Bolstered by a catch of 8 pounds, 2 ounces and the tournament’s only five-bass limit, the Prince George, Va., high school team of Ryan Drewery (left) of Petersburg, Va., and Junior Roberts of Ringgold, Va., captured the TBF/FLW College Fishing Northern Conference Championship on Philpott Lake. (Photo by Gary Mortenson)
MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Bolstered by a catch of 8 pounds, 2 ounces and the tournament’s only five-bass limit, the Prince George, Va., high school team of Ryan Drewery of Petersburg, Va., and Junior Roberts of Ringgold, Va., captured the TBF/FLW College Fishing Northern Conference Championship.The team beat their closest competitor, Bishop Hendricken High School out of Rhode Island by 3 pounds, 12 ounces.
“There is a lot of shaking going on,” said the junior Roberts. “That big one was schooling and I had no idea how big it was at first, but then I saw it jump and I said we gotta’ have this one.”
TBF along with FLW held the High School Northern Conference Championship on Saturday in conjunction with the FLW College Fishing Northern Conference Championship. Seven teams from across the region were represented.
High School results:
1st: Prince George High School – Ryan Drewery, Petersburg, Va., and Junior Roberts, Ringgold, Va., five bass, 8-2
2nd: Bishop Hendricken High School – Chris Catucci and Patrick Crabtree, both of Warwick, R.I., three bass, 4-6
3rd: Vermont – SAF – Jamison Gott, Georgia, Vt., and Colin Gaudette, St. Albans, Vt., three bass, 3-14
4th: Antietam/Cocalico High School – Kolbey Kissinger, Denver, Pa., and Clayton Delp, Reading, Pa., two bass, 3-11
5th: West Essex/Somerset County Vo Tech – Jake Smith, Essex Falls, N.J., and Rich Pennacchio, Hillsborough, N.J., two bass, 3-1
6th: The Sound School – Michael Toohey, Shelton, Conn., and Ryan Kusmit, Northford, Conn., one bass, 1-4
7th: Massachusetts – SAF – Kory Dominick and Jake Rowinsky, both of Saugus, Mass., one bass, 1-3
High School Fishing Tournaments are open to all ninth, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students, including home schooled students, who are members of the Student Angler Federation. The winning team from each state championship advances to a High School Fishing Conference Championship. Boats are provided upon request at all Conference Championships. The winning team from each Conference Championship will receive trophies and commemorative jerseys, and advance to the 2013 High School Fishing National Championship, held in conjunction with the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship in the spring.
Each member of the winning National High School Fishing Championship team will receive a $5,000 scholarship to use at the University of their choice. Teams participating in the conference championships and National Championship will also receive a travel allowance to help offset their expenses.
Coverage of the Northern Conference Championship will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network when “FLW” airs Dec. 16 from 1-2 p.m. EST.
