Apr 15, 2024 @ 09:50:07 EDT
The NJISA 2024 Girls Championship featured 17 teams from eight schools, racing to qualify for the Mid-Atlantic Girls Championship. It was beautiful sunny, 65 degree day in Toms River with a southwest breeze that challenged the sailors' anticipatory skills to see where the next shift would come from. The wind oscillated frequently between due west and due south, requiring all-too-often attention to the upwind marks. Ultimately, eight LA2 races were completed in just over four hours of sailing. A ninth race was underway before a dramatic shift in breeze to a southeast direction and to a velocity that reached 20+ knots, so it was abandoned and racing was called just after 1400 hours.
After winning the first two races, Southern Regional's Belle Placa and Erin Little took control of the regatta, earning wins in five of the eight total races. Placa and Little won the event by 10 points. The Pingry School's Megan Soos and Avery Hoffman sailed a strong second half of the day to separate themselves in second place. Third and fourth place were tight, as Donovan Catholic's Caroline Felser and Scarlett Colman edged out Summit's Lauren Murray and Grace Penque by just one point. Toms River South's Ella Demand and Maryn Demand took fifth place.
The top three teams are guaranteed a spot at the MASSA Girls Championship on May 4-5 at Buffalo Yacht Club. They'll face talented girls teams from all five MASSA leagues at the championship. NJISA hopes to receive additional berths for the next placing teams.
As per tradition, Christian Brothers Academy served as the host team for the event, with head coach Jason Lutz as PRO, Christopher Small '26 as a patrol boat assistant, and Cole Buczkowski '27 as the RC assistant. Special thanks to Dr. Randall Nunn for running the mark boat with assistant Jude Ryon and to Brian Hull for serving as a patrol boat. Thank you to TRYC for supporting girls' sailing by hosting the event and to the BBYRA for the continued partnership with the FJ fleet.
| School | Team | A | TOT | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Southern Regional High School | Rams | 14 | 14 | ||
| 2 |  | The Pingry School | Big Blue | 24 | 24 | ||
| 3 |  | Donovan Catholic High School | Griffins 1 | 37 | 37 | ||
| 4 |  | Summit High School | Hilltoppers 1 | 38 | 38 | ||
| 5 |  | Toms River South | Indians 1 | 50 | 50 | ||
| 6 | | Donovan Catholic High School | Griffins 3 | 54 | 54 | ||
| 7 | | Summit High School | Hilltoppers 3 | 56 | 56 | ||
| 8 | | Donovan Catholic High School | Griffins 2 | 59 | 59 | ||
| 9 |  | Conestoga High School | Pioneers 1 | 64 | 64 | ||
| 10 |  | Chatham High School | Cougars 1 | 66 | 66 | ||
| 11 | | Toms River South | Indians 2 | 84 | 84 | ||
| 12 | | Summit High School | Hilltoppers 2 | 102 | 102 | ||
| 13 |  | Trinity Hall | Monarchs 2 | 103 | 103 | ||
| 14 | | Trinity Hall | Monarchs 3 | 110 | 110 | ||
| 15 | | Trinity Hall | Monarchs 1 | 111 | 111 | ||
| 16 | | Chatham High School | Cougars 2 | 125 | 125 | ||
| 17 | | Conestoga High School | Pioneers 2 | 140 | 140 |
The following chart shows the relative rank of the teams as of the race indicated. Note that the races are ordered by number, then division, which may not represent the order in which the races were actually sailed.
The first place team as of a given race will always be at the top of the chart. The spacing from one team to the next shows relative gains/losses made from one race to the next. You may hover over the data points to display the total score as of that race.