Five new members will be inducted into the Arlington Sports Hall of Fame

Perhaps what Kas Allen said also applied to the other inductees of the Arlington Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

The former Wakefield High School basketball standout mentioned in her acceptance speech that everything she has learned about life came from her involvement in athletics.

“I have learned so many life skills through sports,” she said. “I am overwhelmed with gratitude [about this honor].”

Allen, now a physical therapist, was one of five honorees recognized at the annual induction dinner on the evening of Oct. 9 at the packed Knights of Columbus Hall. Everyone was welcomed by Hall of Fame President Peter Weilenmann.

Allen explained how she switched to basketball after suffering a cleat injury to her hamstring playing youth soccer. It was a fortuitous move, as Allen became a standout player on the court at Wakefield and then George Washington University.

The other inductees that night were Olympic judo bronze medalist and U.S. Judo Hall of Famer Jim Bregman; Wakefield High standout athlete Michelle Duhart Robinson, also a member of Purdue University’s NCAA women’s national championship basketball team; Arlington and Division I college baseball star (University of Kentucky) and coach Dan Pototsky; and Kate Ziegler, a graduate of Bishop O’Connell High School and two-time Olympic swimmer.

Bregman recounted how his mother enrolled him in a judo and self-defense class after he was bullied, suffered from bronchitis and dyslexia and felt “nothing but anything.” He eventually became a standout gymnast in high school.

“You can’t survive in athletics alone,” Bregman said in his acceptance speech. “You need a lot of help.”

As a physical education teacher in Arlington, Pototsky’s acceptance was low. The standout hitter mentioned that he has a goal of becoming a baseball big leaguer one day.

It didn’t happen, but “if you teach elementary school in Arlington, you’re at the top,” he said.

Duhart Robinson thanked her former Wakefield basketball head coaches Noel Deskins and Marcia Richardson, who were in attendance, for believing in her and leading her to success. She also mentioned her father, who she explained told as many as possible that his daughter played for Purdue.

Ziegler lives in Tennessee and was unable to attend the banquet. Her mother Cathy and father Don accepted the award in her absence and thanked many.

The event also featured a recognition and tribute to the late Eric Sievers, also a member of the Arlington Hall of Fame.

The rotating and portable Arlington Sports Hall of Fame display of some of the inductees has been placed in the hall.

The event’s master of ceremonies was John Walton, radio announcer for the Washington Capitals.

The Hall of Fame, founded in 1958, has 73 inductees. Nominations for the Hall of Fame Class of 2025 must be submitted by March 1st.