They’ve done it again.
Seven members of the Point Loma High School sailing team and veteran coach Steve Hunt have packed a second straight national championship trophy in their luggage before returning home.
This year’s Mallory Cup national double-handed championships were held May 12-13 on Clear Lake in Seabrook, Texas and hosted by Clear Falls High School.
Under sunny skies and with temperatures in the upper 80s the Pointers scored a dominant 48-point margin of victory .
A total of 20 races were run the first day and 14 more the second day in CFJ class boats manned by 137 sailors from the top 20 schools in the nation who qualified in seven earlier regional regattas.
Each school entered a boat in the A and B divisions. The Pointer A boat was skippered by senior Jack Reiter, sailing his final prep regatta, with sophomore Kalea Woodard. The pair won their division with 72 points (the total of all finish places). Francis Parker of San Diego was second with 97.
In the B division, sophomore skipper Jack Egan was paired with either junior Jonah Hatt or sophomore Marcus Huttunen depending on wind conditions. They also won with 86 points, edging Clear Falls High School (League City, Texas) with 89 points.
The A and B total of 158 secured the Pointers’ 2018 Mallory Cup. Parker (206) finished second and Christchurch School (Virginia) was third (209).
Last year’s win was hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Both Reiter and Egan were part of that win.
The first PLHS Mallory Cup win came in 1993 followed by 2003, 2004, 2005, 2012, 2014 and 2017.
National prep sailing is under the auspices of the Interscholastic Sailing Association.