COLUMBUS, Miss. (March 13, 2017) – The West Point High School duo of Jordan Camp and Matthew Bagwell, both of West Point, Mississippi, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 13 pounds, 1 ounce, to win the 2017 FLW High School Fishing Mississippi Open tournament at Columbus Pool in Columbus, Mississippi. The win advanced the team to the 2017 High School Fishing National championship, held June 27-July 1 at Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama.
A field of 29 teams competed in the no-entry fee tournament, which launched from Columbus Marina in Columbus. In FLW/TBF High School Fishing competition, the top 10-percent of teams competing advance to the High School Fishing National Championship.
The top two teams on Columbus Pool that advanced to the 2017 High School Fishing National Championship were:
1st: West Point High School – Jordan Camp and Matthew Bagwell, both of West Point, Miss., five bass, 13-1
2nd: North Mississippi Student Anglers – Hunter Nanney, Dumas, Miss., and Jake Kimbrough, Smithville, Miss., five bass, 11-13
Rounding out the top 10 teams was:
3rd: West Point High School – Katie Wilson and Dylan Doss, both of West Point, Miss., five bass, 11-13
4th: New Life Christian Academy – Joshua Rush and Aaron Williams, both of Laurel, Miss., five bass, 11-11
5th: Smithville High School – Landon McMellon, Greenwood Springs, Miss., and T.J. Edwards, Tremont, Miss., five bass, 11-11
6th: Hamilton High School – Houston Vaiden and Tucker Welch, both of Hamilton, Miss., five bass, 10-6
7th: Smithville High School – Daniel McAfee, Amory, Miss., and Marietta Guthery, Smithville, Miss., four bass, 8-14
8th: St. Martin High School – Brandon Morano and Paul Swan, both of Ocean Springs, Miss., five bass, 8-8
9th: Hatley High School – Blake Duncan and Auston Ballard, both of Smithville, Miss., four bass, 8-3
10th: West Tennessee Bass Anglers – Cameron Massey, Somerville, Tenn., and Austin Sherrod, Eads, Tenn., four bass, 7-13
In order to break the tie between the second- and third-place teams, FLW tournament officials adhered to FLW High School Fishing Rule No. 17, which states that ties are to be broken first by total number of fish for the tournament, total number of live fish, the earliest entry for the tournament and finally by lottery.