As they prepare to head to the 2017 High School National Championship in a few weeks, the Christian Brothers Academy sailing team visited college sailing powerhouse St. Mary's College of Maryland for a training day last Friday.

Winners of 15 collegiate national championships, the St. Mary's varsity team is regarded as one of the top collegiate sailing teams in the nation. They have produced over 150 All-Americans since 1980.

Hosted by St. Mary's senior captain and CBA alumnus Jonathan Lutz '13, the Colts were able to sail out of St. Mary's beautiful boat house, the River Center, located on the St. Mary's River.

The CBA sailors first practiced among themselves in St. Mary's fleet of FJ sailboats with coaching assistance from Lutz. They were joined by members of the St. Mary's team in the afternoon, where they were able to race against the collegiate sailors.

After sailing, the CBA boys were able to speak with both members of the St. Mary's team and their head coach, Adam Werblow.

Following their training day at St. Mary's, the Colts headed to Annapolis, Maryland to sail against several teams they will see at the Nationals in May. Sailing the "team race" style, CBA battled tough conditions on Saturday, before finishing Sunday with a 3-1 record.

Christian Brothers was led by skippers Joe LaForgia '17, Chris Magno '17 and Michael Ehnot '18, and crews Justin Modin '19, Ryan Mullins '19 and John Cocozza '20.

In the past year, CBA Sailing has sailed at five colleges frequently ranked in the top-20 poll, including the Coast Guard Academy, College of Charleston, Merchant Marine Academy, SUNY Maritime, and now St. Mary's.

The High School National Championship takes place on May 13-14 at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts.