Heights’ Still, Brees among 19-boat field in KBN state championship
The field for the 2020 Kansas BASS Nation High School State Championship fishing tournament is now set after last weekend’s final qualifier tournament on Wilson Reservoir.
Shawnee Heights graduates Parker Still and Connor Brees secured their spot in the 19-team championship field Sept. 12-13 at Bone Creek alongside fellow Capital City Fishing Club members Tucker Bylkas, of Blue Valley, and Ian Uphoff, of Riley County.
Still and Brees finished 15th with 7.93 pounds at the Aug. 8 qualifier, which saw 36 teams compete, with Bylkas and Uphoff finishing 24th with 6.47 pounds.
Zakary Pegorsch and Michael Brown, fishing for the Bass Junkies Club, netted the win on Wilson with a 10.8-pound three-fish limit, edging out Olathe East’s Tyler Kendrick, who was fishing solo. Kendrick posted a 10.49-pound bag for second place, with Kickback Club’s Luke Crane and Jackson Opheim finishing behind him in third with 10.34 pounds.
Basehor-Linwood’s Aiden and Ethan Tripe finished fourth with a 9.96-pound bag. Franklin County’s Todd Crossley and Austin Curtis, who picked up their first win July 25 on Milford, rounded out the top five with 9.82 pounds.
Legacy Christian’s Ryder Mains and Mason Chapman, who finished 12th in June at the FLW World Finals on the Mississippi River in Wisconsin, took 10th in Saturday’s final qualifier tournament with a 9.29-pound bag. They were among the qualifiers for the state championship, as well.
Buhler’s Nathan Fideldy and Preston Gover earned Angler of the Year honors, which include an automatic berth in the Bassmaster High School National Championship from Oct. 18-24. As such, they won’t be fishing in the state championship.
Topekans Nick and Kyle Herrman — who finished third in the final youth qualifier Sunday after taking first in the first four qualifiers — earned Angler of the Year honors in the youth division. They also gain an automatic berth to the Bassmaster Junior National Championship on Oct. 19-20 at Carroll County 1,000-Acre Recreational Lake in Tennessee.
Their Topeka teammates, Laiken Emanuel and Avery Bowen, finished fourth in the final qualifier and second in the season standings. They will compete in the KBN Junior State Championship, which runs at the same time and place as the high school state championship.
ANNOUNCEMENT
The Topeka Capital-Journal will unveil its first-ever 20-person Kansas High School All-State Bass Fishing Team on Aug. 30, with a Fishing Team of the Year unveiled the following weekend. The selection process will take into account both the KBN and FLW high school tournaments for the 2019-20 season.
FALL SEASON SET
The 2020-21 fall season schedule for the KBN high school and youth divisions also were released this week.
The high school season begins Sept. 26, followed by the youth season Sept. 27, both at Perry Reservoir in Jefferson County, just two weeks after the 2019-20 state championship.
The second fall high school and youth qualifiers will take place Oct. 3 and 4, respectively, at Melvern Reservoir.
Nov. 14 and Nov. 15 are slated as make-up dates if needed, and would most likely take place in Oklahoma if they are necessary, according to youth director Travis Burch.
The spring season is still yet to be determined.
KANSAS BASS NATION
HIGH SCHOOL STATE CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD
Sept. 12-13 at Bone Creek
Anglers, club
Harlan/Landis, Kickback
Fore/O'Neill, Kickback
Crane/Opheim, Kickback
Hutchinson/Blackburn, Bobcat Bass
Revel/Lujano, Buhler
Crosley/Curtis, Franklin County
Nimrod/Stephens, DeSoto
Ferguson/Amundson, Hawks
Kendrick/Bellomo, Hawks
Pegorsch/Brown, Bass Junkies
Tripe/Tripe, Bobcat Bass
Mains/Chapman, Legacy Christian
Roth/Sudermann, Kickback
Brummer/Minor, DeSoto
Baechle/O'Bannon, Kickback
Brundige/Neidlein, Kickback
Stone/Brown, Circle
Still/Brees, Capital City
Bylkas/Uphoff, Capital City
YOUTH STATE CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD
Sept. 12-13 at Bone Creek
Anglers, club
Emanuel/Bowen, Topeka Jr. Hawgs
Youngblood/Vielhauer, Bobcat Bass
Line/Phillips, Kickback
Hutchinson/Little, Bobcat Bass
Batesel/Ewing, Bobcat Bass
Sorenson/Franzen, Bobcat Bass
Markley/G. Denney, Bobcat Bass
Sheafer/Smith, LRC Wildcats
Beeson/Pappan, Cowley County
Razey/Stephens, Circle Jr. Club
C. Denney/Lawler-White, Bobcat Bass
Plum/Kiernan, Bobcat Bass
High school angler team of the year: Fideldy/Gover, Buhler
Youth angler team of the year: Herrman/Herrman, Topeka Jr. Hawgs