High School Fishing National Championship set for Lake Keowee
South Carolina State titles launch March 8 with national championship held March 9
The High School National Championship is set to take place Sunday, March 9 on Lake Keowee. Teams competed last fall in five conference championships with the winner of each qualifying for the national championship.
Takeoff is at South Cove County Park at 7 a.m. and weigh-in is at 4 p.m. at the Walmart located at 1636 Sandifer Blvd. in Seneca, S.C. Both are free and open to the public.
The five teams competing for the High School National Championship are:
Central Conference Champions – Kaleb Seeger & Jake Saterbak (Minnesota)
Northern Conference Champions – Corey Horelick & Austin Bestwick (Connecticut)
Southern Conference Champions – Cameron Mattison & Chad Poulsen (Louisiana)
Southeastern Conference Champions – Carter McNeil & Tucker Smith (South Carolina)
Western Conference Champions – Frankie Mueller & Shane Edgar (Arizona)
Also being held this week is the South Carolina State High School Fishing Championship and Anderson Open. These events will take place on Saturday, March 8 on Lake Russell.
There is a mandatory check-in and rules meeting at 6:30 p.m. on March 7 at the Crescent High School, located at 9104 highway 81 S., Iva, S.C. Takeoff is at safe light and the weigh-in takes place at 3 p.m at Mountain View Park.
About High School Fishing
Based on the highly successful 2009 launch of FLW College Fishing, which now enjoys participation by more than 600 colleges and universities nationwide, FLW and The Bass Federation (TBF) joined forces in 2011 to launch the first national High School Fishing program. By offering a high school bass fishing state championship in every state in the continental United States plus the province of Ontario, FLW and TBF are recruiting a record number of youth to the sport. Each year FLW and TBF operate more than 50 High School Fishing tournaments under the Student Angler Federation (SAF) umbrella, including opens, conference championships and a national championship that awards a $10,000 scholarship ($5,000 per student) to the winning two-angler team. The FLW/TBF SAF initiative remains the only national High School Fishing program.
SAF High School Fishing is a turnkey program that provides the following for just $25 per student:
• Tournaments professionally organized and operated by FLW and TBF using uniform rules and procedures
• $1 million in insurance coverage for students, coaches, schools and volunteers
• $1 million in child abuse coverage
• $25,000 in excess medical coverage
• $25,000 in Amber Alert coverage
• Access to the largest volunteer angler network in the nation
• A proven fundraising program selling sunglasses to make participation virtually cost free for students and schools
• Advancement from local and state events to national events offering scholarship opportunities
• A digital subscription to FLW Bass Fishing magazine
• Access to free online fishing education courses
• For students 16 and older, eligibility to win great prizes in monthly FLW giveaways
About the High School Fishing State Championships
High School fishing is open to all students grades 9 through 12. Each team of two students and their “coach,” who provides and operates their boat during competition, are invited to compete in a state championship. The top 10 percent of each state championship field then advances to a conference championship, and the top 10 percent of each conference championship field advances to the High School Fishing National Championship coinciding with the TBF National Championship and a Walmart FLW Tour stop. The winners of the High School Fishing National Championship will each receive $5,000 to help cover tuition at the university of his or her choice.