Texas State Leads Going into Final Day

4/11/2010 6:21:19 PM

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (April 11, 2010) – The Texas State University team of Jay McCollum of Athens, Texas, and David Cosner of Austin, Texas, led the second day of the first National Guard FLW College Fishing National Championship on Fort Loudoun Lake Saturday after catching four bass weighing 9 pounds, 10 ounces for a two-day total of nine bass weighing 22 pounds, 13 ounces. The national championship, featuring a $100,000 first-place award, is a three-day nationally televised event hosting the top 25 teams in the country.

“The spot we got all our fish on yesterday did not produce today,” said McCollum, a senior agricultural business major. “Dinks moved in and the big fish moved out. We knew it was going to be a grind with this hot weather today. It got warmer quicker and we knew we had to adjust. We moved spots and moved to the right spot.”

Although the pair remained tight-lipped about their methods and locations they chose to fish, they did reveal a confidence going into the final day of competition with the lead.

“We feel pretty good,” said Cosner, a freshman. “I know anything’s possible on this lake. We’ve seen fish that are big. We’re just going to go out and stick with our game plan and dance with what’s brought us.”

When asked if they were confident about their success lasting into the final day of competition, Cosner said he was believed their pattern would hold up.

“We said that yesterday, too,” said McCollum. “We’re really good at overcoming adversity and really good at adjusting, so no matter what happens, top five in the nation ain’t bad.”

The remaining top five teams that made the cut to the final day of competition included:

2nd: University of Florida – Matthew Wercinski of Gainesville, Fla., and Jake Gipson of Niceville, Fla., (seven bass, 21-15)
3rd: Texas A&M – Andrew Shafer of Chadfield, Texas, and Paul Manley of Orange, Texas, (eight bass, 19-13)
4th: Auburn University – Dennis Parker of Prattville, Ala., and Shaye Baker of Reeltown, Ala., (seven bass, 17-12)
5th: Murray State University – Kalem Tippett of Murray, Ky., and Steve Miller of Lincolnshire, Ill., (six bass, 15-12)

The remaining top 10 teams included:

6th: Auburn University – Richard Peek and Caleb Rodgers, both of Centre, Ala., (eight bass, 15-0)
7th: Virginia Tech – Andrew Blevins of Pulaski, Va., and Carson Rejzer of Hampton, Va., (eight bass, 14-6)
8th: Ohio State – Kevin Moeller and Casey Hammann, both of Cincinnati, Ohio, (five bass, 13-10)
9th: Eastern Kentucky – Tyler Moberly of Berea, Ky., and Richard Cobb of Richmond, Ky., (six bass, 13-7)
10th: Indiana University – Jesse Schultz of New Albany, Ind., and Dustin Vaal of Saint Meinrad, Ind., (seven bass, 12-4)

A complete list of results can be found at: CollegeFishing.com.