US Sailing Announces 66 Athletes as the First Ever US Sailing Youth National Team
by US Sailing 23 Apr 11:55 NZST
US Sailing Youth National Team (USYNT) © US Sailing
US Sailing is pleased to announce the inaugural US Sailing Youth National Team (USYNT), made up of 66 athletes spanning the United States from Hawaii to the east coast.
The Youth Team concept was announced in December 2024 as part of the larger pathway that bridges Youth to Olympic Development and onto the US Sailing Team and is comprised of athletes age 19 and under that qualified in the 29er, i420, Nacra 15, ILCA 6, iQFOiL, and Formula Kite.
Through the Youth National Team, athletes receive robust annual training and competition support in a structured calendar of programming guided by US Sailing.
Youth National Team sailors?are?invited to class-specific training camps this spring and early summer in preparation for international events this July and August. With the 2025 Youth Sailing World Championships in December 2025, the summer will be an important marker to identify where individual sailors are developmentally and lay the groundwork toward Youth Worlds selection in the fall.
"Our goal is to bring the top youth sailors in the US together as one team, to train in collaborative settings and compete for the USA. The training schedule and deliverables for each sailor are bespoke, and based on the unique needs of each class, it's sailors, and future development of vital skills," says Phil Muller, US Sailing Youth Performance Manager and Head Coach of the US Youth Team. "We are thrilled for the opportunity to work with such a talented group of young athletes, as well as their coaches, clubs, and supporters at home."
Up to 16 athletes will go on to qualify for the US Sailing Youth Worlds Team that will represent the US at the Youth Sailing World Championships in Vilamoura, Portugal December 12-20, 2025. Qualification for the Youth Worlds Team will take place at Lauderdale Yacht Club at the U.S. Youth Championship from October 10-13.
While the Youth Worlds Team has been around for many years, the Youth National Team was created to encompass a broader pool of nationally recognized talent beyond the 16 that qualify for the Youth World Championship.
"Adding the Youth National Team is the clear next step in the evolution of our program. We want to give youth sailors a clear goal based on objective results, and a path for national-level support" said John Pearce, US Sailing Youth Racing Director. "Our goal is to support the development of the best sailors in the world, and to build a strong team culture that helps them develop into great people."
Explore the Youth Team calendar and landing page.
2025 US Youth National Team
ILCA 6
- Jacob Artof (Westlake Village, CA)
- Davide Bazzoni (Miami, FL)
- Kaitlyn Beaver (Kirkland, WA)
- Kyla Benesch (Coconut Grove, FL)
- Nissana Berman (Chicago, IL)
- Gabriela Cerbino Mascarenhas (Key Biscayne, FL)
- David Coates (Miami, FL)
- Arabella Duer (Beaufort, SC)
- Taylor Escola (Santa Barbara, CA)
- Jason Folvig (Sarasota, FL)
- Jake Homberger (Palm Beach Gardens, FL)
- Alders Kulynych-Irvin (Annapolis, MD)
- Timothy Liu (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA)
- Louise Martin (Charleston, SC)
- Maddie Nichols (Corona del Mar, CA)
- Siena Nichols (Corona del Mar, CA)
- Oscar Parzen (San Diego, CA)
- James Pine (Mt Pleasant, SC)
- Nathan Pine (Mt Pleasant, SC)
- Landon Stahl (Huntington Beach, CA)
i420
- Nicholas Anders (San Francisco, CA)
- Pierpaolo Baldassari (Washington, DC)
- Helena Borcherding (Greenwich, CT)
- Harrison Gandy (Rye, NY)
- Julia Getter (Newport Beach, CA)
- Carly Kieding (Santa Barbara, CA)
- Alexandra Kolaya (Coral Gables, FL)
- Sara Komaroff (Larchmont, NY)
- Ava McAliley (Miami, FL)
- Reid Packard (New York, NY)
- Jacob Posner (Seattle, WA)
- Marin Redmond (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
- Genevieve Schmidt (Stuart, FL)
- Richard Sykes (Old Greenwich, CT)
- Annie Ulmer (Miami, FL)
- Elizabeth Xydas (Madison, NJ) Also qualified in the iQFOiL
Nacra 15
- Matilda Niemann (Madison, WI)
- Sophie Niemann (Madison, WI)
- Brooke Mertz (Parkland, FL)
- Connor Mertz (Parkland, FL)
- Tom Seibold (Tampa, FL)
- Rosie Simpson (St. Petersburg, FL)
- Casey Small (Houston, TX)
- Bennett Tobey (New Port Richey, FL)
- Dylan Tomko (Canyon Lake, TX)
29er
- Maribelle Barelli (San Diego, CA)
- Olympia Barelli (San Diego, CA)
- Molly Bonham (Annapolis, MD)
- Isabella Cason (Coronado, CA)
- Kevin Cason (Coronado, CA)
- August Felgenhauer (San Diego, CA)
- Sean Kaseburg (San Diego, CA)
- Wesley LaRue (San Diego, CA)
- Wyatt Lipp (Charleston, SC)
- Braden Ozarski (San Diego, CA)
- Kylie Peterson (San Diego, CA)
- Annie Sitzmann (Severna Park, MD)
- Wylder Smith (Guilford, CT)
- Julia Stewart (San Diego, CA)
- Holland Vierling (San Diego, CA)
iQFOiL
- Emma Ball (Honolulu, HI)
- Graceanna Dixon (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
- Garrett January (Belleair, FL)
- Hunter Schardt (Belleair, FL)
- Elizabeth Xydas (Madison, NJ) Also qualified in the i420
Formula Kite
- Quincy Radkowski (Sausalito, CA)
- Henry Vare (Belvedere, CA)
Explore the new Teams pages at
ussailing.org/teams