JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Nathan Bell and Cole Sands of Bryan College vaulted into the winner’s circle at the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Eastern Regional presented by Bass Pro Shops on Cherokee Lake with a three-day total of 44 pounds, 4 ounces of bass.

Bell and Sands steadily climbed the leaderboard each day as they moved from fourth Thursday to third Friday and by day’s end today, to the top spot. The Tennessee duo caught a final day limit of 15-3 to take the title by a mere 10 ounces over Tennessee Tech University.

“We thought we lost this tournament in the final few minutes of the day,” Sands said. “I hooked a big one that went crazy at the boat and broke off. I thought for sure that would cost us.”

In the end, the lost smallmouth didn’t hurt their day as they ended on top after their fishing pattern paid dividends in the long run. Sands and Bell utilized a Carolina Rig when they targeted deep smallmouth bass, but it wasn’t the ordinary run-of-the-mill Carolina Rig.

“We downsized everything to get as many bites as possible,” the team said. “We used lighter line, a subtle Gary Yamamoto Senko as our plastic and a lighter rod to ensure we didn’t pull it away from the fish or put too much pressure on the lighter line.”

The Bryan College teammates weighed 15 smallmouth for the event and their average smallmouth was just slightly lighter than 3 pounds. They expected to catch some bass that size this week, but not on a Carolina Rig.

“We got on a stellar swimbait bite earlier in the week,” Bell said. “But with a high school tournament last week and a 160-boat field for the first two days of this event, we knew they would see plenty of that bait, so we threw something a little different. It really produced.”

Using a combination of maps and satellite photographs helped the team find their offshore structure on Cherokee. The lake has been low all winter and a lot of the satellite imaging shows off the plentiful bottom structure this fishery has. The Elite Series fished Cherokee Lake in February, but it was 25 feet lower than it is now, which put plenty of water on those prime spots.

“Cole used Google Earth and other maps and found some really good offshore structure,” Bell said. “One of those areas really produced quality (bass) for us this week. We used another area to fill our limit, and one or two spots to put above-average bass in the boat.”

The teammates overtook Tennessee Tech’s John Berry and Sam Carris, who held the lead the first two days but fell to second with only 12-3 on the final day. With a different wind direction, overcast skies and a lot of pressure on their areas, they caught more non-keepers on Saturday than any other day.

“They just didn’t bite for us today,” Berry said. “On Friday, we made key decisions that gave us 15-15, but today we missed out and didn’t make the correct decisions at the right time.”

They had primarily relied on a small swimbait when fishing deeper water this week, and that produced 31-7 over the first two days of competition, giving them a 2-pound edge over second place. Their familiarity with the lake told them to use the swimbait for smallmouth after an anticipated largemouth strategy failed to work.

“If you were to ask me when this event was announced, I would’ve said it would be dominated by largemouth with some smallmouth mixed in,” Berry said. “So it’s funny that I would be the one to weigh 15 smallmouth this week.”

“It’s not that the smallmouth were biting so good this week,” Carris said. “But rather, we expected the largemouth to bite a lot better.”

Taking third place were John Garrett and Brian Pahl of Bethel University with a total of 41-12. The 2016 National Championship runner-ups punched their ticket again to the championship again this year. Garrett was the 2017 College Series qualifier for the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.

Nick Hatfield and Corey Neece of Tusculum College finished fourth, and Sam Glenn and Tyler Spainhour of the University of North Carolina-Charlotte were fifth.

Glenn and Spainhour jumped from 10th to fifth on the final day thanks to the Nitro Big Bag of the event, which was 16 pounds of Cherokee Lake largemouth. They will receive at $250 Bass Pro Shops gift card for that honor.

The Big Bass Award of the event went to Jacob Foutz and Jake Lee of Bryan College for their 4-6 smallmouth from Friday.

The Livingston Lures Day 2 Leader Award of $500 went to Carris and Berry for holding the lead going into the final day.

