HENDERSON, N.C. – The East Gaston High School duo of Conner Usher of Stanley, North Carolina, and Garrett Smith of Mount Holly, North Carolina, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Sunday weighing 11 pounds, 10 ounces, to win the 2017 TBF High School Fishing North Carolina State Championship tournament on Kerr Lake in Henderson, North Carolina. The win advanced the team to the 2017 High School Fishing National championship, held June 27-July 1 at Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama.
A field of 31 teams competed in the no-entry fee tournament, which launched from the New Nutbush Park in Henderson. In FLW/TBF High School Fishing competition, the top 10-percent of teams competing advance to the High School Fishing National Championship.
The top three teams on Kerr Lake that advanced to the 2017 High School Fishing National Championship were:
1st: East Gaston High School – Connor Usher, Stanley, N.C., and Garrett Smith, Mount Holly, N.C., (five bass, 11-10)
2nd: Hopewell High School – Jake Frye, Charlotte, N.C., and Blake Powers, Huntersville, N.C., (four bass, 11-4)
3rd: North Lincoln High School – Joshua Lackey and Jeremy Dellinger, both of Denver, N.C., (five bass, 11-1)
Rounding out the top 10 teams were:
4th: North Lincoln High School – Peyton Cook and Adam Seagle, both of Lincolnton, N.C., (four bass, 9-13)
5th: West Wilkes High School – Ethan Call and Zachary Greene, both of Wilkesboro, N.C., (five bass, 9-1)
5th: Orange High School – Logan Jennings, Hillsborough, N.C., and Mason Thompson, Efland, N.C., (five bass, 9-1)
5th: YES Community Club & Backwoods Bass Boys – Wyatt Long, Raleigh, N.C., and Hunter McKee, Thomasville, N.C., (four bass, 9-1)
5th: Cherryville High School – Preston Lingerfelt and Carlton Jackson, both of Cherryville, N.C., (four bass, 9-1)
9th: East Rowan High School – Hunter Harwood and Paiton File, both of Salisbury, N.C., (four bass, 8-14)
10th: West Wilkes High School – Luke Minton and Andrew Aiken, both of North Wilkesboro, N.C., (three bass, 7-12)
Complete results and photos from the event will be posted at HighSchoolFishing.org.
The 2017 TBF High School Fishing North Carolina State Championship was a two-person (team) event for students in grades 7-12, open to any Student Angler Federation (SAF) affiliated high school club in the state of Florida. The top 10 percent of each Challenge, Open, and state championship field will advance to the High School Fishing National Championship. The High School Fishing national champions will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship to the school of their choice.
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 2017 High School Fishing World Finals, held in conjunction with the National Championship. At the 2016 World Finals more than $60,000 in scholarships and prizes were awarded.