Leyton Borcherding Wins National Youth Sailing Title, Will George Takes Ninth

Brunswick’s Leyton Borcherding, along with skipper Max Anker, won the 420 class at the 2017 U.S. Youth Sailing Championships in Corpus Christi, Texas. The winning duo earned the U.S. title by one point in come-from-behind fashion, besting the race leader on the ninth and final race.

Along with Borcherding, fellow Brunswick sailor Will George raced in the 420 class and finished ninth out of 24 entries at the four-day Championships that concluded on June 28. Anker, a sophomore at Greenwich High School, and Borcherding, a freshman at Brunswick, are one of the youngest U.S. champions in the 44-year history of the event.

Over the nine-race format, with each of the 24 competitors using similar 420-class crafts, scoring is based on finishing position. The better a boat finishes in each race, the lower the score for the competitor.

 

After seven races, Anker and Borcherding trailed the lead boat by two points, 33-31.

Racing in the eighth and penultimate event, Anker and Borcherding finished first, while the lead boat took second, trimming the deficit to one point (33-34) with one race remaining to determine the national champion.

In the deciding ninth race, Anker and Borcherding sailed to a second-place finish, adding two points to their team score (36), while the overall race leader crossed the line in fourth position. With that fourth-place finish, the previous race leaders tacked on four points for a final tally of 37 points, as Anker and Borcherding sailed away with a one-point victory.

With the championship, Anker and Borcherding qualified to represent Team USA at both the European Championships in Greece later in July, as well as the the Junior European Championships in Italy in August.

For race results, click here.