Bainbridge places in Top 10 at Lake Seminole Open

Published 5:07 pm Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Bainbridge bass anglers Jackson Conley and Bruson Fain took fourth place and Hunter Davis and Gabe Dunaway took fifth place at the 2019 Bass Pro Shops FLW High School Fishing Lake Seminole Open.

The Mount Paran Christian School duo of Lee Rose Koza and Carter Koza, both of Marietta, Georgia, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Saturday weighing 23 pounds, 2 ounces to win the tournament.

A field of 42 teams competed in the no-entry fee tournament, which launched from the Bainbridge Earle May Boat Basin. The tournament was hosted by the Bainbridge Convention and Visitors Bureau In FLW and TBF High School Fishing competition, the top 10-percent of teams competing advance to the High School Fishing National Championship.

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The top four teams on Lake Seminole that advanced to the 2019 High School Fishing National Championship were:          

1st:       Mount Paran Christian School, Kennesaw, Ga. – Lee Rose Koza and Carter Koza, both of Marietta, Ga., five bass, 23-2

2nd:     Marianna High School, Marianna, Fla. – Bowynn Brown, Walnut Grove, Miss., and Trey Stevens, Marianna, Fla., five bass, 18-2

3rd:      CrossPointe Christian Academy, Williamson, Ga. – Addison Stahl, Griffin, Ga., and Levi Garrett, Brooks, Ga., five bass, 15-11

4th:      Double Trouble Bass Team – Jackson Conley, Bainbridge, Ga., and Brunson Fain, Donalsonville, Ga., five bass, 15-5

Rounding out the top 10 were:

5th:      Bainbridge High School, Bainbridge, Ga. – Hunter Davis and Gabe Dunaway, both of Bainbridge, Ga., five bass, 13-13

6th:      Shelby County High School, Columbiana, Ala. – Ethan King, Wilsonville, Ala., and Tyler Cain, Bessemer, Ala., four bass, 13-6

7th:      Bainbridge High School, Bainbridge, Ga. – Gunner Thomas and Brody Thomas, both of Bainbridge, Ga., five bass, 13-1

8th:      Lake Norman High School, Mooresville, N.C. – Alexander Coggins and Jake Monti, both of Mooresville, N.C., five bass, 13-0

9th:      Brookwood High School, Snellville, Ga. – Ben Sanders, Thomasville, Ga., and Levi Singletary, Cairo, Ga., five bass, 12-8

10th:    Lawton Chiles High School, Tallahassee, Fla. – Ben Kuhn and Cole Merritt, both of Tallahassee, Fla., five bass, 12-8

The 2019 Bass Pro Shops FLW High School Fishing Lake Seminole Open 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 United States. The top 10 percent of each Challenge, Open, and state championship field will advance to the 2019 High School Fishing National Championship on a body of water that has yet to be revealed. 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 open high school bass tournament, the 2019 High School Fishing World Finals, held in conjunction with the National Championship.

At the 2018 World Finals more than $150,000 in scholarships and prizes were awarded.