Fleetwood Area Middle School
| Fleetwood Area Middle School | |
|---|---|
| State |  Pennsylvania
|
| Region | Central East Pennsylvania |
| Map | |
| Information | |
| Member of SO since | 1989 |
| Teams | 1 |
| Colors | Red, White |
| Feeds to | Fleetwood Area High School |
| Results History | |
| Best regional | 1st (1999-2004, 2008, 2011) |
| Best state | 4th (2003-2004) |
| Best nationals | Never qualified |
Fleetwood Area Middle School is a Division B school which regularly qualified for the Pennsylvania state competition at the Central East Pennsylvania Regional, and previously, the Southeast Pennsylvania Regional. They won the Central East regional championship several times, most recently in 2011. They have not competed since 2021.
History
Fleetwood's first known year of competition was in 1991. They placed 17th at the first-ever Southeast regional, and did not advance to the state tournament. Their first known appearance at the state tournament came in 1994, after placing 5th at regionals. After this, they regularly qualified for states. They even placed in the top 10 at states, with an 8th-place finish in 1998.
Dominance in the Central East
In 1999, the Central East regional was formed, to serve the Reading and Lehigh Valley areas. Immediately, Fleetwood was the top contender in the regional, no longer having to contend with the powers of the Philadelphia area. They won the first six Central East regional tournaments, often by wide margins. They also had success at the state tournament during this time, never finishing lower than 10th. Fleetwood's six consecutive Central East championships went unmatched in either division until Springhouse Middle School accomplished the same feat from 2014 to 2019.
Their best-ever states performance came at the 2003 Pennsylvania State Tournament. They finished in 4th place, and their score of 219 remains their lowest-ever in the low-score-wins era. It was also the closest they came to qualifying for nationals, as they were only 82 points behind second-place Shady Side Academy Middle School. They would repeat their 4th-place performance in 2004, but their score increased by 81 points, finishing with 300 points exactly.
Increasing Challenges
2005 was the first year they were unseated as Central East regional champions, as they finished third to Kutztown Area Middle School and Whitehall-Coplay Middle School. 2005 was also their worst performance at states since the Central East region was formed, finishing 13th. However, they would improve to 2nd at regionals in 2006, and returned to the top spot at regionals in 2008. They would also finish in the top 10 at states in both 2006 and 2008. Their 7th-place finish at the 2008 Pennsylvania State Tournament still stands as their most recent appearance in the top 10 of states.
In 2009, they missed states qualification for the first time since competing at the Central East regional. In an unlucky turn of events, they placed 5th in the only year from 2005 to 2011 where only 4 teams qualified for states. They responded to this setback by qualifying for the next 5 state tournaments, placing between 11th and 13th each time. They also won their final regional championship in 2011. Their 8 Central East regional championships remain the most all-time in either division.
Late Decline
Starting in 2015, Fleetwood's program began to struggle. They missed states by only 2 points in 2015, edged out by Exeter Township Junior High School, but their total of 129 points was their highest since 2005. They qualified for the 2016 Pennsylvania State Tournament by finishing 4th at regionals, but their score increased to 139 points, their highest ever, and their 21st-place finish at states was their lowest in the 21st century. This was also their most recent appearance at states.
Their score at regionals continued to increase, except for 2019 when they finished 6th with a score of 137. The 2020 regional was cancelled due to COVID, and they only competed in two events at the temporary Eastern Regional in 2021. This marked their final appearance at a competition.
Results Table
Note: prior to 1999, Fleetwood competed at the Southeast Pennsylvania Regional.
| Year | Regionals | States |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 8th | |
| 1997 | 3rd | |
| 1998 | 8th | |
| 1999 | 1st | 5th |
| 2000 | 1st | 10th |
| 2001 | 1st | 8th |
| 2002 | 1st | 8th (352) |
| 2003 | 1st (89) | 4th (219) |
| 2004 | 1st (84) | 4th (300) |
| 2005 | 3rd (130) | 13th (390) |
| 2006 | 2nd (108) | 9th (368) |
| 2007 | 2nd (105) | |
| 2008 | 1st | 7th (284) |
| 2009 | 5th (124) | - |
| 2010 | 3rd (106) | 11th (384) |
| 2011 | 1st (72) | 13th (359) |
| 2012 | 2nd (94) | 11th (368) |
| 2013 | 5th (110) | 12th (373) |
| 2014 | 2nd (77) | 12th (363) |
| 2015 | 5th (129) | - |
| 2016 | 4th (139) | 21st (494) |
| 2017 | 6th (159) | - |
| 2018 | 8th (173) | - |
| 2019 | 6th (137) | - |
| 2020 | Cancelled | |
| 2021 | 22nd (402) | - |