The South Florence High School duo of Tommy Floyd of Coward, South Carolina, and James Gibbons of Timmonsville, South Carolina, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 19 pounds, 3 ounces, to win the 2017 TBF High School Fishing South Carolina State Championship tournament on Lake Murray in Prosperity, South Carolina. 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 53 teams competed in the no-entry fee tournament, which launched from Dreher Island State Park in Prosperity. In FLW/TBF High School Fishing competition, the top 10-percent of teams competing advance to the High School Fishing National Championship.
The top five teams on Lake Murray that advanced to the 2017 High School Fishing National Championship were:
1st: South Florence High School – Tommy Floyd, Coward, S.C., and James Gibbons, Timmonsville, S.C., (five bass, 19-3)
2nd: Union County High School – Hunter Enlow, Union, S.C., and Creed Fowler, Jonesville, S.C., (five bass, 14-15)
3rd: Woodruff High School – Nick Collier and Austin Lanford, both of Woodruff, S.C., (five bass, 12-11)
4th: North Augusta High School – Kyler McKie and Michael Burch, both of North Augusta, S.C., (three bass, 11-12)
5th: Woodruff High School – Justin Greene and Caleb Ownby, both of Woodruff, S.C., (five bass, 11-11)
Rounding out the top 10 teams were:
5th: Spring Hill High School – Grant Tomlin, Chapin, S.C., and Wes Grindstaff, Irmo, S.C., (three bass, 10-14)
5th: Woodruff High School – Cole Gore, Enoree, S.C., and Clayton Caldwell, Woodruff, S.C., (five bass, 10-12)
5th: Gilbert High School – J.T. Vining and Tucker Veronee, both of Gilbert, S.C., (four bass, 10-5)
9th: South Florence High School – Cole Drummond, Effingham, S.C., and Piercen Lynch, Timmonsville, S.C., (four bass, 9-1)
10th: Woodmont High School, Piedmont, S.C. – Austin Davis and Auston Bennett, (five bass, 7-13)
The 2017 TBF High School Fishing South Carolina 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 Florida. 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.
Full schedules and the latest announcements are available at HighSchoolFishing.org and FLWFishing.com.
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
