A team of four youth sailors from Wayzata Sailing clinched the 2024 U.S. Youth Triplehanded Championship for the Sears Cup earlier this month, securing their place among the nation’s best young sailors.
The event, held at the San Diego Yacht Club, brought together top-tier talent from across the country in a competition marked by both intense rivalry and strong sportsmanship.
The Wayzata team, composed of Ella Bowers (Bow), Stonewall Anderson (Jib/Spin Trim), Harper Lundeen-Hetland (Extra Eyes & Hands), and Dominik Moncur (Helm), represented both Benilde-St. Margaret’s and Wayzata High School.
The team started the competition with a clinic led by Dan Thompson, Assistant Head Sailing Coach at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, where they fine-tuned their sail trim, technique, and starting strategies.
Wayzata’s sailors made a strong initial showing, placing third and securing two first-place finishes before weather conditions stalled the race.
On the second day, they faced a brief setback, finishing in fourth and ninth place, but they quickly rebounded, winning two more races.
This performance allowed them to enter the final day of the Qualification Series with a six-point lead.
The final day of racing was highly competitive, with the top five boats vying for the podium.
The Wayzata team maintained their lead, finishing third, second, and fifth in the last three races, ultimately securing the championship with a three-point margin over the second-place team from Austin Yacht Club in Texas, and a 13-point lead over the third-place team from St. Francis Yacht Club in California.
After four days of racing in front of downtown San Diego, the Wayzata Sailing team was crowned the 2024 U.S. Youth Triplehanded Champion, bringing the Sears Cup back to Lake Minnetonka for the first time since 1974.
“The Sears Cup has been a wonderful experience for our team, and we are so thankful to everyone who made it possible for us to be here and to San Diego Yacht Club for hosting a great regatta,” said Anderson. “We learned throughout the event and got better every race.”
First awarded in 1921, the Sears Cup is the oldest national championship trophy in U.S. Sailing and the original youth sailing national championship.
