Tristan McCormick and Stevie Mills of Bethel University are leading after Day 1 of the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops at the St. Lawrence River with 24 pounds, 9 ounces.
Photo by Dalton Tumblin/B.A.S.S.
August 12, 2021

Bethel University Claims Day 1 Lead At Bassmaster College Series National Championship

WADDINGTON, N.Y. — With the help of a 6-pound smallmouth, the Bethel University duo of Tristan McCormick and Stevie Mills caught a five-bass limit that weighed 24 pounds, 9 ounces to claim the Day 1 lead at the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops at the St. Lawrence River.

McCormick and Mills hold a 13-ounce lead over the second-place team of Hunter Bond and GL Compton from Clemson University.

“Our main goal was to go out there and have fun and let the chips fall where they may,” McCormick said. “It was unbelievable. It was a superblessed day. The Lord works in mysterious ways because the last thing we expected was to do that. We are superexcited to get back out there tomorrow and see what happens.”

During their official practice time, Mills and McCormick caught plenty of 2-pound fish in a specific area but had no confidence heading into the event that they would be able to catch big ones.

So, when they reached the area Thursday, they were pleasantly surprised to find the quality had improved.

“We caught two pretty quickly, 2 1/2-pounders, and then we caught a big one. And then it went to chaos after that,” McCormick said. “We said last night that there had to be some big ones mixed in because every time we caught one I would scan the forward-facing sonar over there and see 10 with it. It was just a matter of putting the bait in front of the bigger ones.”

During their flurry, Mill estimates they caught between 15 to 20 fish.

“Just about every time we dropped down we were getting a bite,” he said. “I think those fish were posted up there, hugging the bottom. If both of our baits got around them, it didn’t matter if they were 2 inches away or 20, they were getting it.”

While the current interfered with the effectiveness of their forward-facing sonar initially, it played a big factor when they did hook a bass.

“The biggest thing is when he hooked one, I would scan the sonar over to see if there were any following it,” McCormick said. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, you can flick another bait over there and catch one of the followers, and we did that a bunch.”

Hailing from Kentucky Lake, Mills said that while his home lake has current, the St. Lawrence River is a whole different experience.

“You have current at Kentucky Lake, but this is all natural and it is always flowing,” Mills said. “That’s why these fish are as strong as they are. We don’t ever get to fish anywhere like this where you get to see 20 feet down. I like it a lot.”

After suffering through a slow morning, Compton and Bond finished Day 1 with 23-12 and anchored their bag with a 5-0 smallmouth.

“We stopped on some places we thought we would get some bites and some big bites,” Compton said. “We kept moving around to our different areas and we finally landed on a good group of fish around 11 (o’clock).”

Knowing the smallmouth had finished spawning, Bond said he and Compton focused on current seams. They found several different areas in practice and after hooking up with one or two bass in a spot, they would move to different water.

“Every day we had a consistent 16 or so pounds,” Bond said. “We weren’t trying to use up every one of our spots. We went to those spots and just hoped one of them had the fish there, and we hope they are there tomorrow as well.”

While they had never fished the St. Lawrence River before, Compton said they had been able to fish a couple of different smallmouth events that helped them prepare for this event.

“Hopefully we can keep the ball rolling tomorrow,” Compton said. “But nothing is guaranteed.”

With 22-14, the Adrian College duo of Hayden Scott and Griffin Fernandes landed in third place. After failing to catch a fish over 4 pounds in practice, they landed a 6-0 smallmouth to anchor their Day 1 bag.

“We had a shoal we were fishing that we got bit on in practice and never really got a big bite. He hooked a 4 1/2-pounder. We had just netted it and I picked up my rod to make sure it didn’t get sucked into the trolling motor on Spot-Lock.

“It was loaded up so I assumed it was stuck in the prop, and I started catching up to it and realized it started going to the other side of the boat. It came up and laid on its side.”

With a goal of 18 pounds for the day, Scott and Fernandes caught a couple of smaller keepers before figuring out how to entice the bigger bites.

