MARION, Ill. – McKendree Bass Fishing finished their fall campaign at the Illinois State Championship tournament this past Sunday held at Lake Egypt in Marion, Ill. A pair of Bearcats punched another ticket to the National Championship in the spring with their first-place finish.
 
The one-day competition featured 28 teams from seven different colleges, including the University of Illinois, Illinois State, Southern Illinois, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Greenville, and Wabash Valley. Over the past nine years, McKendree has won the Illinois State Championship eight times.
 
Sophomores Jaxson Freeman (Loda, Ill./Rantoul) and Maxwell Trotter (Decatur, Ill./St. Teresa) placed first with two keepers for 6.63 pounds, including the biggest bass of the day at 4.02 pounds. The duo becomes the seventh McKendree team this year to confirm their bid to the MLF National Championship.
 
McKendree also captured the second-place slot as fifth-year senior Trey Schroeder (Crestwood, Mo./Lindbergh) and sophomore Lane Stephens (Talala, Okla./Oologah) brought in two fish for 4.74 pounds.
 
Below are more Bearcats who weighed in for the day:
 
6th – sophomore Kyle Hopping (Lake St. Louis, Mo./Timberland) and junior Jason Qualich (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) with 2.92 pounds.
 
7th – sophomore Jack Stephens (St. Louis, Mo./Lindbergh) and junior Harmon Marien (Eagle River, Wisc./Northland Pines) with 2.82 pounds.
 
9th – freshmen Kai Barnett (Columbiana, Ala./Shelby County) and Tucker Siminak (Antioch, Ill./Antioch) with 2.76 pounds.
 
11th – freshman Ethan Fields (Breese, Ill./Mater Dei) and senior Devon Rathbun (Springfield, Mo./Parkview) with 2.65 pounds.
 
The Bearcat anglers resume their season in the spring at the MLF National Championships in Kissimmee, Fla., held on February 21-23.