Four members of the Hobart College sailing team were recently honored by the Statesmen Athletic Association (SAA) and the Hobart Athletics Department at the annual Block H Awards Dinner.
Austin Kana earned the Most Valuable Sailor Award.
David Thompson received the Classes of 1994 Award. The Most Improved Sailor Award was presented to
Sam Padnos, while
Austen Anderson garnered the Sailing Rookie Award.
A team captain, Kana was the team’s top skipper at the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association (ICSA)/Gill Coed Dinghy National Championship. In the A Division, he finished 11th at nationals after placing fourth in the A Division at the national semifinals. Kana was also a part of the victorious HWS contingent at the 2009 Tom Noble Team Race Regatta. A 2008 ICSA All-Academic Team member, he was tabbed Hobart’s Most Improved Sailor at the 2007 Block H.
Thompson, last season’s Rookie Award winner, sailed four races at the coed dinghy nationals as Kana’s crew. Thompson was the skipper of the HWS’s B Division boat at the Arrigan Memorial Regatta, placing fourth and helping the Colleges’ to the overall regatta victory. At the banquet, Head Coach
Scott Iklé ’84 singled out Thompson’s daily goal, “…helping his teammates improve, which he accomplishes with respect and friendship.” The Classes of 1994 Award is presented for extraordinary commitment to the team.
Padnos made steady progress throughout the season. He finished 10th in the A Division at the Harry H. Anderson Jr. Trophy in his first regatta of the season. By the spring, he helped HWS to victories in the Arrigan Memorial and Navy Keelboat regattas.
Anderson was a strong contributor for HWS’s success in the coed dinghy and team race disciplines. He helped HWS capture the Tom Noble Team Race Regatta, while sailing to top six finishes at the Boston Dinghy Cup, Truxton Umstead, Prosser Trophy, America Trophy, and Admiral’s Cup regattas. Most notably, Anderson skippered the Colleges’ C Division boat to victory at the Boston Dinghy Cup.
One of the top sailing programs in the nation, Hobart and William Smith were ranked 11th in the nation in the latest Sailing World college sailing poll.