Shady Side Academy freshman Lars Barkman competed in the 2019 U.S. Junior Squash Championships in Charlottesville, Va., on March 15-17, 2019.

Barkman finished tied for 17th out of 32 competitors in the Boys U15 category. It was his first appearance at nationals, and he was recognized for his US Squash ranking improvement from No. 91 to No. 29 over the course of the past 12 months. Barkman is the first SSA squash player to compete in nationals in several years.

Barkman has been playing squash since 2014, competing on the SSA Middle School boys squash team in seventh and eighth grade and the SSA Senior School boys prep squash team this year as a ninth grader under Head Coach Lucas Frankel. He also plays squash outside of SSA, training with a coach and playing matches on weekends. Over the past year, he has competed in several US Squash tournaments in Washington DC, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

Update: On May 3-5, 2019, Barkman and his doubles partner, Nathan Feinstein of Taylor Allderdice High School, placed third in the Boys U17 category of the U.S. Junior Squash Doubles Championship in Wilmington, Del.

Congratulations, Lars!