The Top 21 teams advanced from the Eastern Regional and will now fish the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops later this summer. Teams which didn’t qualify will have one final shot during the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Wild Card presented by Bass Pro Shops at Lay Lake, Alabama, June 8-10.

The Economic Development Alliance of Jefferson County, Tenn. and Carson-Newman University hosted the event.

2017 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Title Sponsor: Carhartt

2017 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Presenting Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops

2017 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota

2017 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Premier Sponsors: Mercury, Shell Rotella, Triton Boats, Yamaha, Berkley, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Huk, Skeeter Boats, Humminbird

2017 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Supporting Sponsors: St. Croix Rods, ABU Garcia, Advance Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Livingston Lures, Dick Cepek Tires & Wheels, Lawrence, Costa, Shimano

About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 500,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), radio show (Bassmaster Radio), social media programs and events. For more than 45 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, Academy Sports + Outdoors B.A.S.S. Nation presented by Magellan, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Costa Bassmaster High School Series presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods, Toyota Bonus Bucks Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.

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Media Contact: JamieDay Matthews, 205-313-0945, [email protected] or Dave Precht, 205-313-0931, [email protected]

5/11/2017 – 5/13/2017

Cherokee Lake – Cherokee Lake Dam and TVA Boat Ramp – Dandridge, TN

STANDINGS BOATER DAY 3

Name # Fish # Live Lbs – Oz # Fish # Live Lbs – Oz

1 Nathan Bell – Cole Sands Bryan College 5 5 15- 3 15 15 44- 4

2 Sam Carris – John Berry Tennessee Tech University 5 5 12- 3 15 15 43-10

3 Brian Pahl – John Garrett Bethel University 5 5 12-13 15 15 41-12

4 Nick Hatfield – Corey Neece Tusculum College 5 5 14- 1 15 15 41- 9

5 Sam Glenn – Tyler Spainhour UNC Charlotte 5 5 16- 0 15 15 40-13

6 Lee Mattox – Anderson Aldag University of Alabama 5 5 12-13 15 15 40-13

7 Evan Owrey – KJ Queen Bethel University 5 5 12-15 15 15 39-12

8 Chase Chastain – Andrew Fisher Jacksonville State University 5 5 13- 5 15 15 38- 6

9 Jacob Foutz – Jake Lee Bryan College 5 5 10- 4 15 15 37-15

10 Qiurun Chen – Johns Hopkins University 5 5 13-10 15 15 37-13

11 Garrett Enders – Cody Huff Bethel University 3 3 8- 4 13 13 37-11

12 Dalton Price – Dylan Kear Bryan College 5 5 11-14 14 14 36- 0

13 Ryan Winchester – Tyler Black Bethel University 5 5 12- 1 15 15 35- 9

14 Jesse Erb – Gavin Oswalt University of Pittsburgh 5 5 11- 1 15 15 34-13

15 Gavyn Bridges – Dylan Anderson UT Chattanooga 5 5 8- 5 15 14 32-14

16 Justin St Onge – Ryan McLaughlin Haywood Community College 5 5 8-15 15 15 32-14