“We knew we were around fish and so we stuck with it,” Scott said. “The first three spots we caught a couple of keepers and then all of a sudden it clicked. Later in the day, we still had a couple of little ones and then boom, back-to-back 4-pounders and we are right in it.”

The duo is rotating between several different deeper shoals, with current and wind direction making a big difference.

“We know there are fish on all of them, they just have these feeding windows and we hope to pull up on the right one when that school is eating,” Fernandes said.

Tripp Bowman and Blakely Young from Louisiana State University-Shreveport had the Carhartt Big Bass of the Day with a 6-10.

The full field will compete again Friday, taking off at 6:30 a.m. ET from Whittaker Park and returning for weigh-in at 2:30 p.m. The Top 12 at the conclusion of Day 2 will advance to Championship Saturday.

The Top 3 after the final day will punch their tickets to the College Classic Bracket, where the top finisher will earn a berth into the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk.

This week’s tournament is being hosted by the Village of Waddington, St. Lawrence County Chamber and Clarkson University. The tournament is also supported by a Market New York grant from I LOVE NY/New York State’s Division of Tourism awarded as part of the Regional Economic Development Council initiative. The tournament and all associated festivities are being planned to ensure the safety of athletes, staff and guests.

2021 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops 8/12-8/14
St. Lawrence River, Waddington NY.
(BOATER) Standings Day 1

