STOCKTON, Mo. (May 15, 2017) – The Charles Page High School duo of John Miller and Caden Pennington, both of Sand Springs, Oklahoma, brought four bass to the scale Saturday weighing 9 pounds even to win the 2017 Bass Pro Shops FLW High School Fishing Missouri Open tournament on Stockton Lake. The win advanced the team to the 2017 High School Fishing National championship, held June 27-July 1 at Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama.

According to post-tournament reports, the duo caught their fish dragging a Gene Larew Biffle Bug and flipping a jig in the mid-lake area.

A field of 12 teams competed in the no-entry fee, tournament which launched from the Orleans Trail Marina in Stockton. 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 Stockton Lake that advanced to the 2017 High School Fishing National Championship was:

1st:        Charles Page High School, Sand Springs, Okla. – John Miller and Caden Pennington, both of Sand Springs, Okla., (four bass, 9-0)

Rounding out the top 10 teams were:

2nd:      Lindbergh High School, St. Louis, Mo. – Grant Nisbet, St. Louis, Mo., and Trey Schroeder, Crestwood, Mo., (five bass, 8-15)

3rd:       Logan-Rogersville High School, Rogersville, Mo. – Ashlynn Sell, Linden, Mo., and Kendall Meadors, Fordland, Mo., (four bass, 6-9)

4th:       Westside High School, Omaha, Neb. – Owen Jansen and Ian Pinhero, both of Omaha, Neb., (four bass, 5-6)

5th:       Rockwood Summit High School, Fenton, Mo. – William Curtright and Douglas Guidorzi, both of Fenton, Mo., (two bass, 4-3)

6th:       Topeka Capital City Bass Hogs – Brock Bila, Overland Park, Kan., and Thomas Heinen, Topeka, Kan., (two bass, 4-0)

7th:       Logan-Rogersville High School, Rogersville, Mo. – Gage Meadors, Fordland, Mo., and Andrew Sell, Rogersville, Mo., (two bass, 3-3)

8th:       Hillcrest High School, Springfield, Mo. – Kenson Handley and Ethan Smith, both of Springfield, Mo., (one bass, 2-8)

9th:       Quapaw High School, Quapaw, Okla. – Nick Hemphill and Justin Jennings, both of Quapaw, Okla., (one bass, 2-0)

10th:     West Plains High School, West Plains, Mo. – Landry Randolph and Caleb Cline, both of West Plains, Mo., (one bass, 1-12)

Complete results from the event and photos of the top five teams can be found at FLWFishing.com.

The 2017 Bass Pro Shops FLW High School Fishing Missouri 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 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. For more information visit FLWFishing.com and follow FLW at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat.

 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. Visit bassfederation.com or highschoolfishing.organd “LIKE US” on Facebook.