17 Tristan Thomas – Ty Johnston U. of North Georgia 4 3 8-14 14 12 32- 5

18 Carter McNeil – Cole Floyd Bethel University 3 3 7- 7 13 13 32- 1

19 Michael Fisher – Brandon Padilla Jacksonville State University 3 3 6-14 12 12 31- 1

20 Zakary Womack – Austin Elswick U. of Kentucky 3 3 5-15 13 13 30- 3

21 Matt Brown – DJ Barber Bryan College 1 1 2-12 11 11 26-10

22 Hunter Louden – Cully Scroggins Bethel University 10 10 23- 5

23 Nick Ratliff – Luke Patterson Campbellsville University 10 10 22-11

24 Hunter Fulcher – Andrew Day U. of Kentucky 9 9 22- 2

25 Kyler Chelminiak – Alec Piekarski Bethel University 9 9 21-13

26 Dakota Cantrell – Austin Moore Campbellsville University 10 10 21-10

27 Chase Farris – Levi Baker U. of North Georgia 9 9 20-14

28 Jake Rogers – Solomon Smith Alice Lloyd College 9 9 20- 4

29 Ethan Flack – University of Alabama 8 8 20- 0

30 Leslie Dunstan – Micahel Smallwood Auburn University 8 8 19-10

31 Dylan Fuller – Dalton Bradford UT Martin 8 8 19- 1

32 Logan Brewster – Ben Dodson U. of Tennessee 8 8 18-11

32 Cody Peak – Andrew Brown Mississippi State University 8 8 18-11

34 Casey Lanier – Nolan Minor West Virginia University 8 8 18- 5

35 Breanna Wyatt – Joseph Lacy Faulkner University 8 8 18- 1

36 Hunter Ward – Stewart Ward Central Alabama Comm College 9 9 17-10

37 Jonathan Peck – Hunter Thrasher Bryan College 7 7 17- 7

38 Bradley Lovings – Ryan Rainey UNC Greensboro 7 5 16-15

39 Saxton Long – Bradley Devaney University of Tennessee 7 7 16-14

40 Conner Fogg – Chandler Fogg Bryan College 7 7 16- 6

41 Reid Daniel – Ben Adams U. of North Georgia 7 7 16- 4

42 Trevor Lewis – Lucas Harrison Georgetown College 7 6 15-11

43 Ty Dyer – Ricky Harris Bethel University 7 7 15- 8

44 Spencer Guthrie – Kennesaw State University 7 7 15- 8

45 Jacob Blocker – Tennessee Tech University 6 6 15- 3

46 Ben Bates – Ethan Wolf University of Tennessee 6 6 14-13

47 Mark Moran – Zach Browning Glenville State College 6 6 14- 5

48 Joseph Sales – Tristan Stalsworth Carson Newman University 6 6 14- 3

49 Austin Weird – Levi Neathery Campbellsville University 6 6 14- 3

50 Ben Wiley – Colin Bope Ohio State University 9 9 14- 3

51 Cantley Krafft – Corey Smith Virginia Tech 6 6 13-15

52 Zeke Gossett – Hayden Bartee Jefferson State 7 7 13-15

53 Mason Sapp – Travis Hunt Campbellsville University 6 6 13-14

54 Jeremy McLaughlin – Johnathan Whitesell Ohio State University 6 6 13- 5

55 Denver Satterlee – Mitchell Gowen Calhoun Community College 7 7 13- 3

56 Wyatt Beavers – Brennan Holt University of Chattanooga 7 7 13- 1

57 Logan Courter – Ronnie Moore University of Tennessee 5 5 13- 0

58 Jacob Miller – Jaycen Newsome Ohio State University 6 6 12-10

59 GL Compton – Hunter Bond Clemson University 5 5 12- 9

60 Brady Bowden – Tyler Pennington Faulkner University 6 6 12- 8

61 Andrew Himmelreich – Harrison Barton Young Harris College 5 5 12- 7

62 Branden Newcome – Michael Shughart West Virginia University 6 6 11-11

63 Jason Ashe – Tyler Watts Western Carolina University 5 5 11-11

64 Caden Watson – Gavin Henley Tennessee Tech University 5 5 11- 9

