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Betsy Pollard started running in the eighth grade when she beat all of the boys in the school mile.
The Western Branch student credits her successes to her dedicated work ethic. She was one of 16 athletes honored as finalists on Dec. 2 at the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame Education Foundation’s 14th annual Student Athlete Achievement Awards ceremony.
The acknowledgement reflects academic and community success and an impressive performance at her sport.
Pollard, a senior at Western Branch High School, decided to run competitively in the eighth grade when she attended Isle of Wight Academy.
“I beat all the boys in the school mile,” she said. “I was like, I think I like this.”
She said she persuaded the school to set up a cross-country team with the help of her mother Lou Pollard. However, the school lacked a track team. It didn’t stop Betsy Pollard.
“I ran as a one girl track team,” she said. Her drive to run was so strong her parents moved from Suffolk to Western Branch in 10th grade so she could train under Claude Toukene, the acclaimed former track coach at Western Branch.
“I felt the need to move was necessary for me to get stronger, faster, and noticed by college coaches,” Pollard said.
“I can’t thank my parents enough,” she said. “When I moved here, I decided I would make myself known. I wanted to get involved in everything. I was going from having a class of 60 people to having a class of about 500 people.”
Pollard said Toukene, who departed Western Branch in 2018 to take a job at Bryant and Stratton College in Hampton Roads, proved inspirational.
“He told me I was as good as anyone out there,” she said. Her best distance is 800 meters. She wanted to run the 4×800-meter relay and got her chance after arriving at Western Branch.
“He was all about building better people and building people’s characters so as when they go out into the real world, they are ready for anything,” she said.
The team placed third at the VHSL 6A State Outdoors in 2017, and Pollard competed in the New Balance Nationals.
“My biggest achievement was this past season,” she said. “I ran a 3:19 (3 minutes, 19 seconds) in the 1,000 indoor race. I dropped to a 3:03.”
She achieved a personal best at the New Balance Nationals Indoor in March 2018 in New York. She ran in the 4×800 medley relay where she achieved a 2:18 split.
The application for the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame Education Foundation required students to show academic achievement, community service and sporting prowess.
Pollard, 17, is the president of her school’s chapter of the National English Honor Society and is a member of the National Honor Society. She is also active in an Interact club, a Rotary Club-style group for young people, and in the Girl Scouts.
Pollard plans to attend Campbell University in North Carolina after she graduates in 2019. She wants to be a physician’s assistant.
In total the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame Education Foundation honored 16 students as finalists out of 100 nominations. Of the 16, four students were named Student Athletes of the Year. Two of them were from Virginia Beach, one was from Yorktown and another from Stafford. For more info, visit https://bit.ly/2ArEwFf.
Bios
Full name: Elizabeth Lofton Pollard
What neighborhood do you live in? Brittany Woods, Western Branch
Hometown: Suffolk
Age: 17
Nickname: Betsy
Pets: Two cats – Pounce and Bella
Occupation: Student, teaches swimming at the Portsmouth YMCA
Education: Western Branch High School
Community service: Interact club, National English Honor Society, Girl Scout
Church affiliation: Methodist
What do you enjoy most about what you do? I love that my team and I are all a family. At the end of the day, we are all in this together.
What is the greatest challenge you face doing what you do? Balancing a high school life with all the other activities I participate in.
What do you love most about the people you work/volunteer with? We can all relate to what’s going on on the track, we can console each other.
Who or what inspires you to do what you do? My parents, Lou and Bill Pollard, and former Western Branch High track coach Claude Toukene
Favorite movie(s): “Mission: Impossible” movies and “Chasing Mavericks”
Pet peeve: People who say they are bored. There’s always something to do.
Hobbies: Reading and writing poetry
First car: 2004 Ford Taurus
Favorite Western Branch spot: The YMCA.
Comfort food: Macaroni and cheese
Something you’ve done that others might not expect of you: I have vocal cord dysfunction. Sometimes I will pass out when I’m running. I have to just overcome the fear of passing out.
If you could invite three famous people, living or dead, to dinner, who would they be? Katherine Johnson, the NASA mathematician; Shelby Houlihan, an 800-meter runner; Marie Curie
If you could choose your theme song, what would it be? “Hall of Fame” by the Script
The song you’re most likely to be caught singing along/dancing to: “Ice, Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice
The words of wisdom you’d share with someone interested in doing what you do: “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” — Arthur Ashe
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