RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – McKendree anglers had two finishes in the top 15 competing against high level competition this past weekend.
The 2026 AFTCO Collegiate Open on Lake Dardanelle hosted 309 boats from coast to coast. The stacked field included twenty of the top twenty-five teams in the nation. At this incredible fishery it is always tough in the fall to have two consecutive great days with this many boats. This year was no exception! The field boated 148 limits on day one and only 44 on day two.
The team of Chase Logue and Mason Darling had an outstanding day one and we're sat in second place with 16.74. After struggling a bit on day two and found fish late in the afternoon. Unfortunately, they had to leave them biting as they had an earlier check-in time. They end up with four for 10.63 and a two-day total of 27.37 good for 12th place.
For Ryan Foster and Angelo Malek, it was just the opposite. They weighed in five for 11.79 on day one and were in sixty-sixth place. On day two they caught another five bass limit for 14.99 and jumped fifty-one spots up the leader board landing in 15th place. They were one of only forty-four teams in the field of 309 to catch their limit both days.
Evan McCormick and Jackson Furman also weighed in a solid limit on day one with 10.76. They weighed three for 5.55 on day two and landed in 106th place. Parker Welch and Zach Widelski were sitting in 89th day one with a solid limit for 10.84. They managed to catch two for 3.45 day two and finished in 128th place. Liam Bonnett and Carson Belville also weighed in a good limit for 11.75 on day one and were sitting in 69th place. Unfortunately, they were unable to locate them on day two and finished 158th. The freshman team Owen Sheppard and Dakoda Viley got their first looks at Lake Dardanelle this week. They were able to catch three for 8.79 on day one and followed that up with one more on day two. They finished 177th overall with 10.48. Matthew Qualich and Landon Ingram weighed in three for 6.47 on day one and finished 227th.
The next event for the team will be the Illinois State Championship on Lake Kinkaid this Saturday October 17th
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