They’re in.
One Pennsylvania school and two from West Virginia were among 10 to qualify teams for the FLW College Fishing National Championship, which will be held next spring at a site to be announced later.
Competing there will be the Penn State University team of Matt Bakewell of Brownsville and Tyler Smith of Pine Grove, as well as one team from Fairmont State University and one from West Virginia University.
All moved on via their showings at the recent FLW Northern Conference Championship. It was held on the Chesapeake Bay on Sept. 12.
The top 10 teams there advanced.
A team from Rampano College won the tournament. But Bakewell and Smith finished third, with a five-bass limit weighing 15 pounds, 10 ounces. That won $1,000 for their school’s club.
Fairmont State finished sixth, West Virginia ninth.
A few other teams with local ties fell short, however.
Three at least weighed in fish. The Slippery Rock University team of Kyle Brown of Wexford and Tyler Sheppard of Hermitage finished 25th, while Penn State’s Lance Brosious of Sunbury and Derek Horner Port Matilda finished 27th. Slippery Rock’s Joel Hixon of Butler and Evan Kretz of Pittsburgh finished 30th.
Getting shut out completely were the Penn State team of Sean Cummins of Huntingdon and Maurice Hudson Jr. of Broomall and the University of Dayton team of Robert Petrick of Pittsburgh and Sam Tunnacliffe of West Chester, Ohio.
The winners of the national championship win big money, with the top individual angler earning a spot in the Forrest Wood Cup, FLW’s top professional championship.
