (Kenyon College)
Kylie McKinley – Field Hockey (Dartmouth College)
Elizabeth Rossotti – Field Hockey (Georgetown University)
Devin Dunn – Football (Missouri University of Science & Technology)
Marcel Gaskins – Football (United States Naval Academy)
David Hyde – Football (Williams College)
Drew Turner – Football (United States Naval Academy)
Patrick Wolff – Football (Pomona College)
Drew Ambrose – Lacrosse (Wesleyan University)
Sam Cristinzio – Lacrosse (Swarthmore College)
Cate Dannahey – Lacrosse (Denison University)
Kate Motley – Lacrosse (Middlebury College)
Max Revis – Lacrosse (Oberlin College)
Maya Davis – Track (Washington University in St. Louis)
Charles Ortmans – Track (Harvard University)

Meet the Athletics Team

Mr. Steve Lachut

Director of Athletics

"Some of my earliest memories are of watching the Buffalo Bills with family and friends or watching my dad play men’s league softball, so athletics have always been important in my world."

My experience in athletics is wide-ranging, starting, like most young kids, with t-ball, but quickly shifting to ten years playing ice hockey. I picked up wrestling, football, and lacrosse in middle school and played all three through high school. I was fortunate to be able to continue playing lacrosse in college at the division three level at Medaille College. 

My personal experiences playing sports on a wide variety of teams led me to pursue a career in education, with the goal of becoming a teacher-coach like so many of my most impactful mentors growing up. After a few years coaching middle school, high school, and club wrestling and lacrosse in Buffalo, New York, I eventually found my way to Saint James School in Hagerstown, Maryland. I started as the Assistant Athletic Director, eventually became the Dean of Students, and then returned to the Athletic Department as the Director of Athletics. In my thirteen years at Saint James, I served as the Varsity Boys’ Lacrosse coach and Varsity Wrestling coach, and I even coached a little field hockey along the way. 

I am so excited to be joining the Potomac School community. I’m looking forward to helping our athletes and coaches continue to build upon the success they’ve had in recent years while embracing Potomac’s core values of courage, humility, integrity, respect, and perseverance.

Ms. Nancy Smalley

Associate Athletics Director

"We have all benefited from the people, the core values, and the day to day collegiality found here at Potomac."

After 25 years working in other local independent schools, I joined the Potomac community as a faculty member in 2009.  But with three children who graduated from Potomac as “lifers”, I have been a member of Potomac’s broader community since 2000.  We have all benefited from the people, the core values, and the day to day collegiality found here at Potomac.

I have a BS in Physical Education from St. Lawrence University and a Masters in Counseling from George Mason University.  While at St. Lawrence, I played field hockey, ice hockey, and lacrosse and was inducted into SLU’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990. While at Potomac, I have coached varsity field hockey and JV lacrosse, and I continue to play ice hockey in a local women’s league - often late at night!

Mr. Mark St. Germain

Assistant Athletics Director

"I have had the opportunity to work with and benefit from some very gifted and talented administrators, coaches, mentors and teachers. A common theme I gleaned from all of them has been the dedication to the process."

I began my career over thirty years ago as a young teacher and football/lacrosse coach at the St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School in Alexandria where my first scrimmage as an assistant coach was vs the Potomac School. Since then, I have served as teacher, coach, administrator, advisor and grade-dean at Flint Hill, St. Albans, Saint John Paul the Great, and the Maret School. I had the opportunity to work with and benefit from some very gifted and talented administrators, coaches, mentors and teachers. A common theme I gleaned from all of them has been the dedication to the process. It is during the process where both the students and teachers/coaches are engaged in active learning and teaching. Trust is built, obstacles are overcome and confidence is built, especially in athletics.

Coming to Potomac, I believe I have come full circle, back to my roots, Athletics. I am excited to join the Potomac School community and am looking forward to being a part of the process that will enable our student-athletes and teams the opportunity to push and test themselves and their programs even further. I am also eager to work with a dedicated group of coaches who believe in the process and in their athletes' potential.

My wife Christine and I just celebrated our 25th Anniversary and we have two sons. Ben, who attends Connecticut College, and Luke, who has just started as a freshman this year at Boston College.

Ms. Meredith Valmon

Assistant Director of Athletics and Director of Track & Field and Cross Country

I am excited to have joined Potomac as the Director of IS and US Track and Field and Cross Country in August, 2023.

Track has been a huge part of my life! I am an NCAA Champion and two-time Olympian in Track & Field in the 800m event and represented Team USA at the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games as well as at several World Championships and other international events during my career, including the 1999 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata Argentina where I won the gold medal.

After an NCAA Championship and All-American career at Harvard University, I competed professionally for 10 years on the international circuit earning top ten world rankings and competing across the globe. A huge honor for me is that I remain one of the top ten fastest 800m runners in US history with a personal record of 1:57.04.

Prior to Potomac, I was a head coach of track and field at the Holton-Arms school as well as a volunteer assistant for the University of Maryland Track and Field team since 2003. In addition to serving as a Director of Potomac's cross country and track and field programs, I am also an assistant athletic director.

Dr. Precious Barnes

Head Athletic Trainer

“Learning how to become your own health advocate is one of the most powerful life skills a young athlete can learn.”

Managing health and wellness through sports and activities is an important aspect of a young person’s life. It takes time to understand your own health needs, and I love being able to assist students in that process. My goal is to not only diagnose and treat injuries but help students understand the importance of prevention and maintenance through diet, strength training, and conditioning. I too was a competitive athlete in volleyball, basketball, and track & field. I have also competed in fitness competitions. I spend most of my time strength training for fun now. 

I am currently pursuing my Doctorate of Athletic Training degree from Indiana State University. I completed my Master of Applied Nutrition at Northeastern University, and my Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training from George Mason University. I hold the ITAT (ImPACT Trained Athletic Trainer) certification, and the Performance Enhancement Specialist certification.

Mr. Travis Beauchamp

Assistant Director of Athletics and Varsity Head Soccer Coach

Ever since I can remember athletics have played a major role in my life. I’ve transformed this passion into a rewarding career educating young people. Twenty years dedicated to collegiate athletics, including seventeen as a soccer coach and operations assistant at Catholic University, have equipped me with a deep understanding of athlete development. My coaching philosophy centers on fostering a supportive and challenging environment where student-athletes can excel both on and off the field. Beyond wins and losses, I prioritize building character, leadership, and a long term love of sports. 

A lifelong athlete, I was fortunate to participate in soccer and baseball at Christchurch School and Washington College, earning induction into both schools' Halls of Fame. I am thrilled that my journey has led me to Potomac and I look forward to contributing to our student’s experience.