Kentucky duo finish in Top 10 in Southeastern Conference fishing tourney
Community News
Friday, Oct. 2, 2015 — Two Hopkins County high school students were Top 10 finalists in the 2015 TBF/FLW High School Fishing Southeastern Conference Championship tournament recently on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Ga.
Alex Thomblinson and Hunter Purdy, students at Madisonville North Hopkins High School in Madisonville, finished sixth in the fishing tournament out of the 51 teams from eight states that qualified. The duo caught five bass weighing a total of 11 pounds, 2 ounces.
The 2015 TBF/FLW High School Fishing Southeastern Conference Championship was a two-person (team) event for students in grades 7-12. The top 10 percent of each conference championship field will advance to the High School Fishing National Championship, coinciding with the TBF National Championship and an FLW Tour stop in the spring of 2016. The High School Fishing national champions will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship to the school of their choice.
The other teams in the Top 10 included:
1. Tristan Thomas and Dakota Crumley, (five bass, 12 pounds, 3 ounces), East Hall High School, Gainesville, Ga.
2. Zeke Gossett and Ryan Shields, (five bass, 12 pounds, 2 ounces), Hazel Green High School, Hazel Green, Ala.
3. Blake Stephenson and Tyler Matthews, (five bass, 11 pounds, 15 ounces), Evans High School, Evans, Ga.
4. Eric Glenn and Nathan McPherson, (five bass, 11 pounds, 7 ounces), Berkeley High School, Moncks Corner, S.C.
4. Daelyn Whaley and Carter McNeil, (five bass, 11 pounds, 7 ounces), Abbeville High School, Abbeville, S.C.
6. Alex Tomblinson and Hunter Purdy, (five bass, 11 pounds, 2 ounces), Madisonville North Hopkins High School, Madisonville, Ky.
7. Cole Burdeshaw and Jacob Hartzog, (five bass, 10 pounds, 13 ounces), Headland High School, Headland, Ala.
8. Nathan Ragsdale, Fayettesville, Ga., and Joshua Bennett, Kennesaw, Ga., (five bass, 10 pounds, 12 ounces), Georgia Student Angler Federation
9. Jackson Williams and Bryce Goff, (five bass, 10 pounds, 7 ounces), Auburndale High School, Auburndale, Fla.
10. Dylan Dunnagan and Shader Brown (five bass, 10 poiunds, 3 ounces), Dickson County High School, Dickson, Tenn.
In addition to the High School Fishing National Championship, all High School Fishing anglers nationwide automatically qualify for the world’s largest high school bass tournament, the 2016 High School Fishing World Finals. At the 2015 World Finals more than $20,000 in scholarships and prizes were awarded.
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