LEESBURG, Fla. (Jan. 8, 2024) – The MLF High School Fishing team of Dylan Quilatan of Windermere, Florida, and Tommy Rust of Winter Springs, Florida, representing Club Florida, brought five bass to the scale Sunday weighing 29 pounds even to win the MLF Abu Garcia High School Fishing Presented by Tackle Warehouse Open at Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Florida.

A field of 38 teams competed in the no-entry fee tournament, which was hosted by Discover Lake County Florida. In MLF High School Fishing competition, the top 10 percent of teams competing advance to the High School Fishing National Championship.

The top three teams that advanced to the 2024 High School Fishing National Championship are:

1st: Club Florida – Dylan Quilatan, Windermere, Fla., and Tommy Rust, Winter Springs, Fla., five bass, 29-0
2nd: Alcoa Fishing Team, Alcoa, Tenn. – Walker Larue and Joe Vaulton, five bass, 17-8
3rd: Heard County High School, Franklin, Ga. – Blalock Eskew and Ellis Turner, five bass, 17-6

Rounding out the top 10 teams were:

4th: Covington Catholic High School, Park Hills, Ky. – Phoenix Parks and Brandon Smith, five bass, 14-1
5th: Central Florida Youth Anglers – Ryder Krueger, Myakka City, Fla., and Carson Yero, Lake Placid, Fla., five bass, 14-1
6th: Kaneland High School, Maple Park, Ill. – J.D. McBroom and Carter Pjesky, four bass, 11-2
7th: Lakeland Junior Hawg Hunters, Lakeland, Fla. – Jaxon Johnson and Brody Kauffman, five bass, 10-0
8th: Williston Middle High School, Williston, Fla. – Wylie North and Wyatt North, five bass, 9-4
9th: HS Potomac River Bass Master – Jarren Crowder, Clearspring, Md., and Zach Schrock, Williamsport, Md., five bass, 8-13
10th: Denmark High School, Alpharetta, Ga. – Diego Alea and Carson Taylor, four bass, 8-8

Complete results from the event can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

MLF Abu Garcia High School Fishing presented by Tackle Warehouse tournaments are free, two-person (team) events for students in grades 7-12 and are open to any MLF and TBF Student Angler Federation-affiliated high school club. The top 10 percent of teams at each Open event, along with the TBF High School Fishing state championships, advance to the High School Fishing National Championship. Tournaments held on or before May 6, 2024, advance teams to the 2024 National Championship. Tournaments held after May 6, 2024, advance teams to the 2025 National Championship.

The 2024 Abu Garcia High School Fishing National Championship & World Finals events will take place June 19-22, at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina. The High School Fishing National Champions each receive a $5,000 college scholarship to the school of their choice and advance to the 2024 MLF Toyota Series Championship to compete as co-anglers.

Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Abu Garcia High School Fishing Presented by Tackle Warehouse include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, E3, Epic Baits, General Tire, GSM Outdoors, Lew’s, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Suzuki, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota and YETI.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular High School Fishing updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 13 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.