The Roaring Fork High School duo of Josey Morford and Alec Sloan, both of Carbondale, Colorado, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Sunday weighing 12.04 pounds to win the 2017 TBF High School Fishing Colorado State Championship tournament on Lake Pueblo in Pueblo, Colorado. 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 17 teams competed in the no-entry fee tournament, which launched from the South Shore Marina in Pueblo. In FLW/TBF High School Fishing competition, the top 10-percent of teams competing advance to the High School Fishing National Championship.
The top team on Lake Pueblo that advanced to the 2017 High School Fishing National Championship was:
1st: Roaring Fork High School – Josey Morford and Alec Sloan, both of Carbondale, Colo., (five bass, 12.04 pounds)
Rounding out the top 10 teams were:
2nd: Pueblo West High School – Cooper Brown and Connor Henderson, both of Pueblo West, Colo., (five bass, 9.36 pounds)
3rd: Southern Colorado Junior Bass Club – Jordan Evans, Colorado Springs, Colo., and Kade Sites, Salida, Colo., (five bass, 8.80 pounds)
4th: Horizon High School – Ethan Foster and Clay Capilla, both of Thornton, Colo., (four bass, 6.74 pounds)
5th: Cheyenne Mountain High School – Justin Nicks and J.J. Romero, both of Colorado Springs, Colo., (three bass, 6.65 pounds)
6th: Southern Colorado Junior Bass Club – Nicholas Westphal and Daniel Verbruggen, both of Peyton, Colo., (three bass, 6.49 pounds)
7th: Pueblo West High School – Dylan Allenback, Pueblo, Colo., and Taylor Salisbury, West Pueblo, Colo., (four bass, 6.43 pounds)
8th: Southern Colorado Junior Bass Club – Aaron Fackenthall, Superior, Colo., and Jack Hestra, Arvada, Colo., (three bass, 5.88 pounds)
9th: Cheyenne Mountain High School – Miles Harris and Kevin Hooks, both of Colorado Springs, Colo., (three bass, 4.97 pounds)
10th: Pueblo West High School – Tyler Harvey and Hunter Hall, both of West Pueblo, Colo., (two bass, 3.90 pounds)
The 2017 TBF High School Fishing Colorado State Championship was a two-person (team) event for students in grades 7-12, open to any Student Angler Federation (SAF) affiliated high school club in the state of Colorado. The top 10 percent of each Challenge, Open, and state championship field will advance to the High School Fishing National Championship. The High School Fishing national champions will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship to the school of their choice.
In addition to the High School Fishing National Championship, all High School Fishing anglers nationwide automatically qualify for the world’s largest high school bass tournament, the 2017 High School Fishing World Finals, held in conjunction with the National Championship. At the 2016 World Finals more than $60,000 in scholarships and prizes were awarded.
About FLW
FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2017 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, with offices in Minneapolis, FLW conducts more than 274 bass-fishing tournaments annually across the United States and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show, broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, while FLW Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros.
About The Bass Federation
The Bass Federation Inc., (TBF) is a member of the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. TBF is owned by those we serve and dedicated to the sport of fishing. The Federation is the largest and oldest, organized grassroots fishing, youth and conservation organization there is. TBF, our affiliated state federations and their member clubs conduct more than 20,000 events each year and have provided a foundation for the entire bass fishing industry for more than 45 years. TBF founded the Student Angler Federation and the National High School Fishing program in 2008 to promote clean family fun and education through fishing.
By: Joe Opager, Director of Public Relations
