John Wallace of St. Petersburg Among World's Best Young Sailors to Battle in Red Bull Youth America's Cup

ST. MARY'S CITY, MD (12/13/2012)(readMedia)-- John Wallace, a native of St. Petersburg, Fla., and junior skipper at St. Mary's College of Maryland, has earned a spot to participate in the Red Bull Youth America's Cup-a first-ever competition for talented youth sailors, ages19 to 24, to gain the experience they need to contribute to an America's Cup team.

After an intensive two-day trial, Wallace, 20, was one of few selected by ORACLE TEAM USA to compete on Team America Racing, one of two U.S.-based, six-man teams selected by ORACLE TEAM USA. The other is American Youth Sailing Force.

"Having the opportunity to train under ORACLE TEAM USA is a dream come true and I plan on taking full advantage of this awesome opportunity," said Wallace. "Balancing training and school is going to be a challenge for sure, but after balancing school with college sailing for a couple years now I am used to it and understand what it takes."

Crews of both Team America Racing and American Youth Sailing Force will make periodic trips to San Francisco to train under the tutelage of ORACLE TEAM USA in the coming months, with more extensive training to take place in the summer. They will then compete in the Red Bull Youth America's Cup scheduled for September 1-4, 2013, in San Francisco, during the heart of the 34th America's Cup racing season.

The youth teams are made up of collegiate All-Americans, youth world medalists and members of U.S. Sailing's Development Team.

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St. Mary's College of Maryland, designated the Maryland state honors college in 1992, is ranked one of the best public liberal arts schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. More than 2,000 students attend the college, nestled on the St. Mary's River in Southern Maryland.