(LEBANON, Ill., Oct. 16)--The McKendree University bass fishing program continued its incredible fall run this past weekend at the Cabela's Open on Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, Ark.
The two-day event included 60 universities and 208 of the best teams in the country, According to McKendree bass fishing coach
Jon Rinderer, with the weather pattern changing drastically due to Hurricane Michael in the Gulf, it made for two very different days of fishing.
Getting only one full day to practice on the lake, McKendree found itself with teams all over the leaderboard after day one.
Blake Jackson (Carterville, IL/Carterville) and
Brady Faust (Swansea, IL/Belleville East) were in 17th place with 12.46 pounds.
Trevor McKinney (Benton, IL/Benton) and
Ethan Jones (Worden, IL/Father McGivney) sat in 41st place with 10.42 pounds.
Tyler Christy (Bolingbrook, IL/Bolingbrook) and
Trey Schroeder (Crestwood, MO/Lindbergh) caught 8.69 pounds and were in 68th place.
Alec Berens (Channahon, IL/Minooka) and
Matt Cavanaugh (St. Louis, MO/Kirkwood) were 71st overall with 8.46 pounds, while
Nate Doty (Decatur, IL/Sangamon Valley) and
Jacob Louis (Pinckneyville, IL/Pinckneyville) held down 75th place with 8.35 pounds.
Bailey Bleser (Burlington, WI/Catholic Central) and
Christian Hernandez (Streamwood, IL/Streamwood) had 6.14 pounds for 109th place, and
Joseph Bruener (Douglas, TX/Douglas) and
Andrew Althoff (Neoga, IL/Neoga) sat in 138th place with 4.24 pounds.
Day two produced another great comeback for the Bearcats. With torrential rain, wind and cold temperatures throughout the day, the team members put it all together and began to pattern the fish. McKendree's effort got stronger as the day progressed and ended up having one of the better days of all the teams fishing in the tournament. The young squad, anchored with several seasoned veterans, was able to put together five limits of bass on the final day and finished with five squads in the top 50 of the final standings. McKinney and Jones jumped from 41st place all the way into fourth position with a total weight of 26.90 pounds. Weighing in at 16.48 pounds, their day two catch was the biggest sack of the tournament. It also included the second biggest bass of the event, a 6.52 pounder.
Jackson and Faust had another great day with five fish for 10.49 pounds, giving them a two-day total of 22.95 pounds and a 17th-place finish. Christy and Schroeder also had a great day, catching five fish for 12.08 pounds and jumped from 68th place into 32nd with a two-day total of 20.77 pounds. Doty and Louis had a strong day two with another five-fish limit for 11.57 pounds to move from 75th place into 40th overall with a total of 19.72 pounds.
Bleser and Hernandez almost doubled their day one performance with five fish for 12.15 pounds to register a two-day total of 18.29 pounds. That lifted them from 109th place all the way to 48th position. Berens and Kavanaugh posted a two-day total of 10.19 pounds to place 108th, while Bruener and Althoff weighed in at 9.06 pounds for 121st place.
"I am so proud of this team and their work ethic," said Rinderer. "They never give up. Any time you can come to an event of this magnitude, with this caliber of competition, get very limited practice time and head home with a top-five finish, you know your team is firing on all cylinders and ready to make a run at the championship,"
Scoring for the Cabela's Open was based on each team's two highest finishes. The fourth place finish by McKinney and Jones, combined with the 17th place effort from Jackson and Faust, helped McKendree finished the event in third place overall. According to Rinderer, the comeback and strong finish will earn the Bearcats over 900 points in the Association of Collegiate Anglers (ACA) School of the Year standings and should rocket the team from their current fifth place standing closer to the top of the standings.
McKendree will compete next Oct. 21 at the Southern Illinois University Open on Lake of Egypt in Marion, Ill.