65 Matt Pastino – Jerris Bush East Carolina University 5 5 11- 1

66 Robbie Moore – Dillon Falardeau UT Chattanooga 5 5 10-15

67 Dylan Jackson – Justin Anderson Virginia Commonwealth University 6 6 10-12

68 Ryan Worth – Andre Vicari Ramapo College 4 4 10- 7

69 Stephen Jesso – Tom Oranzi Penn State University 5 5 10- 3

70 Jalen Smith – Braden Marshall Bryan College 4 4 10- 3

71 Hunter Massie – Kirkland Price West Virginia University 6 6 10- 0

72 Robert Odum – Cole Bitler VA Tech 4 4 9-13

73 Luke Andress – Jeremy Willis U. of South Alabama 4 4 9-12

74 Joshua Boone – Tate Clements Eastern Kentucky University 5 4 9-12

75 Thomas Raines – Tyler Bailey West Virginia University 4 4 9- 5

76 Daniel Smathers – Zachary Bonnema Liberty University 5 4 9- 5

77 Benjamin Eipert – Logan Estes Eastern Kentucky University 4 4 8-14

78 Blake Miles – Xander Bradley James Madison University 4 4 8-14

79 Nathan Sheehan – Jesse Dodson U of Kentucky 4 4 8-13

80 Corban Rood – Jake McCracken Tusculum College 4 4 8- 8

81 Ryan Kennedy – Christian Cole Kennesaw State University 3 3 7-14

82 William Ray IV – Jerry Resor Western Carolina University 3 3 7-14

83 Dylan True – Matthew Lamastus UT Martin 3 3 7-10

84 Frank Lillig – Mohammad Sabouri Kennesaw State University 4 4 7- 9

85 Mitchell Jennings – Auburn University 4 4 7- 8

86 Seth Comer – Donovan Carson Bluefield State College 4 4 7- 8

87 Dylan Pritchett – Connor Thompson Bryan College 3 3 7- 7

88 Sean Murphy – Will Phillips Auburn University 3 3 7- 4

89 Carson Orellana – Strayer University 3 3 7- 3

90 Noah Shaver – Ryan Dixon UNC Charlotte 3 3 7- 3

91 Blake Riley – Kyle Muennich Eastern Kentucky University 3 3 7- 3

92 Trent Humber – Austin Tubbs University of West Alabama 4 4 7- 1

93 James Preston – Josh Oakley East Carolina University 3 3 7- 1

94 Michael Shelton – Trevor Sagrecy Campbellsville University 3 3 6-15

95 Alex Thornton – Wesley Carroll UNC Greensboro 4 4 6-15

96 John Teare – Ty Cutter Virginia Commonwealth University 3 3 6-13

97 Sam Smith – Ryan Edwards Wake Forest University 4 4 6-12

98 Adam Carman – Grant Adams Campbellsville University 3 3 6-11

99 Zachary Tallent – Jacob Crowe Western Carolina University 3 3 6-11

100 Connor Chapman – Jaron Deal Kennesaw State University 3 3 6- 6

101 Brandon Acker – Faulkner University 3 3 6- 3

102 Justin Mayfield – Colby Hays Campbellsville University 3 3 6- 0

103 Cameron Wilt – Alex Roahrig Ohio State University 2 2 5-15

104 Austin Finley – Central Alabama Community College 3 3 5-14

105 Zane Loveday – Caleb Fisk Calhoun Community College 2 2 5-13

106 Caleb Baker – Steven Petz Eastern Kentucky University 3 3 5-10

107 Ian Hardesty – Dakota Hanks Virginia Tech 2 2 5- 5

108 Ethan Raleigh – Austin Polly Morehead State University 3 3 5- 3

109 Chase Gardner – Will O’Rourke Georgetown College 2 2 5- 0

110 Jake Thompson – Tyler Dixon Virginia Tech 3 3 4-13

111 Derick Robinson – Travis Howard Tennessee Tech University 2 2 4-13

112 Reese Hudson – Derek Horner Penn State University 2 2 4-12

113 Ty Cox – Jake Houston Itawamba Community College 2 2 4-10

