Article Text
Alexandria City Public Schools celebrated standout athletes, coaches and championship teams on Oct. 11 as the 2025 Athletic Hall of Fame class was inducted at Alexandria City High School.
The ceremony honored three teams and 13 individuals whose accomplishments helped shape the city’s athletic history. Commemorative plaques unveiled during the event will remain on display at the high school.
Among the honorees was Vernon Attles, inducted as a member of the 1979 indoor track team. Attles traveled from New York for the ceremony and said the bonds formed by the team have endured for decades.
“It was a great track team and we are still in contact to this day,” Attles said. “The camaraderie that we built back there in 1979 never went away. They are truly my brothers and sisters.”
The three teams recognized were the 1947 George Washington High School baseball team, which won a Virginia state championship; the 1979 T.C. Williams boys indoor track distance medley relay team, which set a national record at the U.S. Naval Academy; and the 1979 T.C. Williams boys VHSL state indoor track and field champions, the school’s first team to capture a state title.
Individual inductees were:
- Ron Bass, T.C. Williams High School Class of 1973, football and track
- Alfred Carter, Parker-Gray High School Class of 1944, football
- Tracye Funn, T.C. Williams High School Class of 1981, track and field
- Maija Garnaas, T.C. Williams High School Class of 2002, soccer and tennis
- Mary Higgins, T.C. Williams High School Class of 2002, crew
- Maria Lovelace, T.C. Williams High School Class of 1983, track and field
- Marty Nickley, T.C. Williams High School varsity soccer coach
- John Porter, George Washington High School Class of 1965, ACPS administrator and contributor
- Mike Porterfield, T.C. Williams High School Class of 1985, football, wrestling and rowing
- Angela Russell, T.C. Williams High School Class of 1981, track and field
- Tony Suggs, T.C. Williams High School Class of 1984, boxing
- Greg Wright, T.C. Williams High School Class of 1983, track and field, basketball and football
- Gary Wyatt, T.C. Williams High School Class of 1974, cross-country and track
ACPS has held the Hall of Fame ceremony annually since 2014. The 2025 class was chosen by the Athletic Hall of Fame Advisory Committee after public nominations and received School Board approval in June.
School Board Vice Chair Chris Harris, ACPS Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt, Alexandria City High School Acting Executive Principal Lance Harrell and Executive Director of Athletics and Student Activities James Parker delivered remarks.
Kay-Wyatt described the induction as more than an awards presentation, calling it a celebration of the teamwork, perseverance and leadership cultivated through sports.
Attles said the school had changed significantly since his time there, including the installation of a new track. Still, returning to the grounds brought back a familiar feeling.
“You could still feel that same feeling from back when we first used to run here,” he said. “It’s a great feeling to be back.”