KERR RESERVOIR, Okla. – The Bearcat Anglers recently competed at the Bassmaster Lake Kerr Tournament from April 29th-30th in Oklahoma, as four team boats made qualification status for the upcoming Bassmaster National Championship in late August.
Senior Ethan Fields (Breese, Ill.) and graduate Lane Stephens (Talala, Okla.) led the way with a two-day total of 31-6 and 6th place. This result triple-qualified them for the national tournament.
Graduates Evan Sutton (Highland, Ill.) and Jaxson Freeman (Loda, Ill.) were just 13 ounces back with 30-9 and 11th place, which double-qualified them for nationals.
Graduate Jack Stephens (St. Louis, Mo.) and junior Angelo Malek (Lake St. Louis, Mo.) had two incredible days of fishing, especially considering their big motor was not working properly. They finished in 16th with 29-15, just ten ounces behind Evan and Jaxson, also qualifying them for the national championship.
Senior Connor Hall (Jacksonville, Ill.) and sophomore Carson Belville (Rushville, Ill.) also qualified for the national championship with two great limits weighing in at 28-13 and 22nd place.
Sophomore Chase Logue (Oreana, Ill.) and Mason Darling (Highland, Ill.) made a huge charge on day two with 16-15 and jumped all the way from 80th on day one into 26th place with 28-8 and double qualified for the national tournament.
Seniors Zach Pocos (Norwalk, Ohio) and Tucker Siminak (Antioch, Ill.), who were tied with Chase and Mason after day one, had a huge jump on day two, moving up 45 spots to finish in 35th place with 27-11.
Senior Henry Fledderman (Lake St. Louis, Mo.) and junior Ryan Foster (Columbia, Ill.) made a big move as well and jumped 32 places up the leaderboard to finish in 72nd with 21-15.
Sophomore Liam Bonnett (Pittsfield, Ill.) and junior Parker Welch (Spring Hill, Kan.) moved up 28 spots to finish in 84th with 19-15.
Graduate Maxwell Trotter (Decatur, Ill.) and senior Kai Barnett (Columbiana, Ala.) moved up 14 spots to finish 85th with a 19-13 total.
Sophomores Zach Widelski (Wheaton, Ill.) and Evan McCormick had a very solid day one with 14-15 but struggled to put it together on day two and finished in 118th.
Sophomore Dawson Hendrix (Lerna, Ill.) and freshman Landon Ingram had a two-day total of 13-15 for 127th.
Graduate Kyle Hopping (Lake St. Louis, Mo.) and sophomore Matthew Qualich (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) weighed in 4-15 for 165th.
"The team had another incredible performance in Oklahoma, with five teams in the top thirty, said Head Coach Jon Rinderer. "Kerr Lake is one of those lakes where you definitely try and use your technology for navigation as much as possible, but when it comes to fishing, you just put a rod in your hands and get it done. I am really proud of this team because that is exactly what they did!"
UP NEXT
The Bearcat Anglers will be fishing at their home McKendree Invitational this Sunday, May 3rd, from 6:30 AM to 2:30 PM at Vandalia Lake.
Make sure to keep up with McKendree University Bass Fishing on Facebook.
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