JACKSON COUNTY, Ill. - McKendree University's bass fishing team competed at the Illinois Bass Nation State Championship this past weekend at Kinkaid Lake.
At the state championship the Bearcats placed four teams in the top five on a day that teams struggled to catch fish. "It was a tough day when 19 of 34 teams did not catch one fish and another 10 only caught one and despite the tough conditions, I'm proud of the anglers as they finished strong and turned in a great performance on a difficult day," coach Jon Rinderer said.
The highest placing team for the Bearcats featured senior Alec Berens (Channahon, Ill./Minooka Community) and graduate student Joseph Bruener (Douglas, Texas/Douglas) as they caught four bass that weighed 9.35 pounds to place 2nd. Freshman Jack Stephens (St. Louis, Mo./Lindbergh) and freshman Maxwell Trotter (Decatur, Ill./St. Teresa) placed 3rd as they caught three bass that weighed 8.61 pounds.
The duo of senior Tyler Christy (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) and senior Trey Schroeder (Crestwood, Mo./Lindbergh) placed 4th after catching two bass that weighed in at 7.72 pounds including the day's big bass at 4.85 pounds. The final top five team was the team of sophomore Grant Olsen (Gardner, Ill./Gardner South Wilmington) and senior Christian Hernandez (Streamwood, Ill./Streamwood) as they caught two bass for 7.29 pounds to place 5th.
Sophomore Colsyn Head (Poland, Ind./Owen Valley) and sophomore Tomas Matual (Chicago, Ill./Nazareth Academy) finished 8th with one bass at 3.19 pounds. Junior Tristan Barrett (Benton, Ky./Marshall County) and sophomore Jason Qualich (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) placed 9th after catching one bass for 3.11 pounds. Senior Bailey Bleser (Burlington, Wis./Catholic Central) and sophomore Harmen Marion (Eagle River, Wis./Northland Pines) placed 12th after catching one bass that weighed 2.74 pounds. The final Bearcats duo was sophomore Kurt Litteken (Lebanon, Ill./Wesclin) and freshman Evan Sutton (Highland, Ill./Highland) as they placed 13th with one bass that weighed 2.65 pounds.
The Bearcat anglers will return to action on Feb. 24-25 at the Major League Fishing College Open in Dayton, Tenn. at Lake Chickamauga.
