West Potomac High School, Alexandria Virginia opened in the Fall of 1985, but only in recent years started an Athletic Hall Of Fame. One of the athletes I coached in the mid-1980’s, Gabrielle [Pohlmann] Patterson was inducted October 2021 in their 2nd induction class.
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In 2023 I submitted 2 nomination forms for the class announced Spring 2023, to be inducted in Fall 2023.
2 of Gabrielle’s fellow mega-stud teammates that I coached, Sara [Burke] Powell and Conan McDonough. They did not get voted into West Potomac’s Athletic Hall Of Fame, but excerpts from their achievement bio are worth posting.

Sara [Burke] Powell, West Potomac class of 1986

Fall Cross-Country
— 1985 Southern United States Championships, finished 22nd.
As a result, was named All-South United States.
This was the championship meet for the southern quarter of the United States
Top 8 advanced to the National Championships, which included West Potomac 2021 Hall Of Fame inductee, Gabrielle (Pohlmann) Patterson who finished 8th.
— 1985 Virginia State Championships, finished 15th in the fastest and deepest field in history. All of the top 15 runners were high school national class distance runners in track and/or cross-country. No fewer than 5 runners ahead of Sara, including the National Champion, all qualified for nationals at the Southern United States Championships a few weeks after this race.
— 1985 Northern Region Championships, finished 12th in what remains today, over 35 years later -the- fastest and deepest field in history. Sara’s time 17:40 remains today, the 4th fastest time ever run by a West Potomac high school athlete on the Burke Lake course used across decades for invitationals, District Championships, and Northern Regional Championship races.

Spring, outdoor Track & Field
— 1986 outdoor Virginia State Championships, competed at 1600m
— 1986 outdoor Northern Regional Championships, finished 6th at 1600m

1986 Fort Hunt & Groveton merged to become West Potomac.
The year prior, 1985 Sara was a junior at Fort Hunt. That year….
— ranked 26th in the United States at 1600m by Track & Field News
— ranked 12th on the East Coast at 1600m by Eastern Track
— 1985 East Coast Championships, finished 6th at 1600m
— 1985 Virginia State Championships finished 6th at 1600m
— 1985 Northern Regional Championships finished 2nd at 1600m with a time that finished the season as the 26th fastest in the United States

“Sara’s performance level attracted top college coaches from around the country [including the powerful programs at Penn State, Texas, Stanford, etc] which contributed to other West Potomac athletes getting recruited in later years.”
“Sara was one of the team captains on the West Potomac cross-country and track teams, a high achiever in the classroom and in sport performance. Set a great example for other athletes on the team, contributing to a culture of high achievement.”

“I coached Sara at Fort Hunt and West Potomac. I believe her performance level as one of the better cross-country and track distance runners in the United States to be deserving of consideration for the West Potomac Hall Of Fame. She stands out as being among the top distance runners, male or female, to ever wear a West Potomac track and cross-country uniform.”
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Conan McDonough, West Potomac class of 1988

Cross-Country
— 1986 Southern United States Championships, finished 18th
As a result, was named All-South United States.
This was the championship meet for the southern quarter of the United States
Top 8 advanced to the National Championships, which included West Potomac 2021 Hall Of Fame inductee, Gabrielle (Pohlmann) Patterson who finished 7th.

Winter indoor track & field
—– 1986 indoor National Championships, finished top 20 at 3200m
—– 1986 indoor Conan’s fastest time ranked #6 on the East Coast at 3200m by Eastern Track
—– 1986 indoor Virginia State Championships, finished 3rd at 3200m
—– 1986 indoor Northern Regional Championships, finished 3rd at 3200m

Spring outdoor track & field
—– 1986 Virginia State Championships, finished 7th at 1600m
—– 1986 Northern Regional Championships, finished 6th at 1600m

“Conan was a team captain in cross-country and track. He was an outstanding team leader and made a huge contribution to the overall culture of dedication and thinking big. He set an outstanding example for new teammates. He led the West Potomac cross-country team to 3 consecutive Gunston District Championships including a season where he led the team to taking 5 of the first 9 All-Gunston District Team honors.”

“Conan was recruited by college track & cross-country powers Penn State, Texas, Indiana, etc. Chose to remain in the area, leading the team at Mary Washington University. He went on to medical school at VCU School Of Medicine in Richmond. Conan has been a medical doctor for more than 2 decades, and is a board certified Anesthesiologist.”

“I believe Conan’s performance level as one of the better distance runners on the East Coast to be deserving of consideration for the West Potomac Hall Of Fame. He qualified for, and competed in a National Championship track meet.
He was among the top 20 cross-country runners in the southern quarter of the United States Of America. He placed in the top 3 at a Virginia State Championship meet and completed that season having run a time that put him at #6 on the East Coast.”