Kyle and Kale Hilligoss place 2nd of 115 boats at OBN Season Opener

/

The Charles Page High School  fishing teams got off to a great start this weekend at the Oklahoma Bass Nation Season Opener on Lake Tenkiller. Two teams finished in the top five on Saturday and several had impressive performances both Saturday and Sunday. 

115 boats signed up for the first and second trail events of the year. The two-day event counts as two separate tournaments towards the trail standings.

The sport is sponsored by Bassmaster and is not officially recognized by the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association (OSSAA). Sand Springs Public Schools does not provide funding for the teams, who rely on private sponsorships to pay for tournament entry, equipment, and supplies. Each team consists of two student anglers and one adult coach/pilot. 

Kyle and Kale Hilligoss were Saturday's runners-up with four fish weighing 10.73 pounds, just 0.08 pounds behind the winners from Noble. The performance was the best of their BASS career, beating a 6th place finish at a tournament in June by 0.27 pounds. Not far behind the Hilligosses was Reese David and Mack Taylor with three fish weighing 5.44 pounds for a fifth place finish in their career debut. Braden Millican and Ty Steelman placed 31st on Saturday with one fish weighing 2.34 pounds, Seth Kearns and Cole Scott placed 36th with one fish weighing 2.06 pounds.

Millican and Steelman led on Sunday with two fish weighing four pounds for 12th place, followed by the Hilligosses with a 3.19 pound fish for 14th place. Taylor and David caught one fish weighing 2.11 pounds for 29th place, Hunter Hilger and Noah Daczewitz caught a 1.61 pound fish for 39th place, Kearns and Scott caught a 1.49 pound fish for 40th place, and John Miller and Caden Pennington caught a 1.13 pound fish for 46th place. 

Team Hilligoss sits in third place in the State standings, followed by Taylor/David in ninth, Millican/Steelman in thirteenth, Keans/Scott in 24th, Hilger/Daczewitz in 60th, and Miller/Pennington in 71st.

The next OBN event won't be held until May 5th with another two-day, two-tournament weekend on Lake Texoma.

Sand Springs High School bass teams place top ten at Ft. Gibson Tournament

/

SUBMITTED

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

All three Charles Page High School fishing teams traveled to Fort Gibson this weekend for the last leg of the Oklahoma Bass Nation High School Trail. The lake hosted two back-to-back single day tournaments to conclude the regular season.

SUBMITTED: Hilger (left) and Daczewitz (right) are sponsored by True Smile Orthodontics, American Crating Company, Economy Lumber, Cust-o-Fab, Keystone Chevrolet, Air Solutions, Whitey's Pawn, Woody's Bait & Tackle, Danny's Auto Repair, and A1 Rental.

Braden Millican and Ty Steelman placed eighth in the first tournament with four fish weighing a total 9.41 pounds. The largest weighed in at 3.59 pounds. Noah Daczewitz and Hunter Hilger came in at ninth place with two fish weighing 6.39 pounds total. Their largest was 4.52 pounds. Caden Pennington and John Miller tied for last place after failing to land a catch. It was a rough day all around as only five of the thirty teams in the competition hauled in the full five-fish limit. Ten teams didn't land a single fish. 

SUBMITTED: Pennington (left) and Miller (right).

The Day Two tournament wasn't much better for the Sandites. Daczewitz and Hilger fared well for the second day in a row, coming in eleventh with three fish totaling 7.21 pounds, but the other two teams had a far rougher time. Miller and Pennington landed one fish at a solid 3.75 pounds for nineteenth place, but Millican and Steelman were unable to replicate their prior day's success. Team Three had several bites, according to Coach Bradley Millican, but three big ones slipped the hook right at the boat. 

Daczewitz and Hilger finished the regular season ninth in the state out of 42 teams with 357 points. Central Oklahoma's Keenom and Knoch finished with the top rank at 392 points and will get to travel to the National Championship this summer. The Sand Springs First Team participated in all five tournaments this season and placed fifteenth at Lake Eufala, twelfth at Lake Murray, and twenty-eighth at Lake Texoma.

