The 2024 fall sports season has come to an end. With the winter season starting, let’s look back on our sports teams and how they demonstrated their Panther prowess this past fall.  

Varsity Football

While the start of the school year is not necessarily a time most students look forward to, it also marks the beginning of Friday Night Lights, a beloved tradition where students gather in the Panther Pit to cheer on our varsity football team. One of the most exciting games of the season is the annual Battle of Sterling, where Potomac Falls and rival school Dominion face off on the football field. Originally scheduled to be the opening game of the 2024 season, the Battle of Sterling ended up being rained out and rescheduled for late September. Although this was not ideal, the varsity Panthers still pulled off a big win on September 27, beating Dominion 28-0. 

Varsity Cheer

School spirit in the Panther Pit would not be the same without our cheerleaders. In addition to sideline cheer, the varsity cheer team also competes in cheer competitions. This year, the varsity cheer team spent their Halloween at regionals at Independence High School, where they placed eighth. In addition, the cheerleaders placed second at the annual Dominion Cheer Challenge earlier in the season, another notable accomplishment. When asked about this invitational, senior Laura Camacho Cubillos said “we won our first trophy.” 

Varsity Volleyball

With many postseason wins and two players recognized for 1st and 2nd Team All-District, the PFHS varsity volleyball team had a very successful 2024 season. After beating Harrisonburg at region quarterfinals, varsity volleyball made it to the regional semifinals, where they competed against Riverside. Junior Camille Ciambruschini and sophomore Lacey Bogues were both rewarded for their hard work on the court with 1st and 2nd Team All-District nominations, respectively. Ciambruschini also hit a big milestone this season, reaching 1000 total career assists. 

Cross Country

On November 6, the top ten varsity girl and boy runners on the PFHS XC team traveled to the infamous Oatlands Plantation cross country course, known for its steep and treacherous “Jesus Hill,” to compete in the VHSL Class 5D Regional Championship meet. The team’s top two boys, juniors Eli Wike and Gavin Jackson, qualified for the State Meet and placed second and third in the top five individuals excluded from the three teams who qualified. Wike clocked a 17:27 minute 5k (3.1 miles) and Jackson ran a 17:30, earning them a 5th and 6th place overall finish, respectively. “It was an exciting race,” Jackson said. “You had to be ready for anything.” Wike and Jackson competed at States on Saturday, November 16 and placed 20th and 25th overall, respectively.

Field Hockey

The roster for the Potomac Falls varsity field hockey team was stacked this past season, with four girls being recognized for the 2nd Team All-District and one girl, junior Lauren McManus, recognized for 1st Team All-District and All-Region. On top of this, McManus also committed to continuing her athletic career playing Division 1 field hockey at The College of William and Mary. Although the team did not advance past the first round of Districts, the 2024 season was still an important one. Seniors Lizzie Dykes and Gabbi Brauns, sophomore Anna Welti, and freshman Allie McManus all made the 2nd Team All-Potomac District team. It was Brauns’s, Welti’s, and McManus’s first time earning a spot on an All-District field hockey team.

Golf

At the Brambleton golf course on October 2, the golf team competed in the VHSL Region 5D Championship, where they placed 6th out of 9 teams with a score of 324. Sophomore Josephina Kritsky, with a score of 75 points, placed 15th out of the top 16 individual players at the tournament.