The weekend of April 29-30, the Lake Forest sailing team qualified for Mallory Nationals, and the weekend of May 6-7, they qualified for Baker Nationals. This year Baker Nationals will be hosted May 20-21 in Minnesota and Mallory Nationals will be hosted June 3-4 in New Jersey. 

The sailors that are set to compete at Baker Nationals are seniors Henry Scholz and Josie Janowicz, juniors Charlie Gish, Tristan McDonald, Mary Carter, and Tad Charlot, sophomore Owen Kohut, and freshman Maddie Rode. 

Those who are going to Mallory Nationals are juniors Charlie Gish, Tristan McDonald, and Mary Carter, sophomores Owen Kohut and Keegan Chatburn, and freshman Maddie Rode.

This spring so far has been a cold start to the season for the Scouts. They have fought through the rain, snow, and hail to qualify for these Nationals.

To qualify, the Scouts placed 1st at Baker Pre-Qualifiers (team racing), 2nd at Mallory Pre- Qualifiers (fleet racing), 1st at Mallory Qualifiers, and 1st at Baker Qualifiers.

The Scouts and their coaches Steve Leuck and Will Howard are really proud of how far the team has come.

The practices have paid off and they have learned a lot all season. With a mixture of “chalk talks” which consist of watching videos of their own and other teams sailing and going over specific rules of racing, along with time spent practicing on the water, the Scouts have gained invaluable knowledge and experience. 

“The team is right on track,” Coach Will Howard said. “We are looking forward to putting it all together later this month at Nationals.” 

After every qualifier, the Scouts debrief and come back the following weeks practicing harder than ever. 

The whole team is very excited about the upcoming regattas and can’t wait to see all their hard work pay off. 

“We have put in an incredible amount of effort this season both on the water and off it,” Captain Henry Scholz said. “I think our team has the capability to do extremely well and I believe we can achieve a top-three finish.” 

For more information about the specific types of sailing, view this article: All Lake Forest sailors deserve an athletic study hall.