CARLYLE, Ill. (Sept. 15, 2015) – The Waunakee High School duo of Colin Steck and Nathan Lorenz from Waunakee, Wisconsin, brought two bass to the scale Saturday weighing 4 pounds, 12 ounces, to win the 2015 TBF/FLW High School Fishing Central Championship tournament on Lake Carlyle in Carlyle, Illinois. The win earned the team the title of Central Conference champions and advanced the team to the 2016 High School Fishing National championship, held next spring at a location yet to be announced in conjunction with the TBF National Championship and a Walmart FLW Tour event.
A field of 17 teams from across the Midwest competed in this tournament after qualifying via their finishes at the state championship tournaments held earlier this year. The teams battled through tough weather and constantly changing conditions, with crankbaits and spinnerbaits seeming to produce the best for the High School anglers.
The top two teams on Lake Carlyle that advanced to the 2016 High School Fishing National Championship were:
1st: Waunakee High School, Waunakee, Wis. – Colin Steck and Nathan Lorenz, (two bass, 4-12)
2nd: Colerain High School, Cincinnati, Ohio – Cole Wessner and Dan Hechler, (one bass, 3-5)
Rounding out the top five teams were:
3rd: Benton High School, Benton, Ill. – Dailus Richardson and Trevor McKinney, (one bass, 2-13)
4th: North Dakota Student Angler Federation – Chase Fernandez, Beaulah, N.D., and Hunter Wood, Hazen, N.D., (one bass, 2-11)
5th: Hurricane High School, Hurricane, W. Va. – Drew Sallada and Bailey Gordon, (one bass, 2-0)
The 2015 TBF/FLW High School Fishing Central Conference Championship was a two-person (team) event for students in grades 7-12. The top 10 percent of each conference championship field will advance to the High School Fishing National Championship, coinciding with the TBF National Championship and an FLW Tour stop in the spring of 2016. The High School Fishing national champions will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship to the school of their choice.