Brown wins College Open Nationals

Brown University won the 2026 College Open Fleet Race National Championship held May 19-22 in St. Petersburg, FL. The Bears were led by Blake Behrens ’27 and Caroline Keeffe-Jones ’26 winning B Division with Guthrie Braun ’26 and Vera Allen ’27 finishing third in A Division.

This is the Bears first open fleet racing national title since 1948.

The 36-team field was first narrowed to the best 18 teams in the semifinal stage, with Brown also winning their respective division while Harvard was the other semifinal winner.

Advancing to the Open Fleet Race National Championship Finals, the first day had a light southwest breeze ranging from 5–9 knots which never fully settled in, with pressure inconsistent across the course all day creating lots of reshuffling throughout the fleet.

The day finished with eight races per division, with Brown holding a two-point advantage over Stanford, but the two schools had separated themselves at the top of the standings while the fleet was tightly compressed behind them.

Race officials moved day two’s first warning signal up to 8:30 am to capitalize on a stronger forecasted morning breeze. The decision paid off as sailors launched into a steady 9–11 knot southeasterly that allowed the fleet to complete racing through 12A before conditions once again deteriorated near midday.

The wind faded sharply around noon, forcing competitors ashore before B-Division could complete race 12B. At the postponement, Brown and Stanford were still locked into a direct battle for the championship title with a cushion between them and the fight for the final spot on the podium.

As the seabreeze filled, racing resumed in 12B with one of the tightest packs of the regatta– the entire fleet rounding the gate within just a few boatlengths of each other, compressing the field and creating opportunities to shake up the standings. Through it all, the Brown sailors remained remarkably steady.

“Our B-Division skipper Blake Behrens absolutely killed it, which made it pretty low pressure for us,” said Brown senior skipper Gutherie Braun. “We were able to know that with such a dog-fight in A-Division that if we just keep it consistent Blake will take care of the rest.”

Braun recalled crying as he watched Behrens and Caroline Keeffe-Jones, B-Division crew, rally after a turbulent gate-rounding in the last race as the Stanford team came dangerously close to recapturing the championship.

“I was thinking a lot of our teammate Liam [O’Keefe] who we lost two years ago,” said Braun. “He was on track to be the most decorated Brown sailor probably ever…and left some pretty big shoes to fill. I’m just happy that we did something to really make him proud.”

After 14 races, Stanford finished 11 points back in second with Yale University 48 points off the lead in third.

Low Point A Division: Thomas Sitzmann and Cardinal Callie Hammond, Stanford University
Low Point B Division: Blake Behrens and Caroline Keeffe-Jones, Brown University

Finals results: https://scores.collegesailing.org/s26/open-fleet-race-national-championships/

2025-26 Season

2025 Fall National Championships:
November 8-9 – Women’s and Open Singlehanded Nationals – Old Dominion Univ / Norfolk, VA
November 15-16 – Match Race Nationals – St Petersburg Yacht Club / St Petersburg, FL

2026 Spring National Championships:
April 23-25 – Open Team Race Nationals – Tulane Univ / New Orleans, LA
April 26-27 – Women’s Team Race Nationals – Tulane Univ / New Orleans, LA
May 15-18 – Women’s Dinghy Nationals – Univ of South Florida / St. Petersburg, FL
May 19-22 – Open Dinghy Nationals – Univ of South Florida / St. Petersburg, FL

Source: Delaney Conlogue, ICSA Communications Committee