The varsity sailing team has continued a winning streak, winning their second Illinois state championship, and qualifying for the Phebe King Memorial Trophy Regatta and the National Invitational Team Racing Tournament.

The varsity team won the State Championship Regatta  at the Sheridan Shores Sailing Club on Lake Michigan on May 7 with a total of 45 points, 4 points ahead of runner-up Lake Forest High School. Elizabeth Frost and Bryan Pan placed second in A Fleet, and Benny Wild, Amy Ren and David Ren placed second in B Fleet; their combined score put the team in first place overall.

“I guess we just had a better strategy,” varsity sailor David Ren said. “It felt good to defend the state championship title.” 

The team qualified for the National Invitational Team Racing Tournament because of its performance in the Pontiac, Michigan, national qualifier. The team placed in the gold fleet by ranking in the top six during the qualifying round and ranked in the top four while racing in the gold fleet. 

“I’m really proud of us,” varsity co-captain Ben Luu said. “We were second overall at the end of the qualifying round for gold fleet, but I think it made everyone really tired, but it showed us all that we can be really good if we put our minds to it. I’m really proud of everyone, and I think we can do it again.” 

The varsity team also qualified for the Phebe King Memorial Trophy Regatta, a national competition in Annapolis, Maryland, June 4-5. In the Mallory Qualifier, the team ranked 5th place out of 20 competitors, earning a spot at the competition. While the team members are happy with their place, some wish they would have ranked higher. 

“I was a little disappointed because if we scored one rank higher we would have qualified for a bigger competition,” sailor Bryan Pan said, “but we did qualify for a national competition, and I’m happy about that.”