GADSDEN, Ala. (May 23, 2017) – The Gardendale High School duo of Griffin Phillips and Fletcher Phillips, both of Mount Olive, Alabama, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Sunday weighing 10 pounds, 15 ounces, to win the 2017 TBF High School Fishing Alabama State Championship tournament on Lake Neely Henry in Gadsden, Alabama. 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 the Coosa Landing in Gadsden. 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 Lake Neely Henry that advanced to the 2017 High School Fishing National Championship were:
1st: Gardendale High School – Griffin Phillips and Fletcher Phillips, both of Mount Olive, Ala., (five bass, 10-15)
2nd: Sand Rock High School – Colton Cash, Leesburg, Ala., and Levi Cox, Gaylesville, Ala., (five bass, 10-5)
Rounding out the top 10 teams were:
3rd: Hartselle High School – Jordan Thompson and Tyler Crawford, both of Hartselle, Ala., (five bass, 9-2)
4th: Springville High School – Chase Parnell and Logan Bryan, both of Springville, Ala., (five bass, 8-15)
5th: Mortimer Jordan High School – Daniel Meadows, Warrior, Ala., and Aaron Stephens, Kimberly, Ala., (five bass, 8-14)
6th: Sand Rock High School – Seth Justice and Ethan Clanton, both of Collinsville, Ala., (five bass, 8-11)
7th: Corner High School – Chandler Sickafoose and Cade Reeder, both of Dora, Ala., (five bass, 8-6)
8th: Sand Rock High School – Brody Robison, Collinsville, Ala., and Grant Robison, Fort Payne, Ala., (five bass, 8-5)
9th: Cedar Bluff High School – Colin McCullough, Cedar Bluff, Ala., and Hunter Bailey, Center, Ala., (five bass, 7-8)
10th: Fort Payne High School – Devin Gilliam and Dalton Pendergrass, both of Fort Payne, Ala., (five bass, 7-3)
Complete results and photos from the event have been posted at HighSchoolFishing.org.
Griffin Phillips and Fletcher Phillips, both of Mount Olive, Alabama, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Sunday weighing 10 pounds, 15 ounces.
The 2017 TBF High School Fishing Alabama 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 Alabama. 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.