Angler Club/School Pts

1. Tristan McCormick – Stevie Mills Bethel University 250
Day 1: 5 24-09 Total: 5 24-09
2. Hunter Bond – GL Compton Clemson University 249
Day 1: 5 23-12 Total: 5 23-12
3. Hayden Scott – Griffin Fernandes Adrian College 248
Day 1: 5 22-14 Total: 5 22-14
4. James Gillis – Craig Beucler Clarkson University 247
Day 1: 5 21-09 Total: 5 21-09
5. Jack Tindell – Brett Fregia Lamar State College Orange 246
Day 1: 5 21-07 Total: 5 21-07
6. Jacob Woods – Samuel Vandagriff Tennessee Tech University 245
Day 1: 5 21-00 Total: 5 21-00
7. Adam Puckett – Brendan Bingham Murray State University 244
Day 1: 5 20-13 Total: 5 20-13
8. Cole Holloway – Taylor Mcmullen Emmanuel College 243
Day 1: 5 20-02 Total: 5 20-02
9. Joe McClosky – Ryan Winchester Bethel University 242
Day 1: 5 20-01 Total: 5 20-01
10. Grayson Morris – University of Montevalllo 241
Day 1: 5 19-09 Total: 5 19-09
11. Daelyn Whaley – Cy Casey Emmanuel College 240
Day 1: 5 19-06 Total: 5 19-06
12. Peyton McCord – Caleb Whitehurst Auburn University 239
Day 1: 5 19-02 Total: 5 19-02
13. Colin Slentz – Evan Slentz Lander University 238
Day 1: 5 18-14 Total: 5 18-14
14. Hunter Baird – Beau Browning Drury University 237
Day 1: 5 18-10 Total: 5 18-10
15. Andrew Harp – John Higginbotham Louisiana Tech University 236
Day 1: 5 18-09 Total: 5 18-09
16. Tyler Christy – Trey Schroeder McKendree University 235
Day 1: 5 18-05 Total: 5 18-05
17. Ben Cully – Hayden Gaddis Carson-Newman University 234
Day 1: 5 18-04 Total: 5 18-04
18. James Willoughby – Chance Schwartz University of Montevallo 233
Day 1: 5 18-01 Total: 5 18-01
19. Sam Hanggi – Sam Hoesley Auburn University 232
Day 1: 5 17-15 Total: 5 17-15
20. Kyle Simmons – Brett Halstead Kansas State University 231
Day 1: 5 17-13 Total: 5 17-13
21. Tyler Vanbrandt – Jarrod Layton Adrian College 230
Day 1: 5 17-12 Total: 5 17-12
22. Conner Crosby – James Cobbs Auburn University 229
Day 1: 5 17-11 Total: 5 17-11
23. Dante Piraino – Hunter Stone Clarkson University 228
Day 1: 5 17-11 Total: 5 17-11
24. Robert Cruvellier – Sam Harvey Auburn University 227
Day 1: 5 17-10 Total: 5 17-10
25. Pierce Knarr – Ryan Lowe University of Iowa 226
Day 1: 5 17-09 Total: 5 17-09
25. Mason Phillpotts – Drake Shipman 226
Day 1: 5 17-09 Total: 5 17-09
25. Jackson Swisher – Seth Slanker Florida Gateway College 226
Day 1: 5 17-09 Total: 5 17-09
28. Austin Carr – Justin Carr 223
Day 1: 5 17-08 Total: 5 17-08
29. Reagan Nelson – Caden Cowan Tarleton State University 222
Day 1: 5 17-08 Total: 5 17-08
30. Tyler Lubbat – Hayden O’barr 221
Day 1: 5 17-04 Total: 5 17-04
31. Jacob Lambert – Austin Smith Carson-Newman University 220
Day 1: 5 17-03 Total: 5 17-03
32. Jack York – Jacob Miller Stephen F Austin State Universit 219
Day 1: 5 17-02 Total: 5 17-02
33. Tyler Campbell – Caleb Hudson Emmanuel College 218
Day 1: 5 17-01 Total: 5 17-01
34. Rob Lindsey – Mason Cizek Bryan College 217
Day 1: 5 16-13 Total: 5 16-13
35. Connor Nimrod – Jacob Andrews University of Louisiana Monroe 216
Day 1: 5 16-11 Total: 5 16-11
36. Drew Gill – Zebulon Frasure Wabash Valley College 215
Day 1: 5 16-10 Total: 5 16-10
37. Jackson Ebbers – Charlie DeShazer University of Nebraska-Lincoln 214
Day 1: 5 16-02 Total: 5 16-02
38. Gus Mclarry – Dawson Cassidy 213
Day 1: 5 16-00 Total: 5 16-00
39. Carter Ball – Austin Tapley Adrian College 212
Day 1: 5 15-15 Total: 5 15-15
40. Tyler Cory – Scott Sledge University of Montevallo 211
Day 1: 5 15-13 Total: 5 15-13
41. Kayden Tanner – Trevor Easter Tarleton State University 210
Day 1: 5 15-10 Total: 5 15-10
42. Carson Maddux – Jake Maddux Auburn University 209
Day 1: 5 15-09 Total: 5 15-09
42. Tommy Sendek – Andrew Howell University of Montevallo 209
