One tried her hand at soccer, swimming and basketball. Save for two seasons playing soccer, the other mostly stayed away from competitive athletics.
But Westfield sophomores Kerry Hartman and Tasia Potasinski both had one thing in common growing up: Neither imagined they would become two of Northern Virginia’s top track athletes.
“It kind of came out of nowhere,” said Hartman, who joined the track team last spring.
Hartman and Potasinski remind their coaches, Emily and Todd Utter, of All-Examiner middle distance runners David Groff (William & Mary) and James Scheiner (Virginia Tech), classmates who spent four years pushing each other. They eventually helped Westfield win a Group AAA state title in 2004.
“Running in the same events is something that should help us, not hurt us,” said Potasinski, who won the 800 at last month’s Allen Johnson Invitational. “It’s exciting because we both have that trust in each other.”
Hartman and Potasinski both had outstanding outdoor seasons as freshmen. Potasinski won Concorde District and Northern Region titles in the 800 and Hartman placed second in the district and third in the region in the 1,600.
Indoors as sophomores they dueled for titles. Hartman won the district in both the 1,000 and 1,600. Potasinski was second at districts in the 1,000. But at the region indoor meet, Potasinski edged Hartman for the 1,600 title by .12 and again by .20 to place fourth in the 1,000. Hartman took fifth in that race. Her best showing this spring is a second-place finish in the 1,600 at the Allen Johnson Invitational.
