2 Lake Forest Sailors Qualify For U.S. National Sailing Championship

LAKE FOREST, IL — A pair of Lake Forest High School students is slated to compete for a national sailing championship next month on Lake Michigan.

Alec Ranker finished first and Leo Kumar finished in second place at an eight-race qualifying regatta in Muskegon earlier this month, earning the top two Midwest spots for the U.S. Sailing Junior Singlehanded National Championship.

Ranker, who is set to begin his junior year at LFHS, was more consistent over the course of the qualifier, finishing in the top three positions in each race.

Kumar, who due to begin his senior year in the fall, had dominating wins of individual races, finishing first in half of the races but fifth out of sixth in two of them, according to results.

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Weather conditions during the July 14 and July 15 Area K qualifier at Muskegon Yacht Club, one of 11 regional qualifiers, featured flat water and light to blustery winds with large shifts in direction.

Lake Forest Sailing teammates Peter Janowicz, Maddie Rode and Grace Renz also competed in the regatta, according to team officials.

The sailors compete in ILCA 6 class dinghies, the same type of small one-person sailboat used in Olympic competition since 1996.

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Ranker and Kumar are now training to compete for the Smyth Trophy in Macatawa Bay, Michigan, from Aug. 8 to Aug. 12, according to team officials.

“We are hoping for classic Lake Michigan conditions: big waves and big breezes. Alec and Leo have a lot of experience in classic winddriven Lake Michigan waves,” says coach Will Howard.

“We are sending these sailors fair wind and following seas as they represent Lake Forest on the national stage yet again,” Howard said.

A program of the city's municipal parks and recreation department, Lake Forest Sailing, offers training and racing opportunities and a wide range of water sports opportunities for all interested youth.