February 14, 2011

Meadow Mill Athletic Club hosted the 2011 Maryland Middle School Championships February 11 with eighteen teams in three divisions from seven schools and academic programs.

Calvert had four teams:  A, two B’s and one C; Boys’ Latin and Gilman each had three teams:  A, B and C; McDonogh had two:  A and B; Roland Park two:  B and C; Baltimore SquashWise two:  B boys and C girls; and Friends two: A and C.

In the A division, with five teams, Friends defeated Calvert 4-1 in the final and Gilman defeated McDonogh 3-2 for fifth place.  In the B division (seven teams) Roland Park defeated Calvert Team Two 4-1 to finish first and Baltimore SquashWise defeated Calvert Team One 4-1 for third place.  McDonogh defeated Gilman 4-1 for fifth place.  In the C division, with six teams, Calvert defeated Friends 3-2 in the final with Gilman defeating Roland Park for third place.  Baltimore SquashWise defeated Boys’ Latin 5-0 to finish fifth.

Baltimore SquashWise is a program for inner city youth providing them with academic mentoring and learning the sport of squash racquets as prime areas of development for the thirty children enrolled in the program.  Most of the children are from the Civitas Charter School program.  Abby Markoe is the executive director of Baltimore SquashWise, and more information can be obtained on its website www.baltimoresquashwise.org         

Peter Heffernan, Director of Squash at Meadow Mill Athletic Club, created the Maryland Middle School Championship in 2009 as a season-ending local event.  In 2010, Boys’ Latin won all three divisions.  US Squash hosts a national middle school championship the week before the high school national championships in February.  Calvert won the B division in 2009 and Friends finished fifth in the “A” division in 2011.  Friends and Boys’ Latin participated in the national middle school championship in 2010.  In 2012 a Baltimore middle school league will be created.  Middle school participation is up and with the improved level of play in the high school, middle school participation is likely to increase to prepare more players for high school play going forward.

Thanks to the coaches for the teams participating in the middle school championships: John Gillespie (Gilman), Jenny Armstrong (McDonogh), Molly Dumler and Katie O’Neil (Roland Park), Peter Heffernan and Tom Lynn (Boys Latin), Kim Palterman and Victoria Brown (Friends), Hope Blinkoff and Matt  Skarzynski ( Baltimore SquashWise), and Mary Alice Lears, Susie Silberstein and Erin Lacy (Calvert).