User:Thoffberger/GilmanSchooldraft

Athletics
Gilman is well-known for its tradition of athletic success. Since the year 2000, 12 Gilman varsity teams have won at least one conference championship. Overall, the school sponsors 16 sports; most teams have varsity and junior varsity programs, while some have fresh-soph and/or middle school squads.

Gilman is perhaps best-known for its success in football and lacrosse. The football team has won eight Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) "A" Conference championships in the last 11 seasons. The 2002 team finished 10–0 and was ranked 14th in the United States by USA Today's Super 25 high school football poll. That team featured the Associated Press's Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year in quarterback Ambrose Wooden and lineman Victor Abiamiri. Both players went on to star at Notre Dame, and Abiamiri now plays for the Philadelphia Eagles. The 2005 team was ranked 12th in the nation in USA Today's Super 25 high school football poll.

The lacrosse team, led by coach and middle school history teacher Brooks Matthews, was ranked the #1 high school team in the United States by LaxPower at the conclusion of both the 2008 and 2009 seasons. The team has captured 15 "A" conference titles in MIAA. The lacrosse program has produced many stars in college lacrosse such as Damien Davis, Ryan Boyle, Grant Zimmerman, Brian Carroll, and Barney Ehrmann.

During the 2005–06 school year, six Gilman varsity squads (football, golf, ice hockey, squash, tennis & track and field) won conference titles. In 2008–09, the volleyball team won its first MIAA title, while the squash and swimming teams also won conference championships.

Gilman's biggest rival is the McDonogh School, located in suburban Owings Mills. A football game between the two schools has taken place every fall since 1914. Gilman leads this series, 56-33-5, including a win in the most recent game of 2010.

Championship seasons
Gilman's varsity athletic teams have won over 120 championships since 1940, including 41 conference titles since the MIAA was formed in 1994. The school currently competes in the association's highest grouping, or "A" conference, of all but three sports: basketball, ice hockey, and swimming.