SUBMITTED: Steelman (left) and Millican (right) are sponsored by Colburn Electric, A&M Baits, Basskwondo, New Wave Plastics, Lews, and Bison Coolers. 

Miller and Pennington finished the season sixteenth in the state with 291 points. They missed the Eufala Tournament due to mechanical problems, but placed fifteenth at Murray and a very impressive fourth place at Texoma. 

Team Three had a rough time this season as they missed the first three tournaments due to conflicts with baseball season and ultimately placed thirty-sixth. Millican and Steelman had a solid debut in the first Ft. Gibson Tournament, but would have needed to place first both days just to finish in the top 25. 

The State Championship Tournament will be held on June 25, 2016 at Lake Keystone and all three teams will be competing. 

CPHS hosts first annual Sandite Bass Classic

/
Noah Daczewitz (left) and Hunter Hilger (right) won 1st place as a team.

Noah Daczewitz (left) and Hunter Hilger (right) won 1st place as a team.

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School hosted its first fishing contest Thursday evening, drawing seventeen teams of two, and two solo participants. The event was a kind of launching pad for the new Sand Springs High School Bass Club which was started this school year.

John Miller (left) and Caden Pennington (right) comprise Team Two. \\SUBMITTED

Noah Daczewitz (15) and Hunter Hilger (14) formed the first team at CPHS and have since been joined by two others. John Miller plus Caden Pennington make up Team Two and Braden Millican and Ty Steelman comprise Team Three. 

The teams compete on the Oklahoma Bass Nation High School Trail, which consists of five tournaments. Teams are awarded points based on their finish in each tournament, and the top team will advance to the 2016 Bass Nation High School National Championship this summer. 

While the club is officially recognized by the school, it does not receive funding and relies on sponsorship from local businesses like Keystone Chevrolet and Woody's Bait and Tackle.  

The first official OBN event was held at Lake Eufala last October. Team One managed just one catch, weighing in at 3.77 pounds and placed 15th.

Ty Steelman (left) and Braden Millican (right) comprise CPHS Bass Team Three. \\SUBMITTED

Earlier this month Teams One and Two placed 12th and 15th respectively at Lake Murray on April 3rd, and immediately followed it up with a tournament at Lake Texoma on April 4th. Team One was hung up with mechanical difficulties, but Team Two performed excellently with a fourth place finish.

Both teams at the Lake Murray Tournament caught the five fish limit, with Team One weighing in at 11.91 pounds, with the largest fish weighing 2.82. Team Two weighed in at 9.47 with the largest weighing 2.51.

At Lake Texoma Team One only managed one catch, weighing 2.15 pounds, before they were forced out of the competition in 28th place. Miller and Pennington soared to fourth with five fish totaling 10.88 pounds, the largest being 2.74.

The latest standing were released earlier this month and Team One sits at 13th with 248 points, with Team Two coming in at 22nd with 183 points. 

Brock Youngblood tied with Daczewitz for biggest bass at 20.5 inches. \\SUBMITTED

All three teams were supposed to participate in an event on Grand Lake but it was called off due to hazardous wind conditions. The next tournament will be at Ft. Gibson from May 14-15 and it will be Team Three's first official appearance. 

There's no limit to the number of teams a school can have. All teams consist of two student anglers and one adult captain, and boats must meet strict safety regulations outlined by the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society.

The Sandite Bass Classic had a two fish limit and was judged by length, not weight. Daczewitz and Hilger took first place at 40.25 inches, followed by Brock Youngblood and Riley Rutledge at 36.5." 

Youngblood and Daczewitz tied in the Big Bass competition at 20.5 inches. Overall there were 36 contestants in the competition. Assistant Principle Rod Sitton did the presenting of the awards. Also on hand were Principle Stan Trout and Mayor Mike Burdge. Photos from the weigh-in ceremony are available at https://sanditepride.smugmug.com/1st-Annual-Sandite-Bass/