As many spring sports reach their home stretch, it’s a great time to recognize the phenomenal feats the Potomac Panthers swim team accomplished during its winter season. This year, the team shattered many records in the pool and had its best season in history, finishing 4th overall at VISAA states in Richmond. Both the boys and girls also finished 3rd in the MAC and ISL meets, respectively.
The Potomac swim team is headed by the one-and-only Coach Doug Burns, who, after teaching his English classes during the school day, worked tirelessly to create lineups for upcoming meets and draw up practices. This year is Coach Burns’ second season as the Potomac swim head coach. He is assisted by returning coach Michaela Johnson and new coach Marie Roche. Together, the coaches led the girls team to an undefeated dual meet record and the boys team to some of its best performances ever against top schools. In addition, it would be a dishonor not to recognize the amazing seniors and captains who helped make this all possible: Kate Douglas, Aliyah Majeed-Hall, Sabine Barbee, Madeline Steves, Claire McEwen, Gus Tierney, Will Piester, and Eli Levine.
The girls kicked off the postseason with the ISL Championships, where the entire team stepped up, totaling four personal bests (PBs) and several season-best times. Leading the girls team was McKinley Busen ‘29, Cecelia Russell ‘27, and Kate Douglas ‘26. Busen and Russell split the gold medals, each earning one, as well as one silver and one bronze apiece. Douglas additionally snatched three silvers and a bronze. Though the girls gave their all, they were just short of the title, finishing 13 points behind Holton-Arms (213) and 71 points behind Stone Ridge (271). However, this was Potomac girls’ highest finish in history at 3rd place overall, surpassing the previous record of 5th place.
The boys followed up on the girls’ ISL performance with the MAC Championships. At MACs, the boys dominated the individual events, winning the most gold medals (5) in the whole meet and tying for the most silver (4). Standout performers included Luka Beslic ‘27, Henry Rossman ‘28, and Riaan Ahuja ‘29. Beslic and Rossman each secured two golds, along with one silver and one bronze, while Ahuja brought home one gold and three silvers. The Panthers further proved they gave their all by recording eight PBs. Although Potomac boys narrowly missed the title, they came within two points of it. In a record-breakingly close meet, the Panthers took 3rd with 109 points, just behind Sidwell Friends (110) and Flint Hill (111).
As the season drew to a close, Potomac rallied together for its final, biggest competition: the VISAA State Championships. Here, the team put on their best show yet, with 44% of swims resulting in PBs. Two swimmers brought home individual state champion titles: Kate Douglas and Cecelia Russell. Additional medals came from McKinley Busen, who secured two silvers and a bronze in record-breaking swims. On the boys’ side, Luka Beslic smashed a school record in the 100 fly, and Henry Rossman delivered two electric finals performances. In total, Potomac finished 4th overall in the state, the highest finish in school history, which capped off a historic swim season for the Potomac Panthers.
