Halloween weekend turned out to be a treat for the UCSB sailing team as it cruised into a spot for nationals in mid-November.

Juniors Lauren Hobson, Jon Bell and Carson Reynolds placed third out of six in the sloop races below USC and Irvine.

“The sloops are 30-foot boats with one mast,” Hobson said. “Irvine is the only race all year where we get to compete with these types of boats.”

On Friday, UCSB snagged second place in the qualifiers for Saturday. But during the second day of races, the Gauchos had a protest with the winning boat, and the judges ruled in favor of USC.

“We had the right of way and they didn’t,” Hobson said. “But they didn’t have the opportunity to get out of the way.”

The loss of the protest resulted in a tie with Irvine for second place. Since the Anteaters had more first-place wins, they placed second overall above the Gauchos.

After scoring a top place, the three juniors will represent UCSB in the Sloop Nationals held in Irvine beginning Nov. 19.