The Bass Federation (TBF), in partnership with FLW and PA Bass Federation hosted the 2013 Student Angler Federation (SAF) Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland High School Fishing State Championships on Saturday, July 27. The event was held on the Chesapeake Bay launching out of Elkneck State Park.
Mifflinburg High School brought several teams to the state championship and the team of Dylan Pawling and Shawn Diffenderfer were victorious for Pennsylvania. They weighed in a limit that weighed 16.43 lbs and a nice 4.62 kicker to be crowned state champs. Second place for PA was another Mifflinburg Wildcat team of Zach Himmelreich and Ryan Dehaas with 13.42 lbs. Third place was Skyler Krause and Joshua Bucher – Cedar Crest Falcons with 4 fish that weighed 13.08 lbs with a 5.68 kicker!
The New Jersey State Champions were the team of Next Generation Bassmasters Jake Smith and Richard Pennacchio. They had 13.81 lbs. Second place went to Kyle Harnack and Matthew Christopulos of the Riggin & Jiggin club with 9.83 lbs.
Maryland State Champions were crowned. The team of Ivan Koretic and Logan Kuhrmann – Kenwood High School Blue Birds had 4 fish that weighed 7.14 lbs.
The state champions from each state will advance to an FLW/TBF High School Fishing Conference Championship. Conference winners will advance to the FLW/TBF High School Fishing National Championship held in conjunction with the FLW College Fishing National Championship in the spring of 2014. All SAF members nationwide and all state championship participants automatically qualify for the largest event in high school fishing, the 2013 High School Fishing World Finals. At these events students will compete for thousands in college scholarships and prizes. Each team qualifying for a conference and/or national championship will receive a travel allowance to help offset expenses. The National Champions will also receive a $5,000 scholarship each to use at the university of their choice.