114 Channing Ledbetter – Josh Bean Tennessee Tech University 2 2 4-10

115 Zander Monk – Kolton Hawks UNC Charlotte 2 2 4- 6

116 Jacob Howard – Troy Moore East Carolina University 2 2 4- 2

117 Richie Young – Emmanuel College 2 2 3-12

118 Benjamin Hager – Trey Autry UNC Charlotte 2 2 3-11

119 Tripp Norris – Spence Hutcheson NC State University 2 1 3-10

120 Drew Coker – Alex Ciraulo U. of North Georgia 2 2 3- 9

121 Scott Ellis – Anthony Thorn University of Tennessee 2 2 3- 7

122 Josh Oliver – Ben Wall Auburn University 2 2 3- 4

123 Canon Smith – Nathaniel Burris UT Martin 1 1 3- 2

124 Joshua Fletcher – Bryson Peed East Carolina University 1 1 2-10

125 Grant Dilliah – Austin Conn University of Tennessee 1 1 2- 9

125 David Maples – Jordan Allen Virginia Tech 1 1 2- 9

127 Chance Rich – Hunter Presley Central Alabama Comm College 1 1 2- 5

128 Will Hammons – Eastern Kentucky University 1 1 2- 3

129 Weston Chandler – Chase Nye East Carolina University 1 1 2- 1

129 Cameron Moore – Jordan Ramey UT Martin 1 1 2- 1

131 Cody Hoenie – Tanner Metler Tennessee Tech University 1 1 1-13

132 Hunter Stewart – Cole Cloud U. of North Georgia 1 1 1-10

133 Benton Turner – Andrew Burnett University of Georgia 1 1 1- 9

134 Jordan Wise – Chris Phinney East Carolina University 1 0 1- 5

135 Jacob Boyd – Jack Crumpton Western Carolina University 1 1 0-14

136 Steven Ackart – Rob Hendrick Western Carolina University 0 0 0- 0

136 Will Brown – Will Nichols Jacksonville State University 0 0 0- 0

136 Miranda Carlton – Zach Woolworth UT Martin 0 0 0- 0

136 Zachary Castano – Aaron Sollenberger UNC Charlotte 0 0 0- 0

136 Cody Chambers – Blake Milner U. of North Georgia 0 0 0- 0

136 Dalton Childers – Peyton Wates Auburn University 0 0 0- 0

136 Tyler Collins – Heath Alread Kennesaw State University 0 0 0- 0

136 Parker Davis – University of North Alabama 0 0 0- 0

136 Caleb Dennis – Tripp Hodges Central Alabama Comm College 0 0 0- 0

136 Michael Elkins – Justin Lane U. of North Alabama 0 0 0- 0

136 Isaac Hillard – Chase Dawson University of Tennessee 0 0 0- 0

136 Jase Jackson – Jacob Matthew Tennessee Tech University 0 0 0- 0

136 Andrew Johnson – Jonathan Krause Liberty University 0 0 0- 0

136 Dustan Jones – Andrew Greene U. of Kentucky 0 0 0- 0

136 Tanner Jordan – Corey Elliott Eastern Kentucky University 0 0 0- 0

136 Luke Mason – Matthew Reyer U. of North Alabama 0 0 0- 0

136 Brody McWilliams – Tristain Gold Indiana University 0 0 0- 0

136 Justin Melson – Kyle Winstead UT Martin 0 0 0- 0

136 Heath Mitchell – U. of North Georgia 0 0 0- 0

136 Gerald Ramsey – Adam Powell Haywood Community College 0 0 0- 0

136 Junior Roberts – Eldridge Motley VA Tech 0 0 0- 0

136 Dalton Scales-Conklin – Mason Baker Morehead State University 0 0 0- 0

136 Colby Shope – Joshua Barrett Western Carolina University 0 0 0- 0

136 Grayson Wages – Blake Miner Kennesaw State University 0 0 0- 0

136 Jonathon Wilburn – Dylan Sanders Northeast Alabama Community College 0 0 0- 0

BIG BASS

Day Name City,State Lbs-Oz

1 Evan Owrey – KJ Queen Jackson, TN 4- 4

2 Jacob Foutz – Jake Lee Charleston, TN 4- 6

3 Sam Glenn – Tyler Spainhour Greensboro, NC 4- 1