U.S. Youth Sailing Championship winners crowned

9:49 PM Tue 30 Jun 2009 GMT

Trophies for all four classes competing at this year's U.S. Youth Sailing Championship were on the line during Tuesday's final day of racing. The breeze was steady today on Long Island Sound, ranging from 8 to 12 knots.

In the Laser class, Zeke Horowitz (Team FOR) captured the Robert L. Johnstone Trophy by surpassing previous leader and ISAF Youth World Championship qualifier Chris Barnard (Newport Harbor YC) on the final day. Horowitz finished his last two races with two 4th places, while Barnard finished 5th and 10th down the stretch. Barnard had a 10 point lead after Sunday and a one point advantage going into today. Ian Heausler (Davis Island YC) made a late push by winning the final race, and closed out the regatta three points back for second place overall.

In Laser Radial action, Orange Bowl Champion Christopher Stocke (Sarasota Youth Sailing Program) held off Anne Haeger (Lake Beulah YC) and Nevin Snow (San Diego YC) to take the Robert and Ann Conner Trophy. Stocke was tied with Haeger for the lead going into today, while Snow was two points back. Stocke's 4th and 3rd place finishes beat out Snow's 1st and 4th; and Haeger's 13th and 7th. Stocke won by a six point margin.

In C420 sailing, the team of Stephanie Hudson (Lake Beulah YC/Chicago YC) and Rebecca King (California YC) rallied today with a 6th place finish, and overtook Kevin Laube (Mission Bay YC) and Reece Bernet (Southwestern YC) for the three point win to take the Manton D. Scott Memorial Trophy. Laube and Bernet slipped to second with Tuesday's 12th place finish.

In the 29er class, the team of Antoine Screve (SFYC) and James Moody (SFYC) collected three third place finishes to seal the win by a point over Mac Agnese (LYC) and Ian Simms (St. Francis YC/RYC). Tuesday's racing was dominated by the team of Maxwell Fraser (Richmon YC) and David Liebenberg (Santa Cruz YC/San Francisco YC), who won all three races today and the final race on Monday.

The U.S. Youth Sailing Championship was hosted by the Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich, Conn. Sponsored by LaserPerformance and Gill North America, the U.S. Youth Sailing Championship is the pinnacle of youth sailing competition in the United States. The country's top single- and doublehanded young sailors, both girls and boys, ranging from 13 to 19 years of age raced for four prestigious trophies from Friday, June 26 through Tuesday, June 30. US SAILING selected this field of sailors from across the country, including the U.S. Virgin Islands, based on their sailing resumes and performance at regional, national, and international competitions.

For more information about the U.S. Youth Championship, including a complete list of competitors and latest updates as the event is happening, please visit championships.ussailing.org/Youth/US_Youth_Champs.htm.

by Jake Fish