FLORENCE, Ala. – The Bearcat Anglers recently competed at the ACA Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops on May 21st and 22nd at Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama.
The Bearcats did struggle a bit on day two of the 207 boat championship but did earn a pair of top 50 finishers.
Graduates Evan Sutton (Highland, Ill.) and Jaxson Freeman (Loda, Ill.) were sitting 10th after day one and in a great position to make a run at the championship. As it often is with tournament fishing, one of an endless number of situations can jump out and sabotage your day. In this case, shortly after arriving at their starting location, their trolling motor foot control went out. They did a great job of improvising. One guy ran the motor with the remote while the other fished. They took turns running it by hand. Each would go until their thumbs began cramping up, and then they switched. It definitely wasn't what they had planned when leaving the ramp. Despite their handicap, they were able to weigh in a solid bag at 17.35 and finished in 14th place with a two-day total of 39.17.
Graduates Jack Stephens (St. Louis, Mo.) and Maxwell Trotter (Decatur, Ill.) had two consistent days with 16.24 and 17.07 for 33.31 and 46th place.
Juniors Ryan Foster (Columbia, Ill.) and Angelo Malek (Lake St. Louis, Mo.) weighed in a very solid 18.76 on day one but struggled to find them on day two. They placed 64th with a two-day total of 30.94.
Sophomores Chase Logue (Oreana, Ill.) and Mason Darling (Highland, Ill.) also struggled on day two. They weighed 17.08 on day one and finished in 85th with a total of 27.07.
Seniors Tucker Siminak (Antioch, Ill.) and Kai Barnett (Columbiana, Ala.) finished 170th with 9.79.
UP NEXT
This event wraps up the 2026 Association of Collegiate Anglers (ACA) Bass Pro Shops School of the Year points race. Once the final results are posted, we will have an update on mckbearcats.com.
The next event for the anglers will be the Bassmaster National Championship, which will be held from August 20th through 22nd at Leech Lake in Walker, Minnesota.
Make sure to keep up with McKendree University Bass Fishing on Facebook and Instagram.
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