Day 1: 5 15-09 Total: 5 15-09
44. Solomon Glenn – Ryan Thomas University of Montervallo 207
Day 1: 5 15-08 Total: 5 15-08
45. Robert Gee – Chase Dawson University of Tennessee 206
Day 1: 5 15-05 Total: 5 15-05
46. Blair Cox – Keegan Barber Missouri State University 0
Day 1: 5 15-02 Total: 5 15-02
47. Cole Breeden – Cameron Smith Drury University 204
Day 1: 5 14-15 Total: 5 14-15
48. Cole Rankin – Ewing Minor Carson-Newman University 203
Day 1: 5 14-14 Total: 5 14-14
49. Taylor Mazur – Keegan Witt St Cloud State University 202
Day 1: 5 14-13 Total: 5 14-13
50. Kollin Smith – Lilly Smith Emmanuel College 201
Day 1: 5 14-07 Total: 5 14-07
51. Harmon Marien – Devon Rathbun McKendree University 200
Day 1: 5 14-06 Total: 5 14-06
52. Joshua DeKoning – Dalton Mollenkopf Adrian College 199
Day 1: 5 14-04 Total: 5 14-04
53. Weston Hollar – Wesley Gore University of Montevallo 198
Day 1: 5 14-03 Total: 5 14-03
54. Trevor McKinney – Blake Jackson McKendree University 197
Day 1: 5 14-02 Total: 5 14-02
55. Jamesen Simion – Alex Strunk Bowling Green State 196
Day 1: 5 13-13 Total: 5 13-13
56. Brian Linder – Nathan Thompson Minnesota State – Mankato 195
Day 1: 5 13-12 Total: 5 13-12
57. Hunter Fillmore – Coleman Bingham Bethel University 194
Day 1: 5 13-10 Total: 5 13-10
58. Logan Anderson – Tyler Little North Carolina State University 193
Day 1: 5 13-09 Total: 5 13-09
58. Dalton Smith – Cade Hayford Campbellsville University 193
Day 1: 5 13-09 Total: 5 13-09
60. Logan Parks – Tucker Smith Auburn University 191
Day 1: 5 13-08 Total: 5 13-08
60. Chris Payne – Chad Sentell Tennessee 191
Day 1: 5 13-08 Total: 5 13-08
62. Lafe Messer – Matt Messer Kentucky Christian University 189
Day 1: 5 13-08 Total: 5 13-08
63. Ryan Park – Sam Niemeyer Murray State University 188
Day 1: 5 13-07 Total: 5 13-07
64. Cole Hopson – Phillip Green 187
Day 1: 5 13-07 Total: 5 13-07
65. Nathan Doty – Bailey Bleser McKendree University 186
Day 1: 5 13-05 Total: 5 13-05
65. Grayson Perkins – Luke Barrett 186
Day 1: 5 13-05 Total: 5 13-05
67. Blake Brashears – Tyler Stacy University of Kentucky 184
Day 1: 5 13-04 Total: 5 13-04
67. Jeremy Dellinger – Nathan Smith Catawba Valley Community College 184
Day 1: 5 13-04 Total: 5 13-04
69. Zach Salters – Jenson Kay Adrian College 182
Day 1: 5 13-04 Total: 5 13-04
69. Rudy Worley – John Nowlin Blue Mountain College 182
Day 1: 5 13-04 Total: 5 13-04
71. Bennett Kudder – Andrew Fisher Bryan College 180
Day 1: 5 13-02 Total: 5 13-02
72. Calvin Landsberg – Jack Palaia 179
Day 1: 5 13-01 Total: 5 13-01
73. Chase Clarke – Mitchell Peterson Auburn University 178
Day 1: 5 12-08 Total: 5 12-08
73. Brenton Godwin – Hunter Odom University of Montevallo 178
Day 1: 5 12-08 Total: 5 12-08
75. Braden Perry – Aidan England Carson-Newman University 176
Day 1: 5 12-07 Total: 5 12-07
75. Christian Wright – Conner Giles Bryan College 176
Day 1: 5 12-07 Total: 5 12-07
77. Jackson Staib – Baylor Howell Bethel University 174
Day 1: 5 12-06 Total: 5 12-06
78. Hunter Loftin – Mac Johnston-Herzberg Missouri State University 173
Day 1: 4 12-00 Total: 4 12-00
79. Mitchell Gunn – Kyle Kunst 172
Day 1: 5 11-15 Total: 5 11-15
79. Evan Thomas – Alex Briggs Liberty University 172
Day 1: 5 11-15 Total: 5 11-15
81. Britt Myers – Tyler Anderson Lander University 170
Day 1: 5 11-13 Total: 5 11-13
82. Cordell Beckman – Greenville University 169
Day 1: 4 11-06 Total: 4 11-06
83. Caleb Dachenhaus – Elliot Wielgopolski Adrian College 168
Day 1: 5 11-00 Total: 5 11-00
84. Ethan Jones – Joseph Bruener McKendree University 167
Day 1: 5 10-13 Total: 5 10-13
85. Easton Fothergill – Nick Dumke University of Montevallo 166
