Two local anglers went up against the best in the country this week in LaCrosse, Wisconsin at the High School Fishing National Championship.
The team of Noah Nguyen and Tyler Peterson (both of Heritage High School and the East County Student Anglers Club) ended up being the top California team over the 4-day tournament and took 11th in National Championship with Greg Sallee as their boat captain.
The event featured 393 teams of anglers around the country hosted by the the Student Anglers Federation and Major Fishing League.
As the top California team, it means $160k in College Scholarships – $80k per student (20 x 4 years x 2) if they choose to continue their fishing into college at Simpson University once they graduate.
The pair ended Day 1 sitting in 2nd out of 393 teams with a total weight of 11.02 lbs. but had a rough day 2 at 7.9 lbs. placing them in 11th place, just 5 oz shy of 10th place to continue for the National championship. The top 10 advanced to Day 3. However, they did advance to World Semifinals as they were the top California team.
In April, Nguyen and Peterson won the MLF High School Fishing Open on the California Delta which launched out of Russo’s Marina on Bethel Island. The pair beat out 32 other teams to advance to the High School Fishing National Championships.
MLF High School Fishing Presented by Favorite Fishing 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% of teams at each Open event, along with the TBF High School Fishing state championships, will advance to the 2023 High School Fishing National Championship. The 2023 MLF High School Fishing National Championship will be held on the Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisconsin, June 20-24, and is hosted by Explore La Crosse.
The High School Fishing National Champions will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship to the school of their choice and advance to the 2023 MLF Toyota Series Championship to compete as co-anglers.
