Tara McClory and Kate Welsh, two of Wakefield's eighth graders, will advance with the University of Virginia Juniors team to the Interscholastic Polo Nationals in Charlottesville on March 1st-4th. The team is one of eight to make it to the Nationals.

Established in 2003, the Virginia Juniors is similar to the Polo Club at UVA except that it caters to high school level polo enthusiasts. It provides an opportunity for students to learn the sport of polo and to teach them basic polo skills.

The students are replacing an injured teammate. The UVA coach asked the girls' home team coach, Amir Pirasteh of Team Taigo at Natania Polo, if Tara and Kate could play for the UVA Juniors. The hard work and collective coaching is giving these fourteen-year-olds a rare opportunity to compete in a high-school dominated tournament.

Although they will be underdogs, Tara and Kate are seeing this as great exposure to the competitive league with sights to being national winners before graduating from high school.