Culver Academies Sailing had six sailors from CGA travel to San Diego and compete, earning the team's best finishes ever in the Pacific Coast Interscholastic Sailing Association/Interscholastic Sailing Association (PCISA/ISSA) All Girls National Invitational.

The event was held Oct. 14-15 and hosted by Mission Bay Yacht Club.

The girls had to earn the invitation to compete by placing in the top 4 of 10 teams competing in the Midwest Interscholastic Sailing Association (MISSA) Girls National Qualifier. They placed third on Sept. 23-24 to qualify for the event.

Culver's team consisted of Angela Tang '24, Annie Samis '25, Irene Lin '25, Maddy Martin '25, Alex Smovska '25 and Lily Malin '26.

"Our competitions consist of two different fleets, A fleet and B fleet," assistant coach Katie Sewell said. "They do not sail at the same time and are scored separately, but both contribute to the final overall score."

CGA's A fleet team for all 12 races was Samis (skipper) and Lin (crew). Together, they placed third of 24 teams in the A fleet division.

Overall, the sailing team placed 12th of 24 teams with the combined scores from each fleet.

Both finishes were the best Culver has ever earned at Girls Nationals.

"This is a huge accomplishment for our team, especially since we've been operating this season without a head coach, and Katie Sewell has really stepped up to assume the majority of the responsibilities in running the team," sailing director of operations Ashley Brewer said.

Without a permanent head coach this season, the sailing team continued to persevere.

"Taking over the duties of head coach this season was a challenge, but I knew that I wanted to make the best season possible for our team. Luckily, I had a team of people helping me out," Sewell said.

Supporting Sewell along the way have been assistant coach and fellow, Cece Schuller, parents of sailors and the sailors themselves, as well as associate athletic director Sarah Smith as a source of guidance.

"The leadership skills that our students learn across campus translate to their efforts on the sailing team," Sewell said. "Our sailors have stepped up to make things work. They helped to run the home regatta we had in October and they helped with some of the logistics on the road. Our two captains, Christopher Mikesell '24 and Samis have taken on additional tasks such as coming up with practice plans and supporting me with any questions I had," Sewell said.

One of the team's goals for the fall included keeping the season as strong as possible, and they are proving to do just that.

"The sailors are also more self-aware and strive to improve themselves each day," Sewell said. "It wasn't always easy, but we pulled off a nearly typical fall season, which is a great accomplishment."