Day 1: 5 10-13 Total: 5 10-13
86. Ty Black – Avry Thomason Georgia Southern University 165
Day 1: 5 10-12 Total: 5 10-12
87. Cal Culpepper – Mason Waddell University of Montevallo 164
Day 1: 4 10-11 Total: 4 10-11
88. Spencer Black – Lucas Oliver Catawba Valley Community College 163
Day 1: 5 10-05 Total: 5 10-05
89. Hunter Waldrop – Mark Kershaw University of South Carolina Uni 162
Day 1: 5 10-03 Total: 5 10-03
90. Lane Bailey – Justin Eggers Catawba Valley Community College 161
Day 1: 5 10-02 Total: 5 10-02
91. Easton Lindus – Emmanuel College 160
Day 1: 4 10-00 Total: 4 10-00
92. Michael Postlewait – Andrew Rickman Dallas Baptist University 159
Day 1: 4 09-15 Total: 4 09-15
93. Connor Jacob – Sam Smith Auburn University 158
Day 1: 5 09-14 Total: 5 09-14
94. Connor Cartmell – Andrew Vereen Coastal Carolina University 157
Day 1: 5 09-12 Total: 5 09-12
95. Lucas Smith – Dalton Mize Jacksonville State University 156
Day 1: 4 09-12 Total: 4 09-12
96. Brad Ableman – Kyle Palmer Bethel University 155
Day 1: 5 09-10 Total: 5 09-10
96. Gunner Whitaker – Mitchell Johnson Kentucky Christian University 155
Day 1: 5 09-10 Total: 5 09-10
98. Brooks Anderson – Parker Guy Emmanuel College 153
Day 1: 4 09-10 Total: 4 09-10
99. Ryan Feehan – Perry Marvin Virginia Tech University 152
Day 1: 3 09-10 Total: 3 09-10
100. Garrett Thompson – Ethan Perry West Virginia University 151
Day 1: 5 09-07 Total: 5 09-07
101. Ty Mundhenke – Cam Busby Auburn University 150
Day 1: 5 09-00 Total: 5 09-00
102. Chase Carey – Dylan Akins Emmanuel College 149
Day 1: 5 08-14 Total: 5 08-14
102. Hunter Haraway – Malcolm Patton Calhoun Community College 149
Day 1: 5 08-14 Total: 5 08-14
104. Allex Conner – Grant Hack Ohio State University 147
Day 1: 2 08-11 Total: 2 08-11
105. Matt Baker – Kory England Arkansas Tech University 146
Day 1: 4 08-10 Total: 4 08-10
106. Louis Monetti – 145
Day 1: 3 08-08 Total: 3 08-08
107. Jack Dice – Liberty University 144
Day 1: 5 08-07 Total: 5 08-07
108. Cole Lamb – Tristan Weaver Arkansas Tech University 143
Day 1: 4 07-13 Total: 4 07-13
109. Tripp Bowman – Blakely Young Louisiana State University-Shrev 142
Day 1: 2 07-12 Total: 2 07-12
110. Caden Sweeten – Samuel Heichel Bemidji State 141
Day 1: 4 07-10 Total: 4 07-10
111. Aaron Cherry – Chandler Holt University of Montevallo 140
Day 1: 3 07-06 Total: 3 07-06
112. Kaleb Brown – Lander University 139
Day 1: 3 07-05 Total: 3 07-05
113. Brock Williams – Christopher Batts Ohio State University 138
Day 1: 5 06-04 Total: 5 06-04
114. Alden Keel Jr – Lake Norsworthy Blue Mountain College 137
Day 1: 2 06-01 Total: 2 06-01
115. Nate Lesch – Will Schibig Tennessee Tech University 136
Day 1: 3 04-15 Total: 3 04-15
116. Tanner Barnes – Jordan Smallwood Campbellsville University 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Bryar Chambers – Clent Blackwood Wallace State 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Cam Cornelius – Jordan Nicely Georgetown College 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Jacob Emery – Aaron Jagdfeld Adrian College 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Brady Harp – Garrett Warren Auburn University 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Benjamin Moore – David Gadd Eastern Kentucky University 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Chad Pruner – Ethan Ange 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Chase Sansom – Tyler Drown Marshall University 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Paul Tabisz – James Ge University of Michigan 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
116. Emil Wagner – William Perry Ole Miss 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00