Bethel University Claims Day 1 Lead At Bassmaster College Series National Championship

Tristan McCormick and Stevie Mills of Bethel University are leading after Day 1 of the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops at the St. Lawrence River with 24 pounds, 9 ounces. 

                                                                                                                                                   Photo by Dalton Tumblin/B.A.S.S.

August 12, 2021

Bethel University Claims Day 1 Lead At Bassmaster College Series National Championship

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WADDINGTON, N.Y. — With the help of a 6-pound smallmouth, the Bethel University duo of Tristan McCormick and Stevie Mills caught a five-bass limit that weighed 24 pounds, 9 ounces to claim the Day 1 lead at the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops at the St. Lawrence River.

McCormick and Mills hold a 13-ounce lead over the second-place team of Hunter Bond and GL Compton from Clemson University.

“Our main goal was to go out there and have fun and let the chips fall where they may,” McCormick said. “It was unbelievable. It was a superblessed day. The Lord works in mysterious ways because the last thing we expected was to do that. We are superexcited to get back out there tomorrow and see what happens.”

During their official practice time, Mills and McCormick caught plenty of 2-pound fish in a specific area but had no confidence heading into the event that they would be able to catch big ones.

So, when they reached the area Thursday, they were pleasantly surprised to find the quality had improved.

“We caught two pretty quickly, 2 1/2-pounders, and then we caught a big one. And then it went to chaos after that,” McCormick said. “We said last night that there had to be some big ones mixed in because every time we caught one I would scan the forward-facing sonar over there and see 10 with it. It was just a matter of putting the bait in front of the bigger ones.”

During their flurry, Mill estimates they caught between 15 to 20 fish.

“Just about every time we dropped down we were getting a bite,” he said. “I think those fish were posted up there, hugging the bottom. If both of our baits got around them, it didn’t matter if they were 2 inches away or 20, they were getting it.

While the current interfered with the effectiveness of their forward-facing sonar initially, it played a big factor when they did hook a bass.

“The biggest thing is when he hooked one, I would scan the sonar over to see if there were any following it,” McCormick said. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, you can flick another bait over there and catch one of the followers, and we did that a bunch.”

Hailing from Kentucky Lake, Mills said that while his home lake has current, the St. Lawrence River is a whole different experience.

“You have current at Kentucky Lake, but this is all natural and it is always flowing,” Mills said. “That’s why these fish are as strong as they are. We don’t ever get to fish anywhere like this where you get to see 20 feet down. I like it a lot.”

After suffering through a slow morning, Compton and Bond finished Day 1 with 23-12 and anchored their bag with a 5-0 smallmouth.

“We stopped on some places we thought we would get some bites and some big bites,” Compton said. “We kept moving around to our different areas and we finally landed on a good group of fish around 11 (o’clock).”

Knowing the smallmouth had finished spawning, Bond said he and Compton focused on current seams. They found several different areas in practice and after hooking up with one or two bass in a spot, they would move to different water.

“Every day we had a consistent 16 or so pounds,” Bond said. “We weren’t trying to use up every one of our spots. We went to those spots and just hoped one of them had the fish there, and we hope they are there tomorrow as well.”

While they had never fished the St. Lawrence River before, Compton said they had been able to fish a couple of different smallmouth events that helped them prepare for this event.

“Hopefully we can keep the ball rolling tomorrow,” Compton said. “But nothing is guaranteed.”

With 22-14, the Adrian College duo of Hayden Scott and Griffin Fernandes landed in third place. After failing to catch a fish over 4 pounds in practice, they landed a 6-0 smallmouth to anchor their Day 1 bag.

“We had a shoal we were fishing that we got bit on in practice and never really got a big bite. He hooked a 4 1/2-pounder. We had just netted it and I picked up my rod to make sure it didn’t get sucked into the trolling motor on Spot-Lock.

“It was loaded up so I assumed it was stuck in the prop, and I started catching up to it and realized it started going to the other side of the boat. It came up and laid on its side.”

With a goal of 18 pounds for the day, Scott and Fernandes caught a couple of smaller keepers before figuring out how to entice the bigger bites.

“We knew we were around fish and so we stuck with it,” Scott said. “The first three spots we caught a couple of keepers and then all of a sudden it clicked. Later in the day, we still had a couple of little ones and then boom, back-to-back 4-pounders and we are right in it.”

The duo is rotating between several different deeper shoals, with current and wind direction making a big difference.

“We know there are fish on all of them, they just have these feeding windows and we hope to pull up on the right one when that school is eating,” Fernandes said.

Tripp Bowman and Blakely Young from Louisiana State University-Shreveport had the Carhartt Big Bass of the Day with a 6-10.

The full field will compete again Friday, taking off at 6:30 a.m. ET from Whittaker Park and returning for weigh-in at 2:30 p.m. The Top 12 at the conclusion of Day 2 will advance to Championship Saturday.

The Top 3 after the final day will punch their tickets to the College Classic Bracket, where the top finisher will earn a berth into the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk.

This week’s tournament is being hosted by the Village of Waddington, St. Lawrence County Chamber and Clarkson University. The tournament is also supported by a Market New York grant from I LOVE NY/New York State’s Division of Tourism awarded as part of the Regional Economic Development Council initiative. The tournament and all associated festivities are being planned to ensure the safety of athletes, staff and guests.

2021 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops 8/12-8/14St. Lawrence River, Waddington  NY.(BOATER) Standings Day 1

    Angler                                       Club/School                       Pts

1.  Tristan McCormick – Stevie Mills             Bethel University                   250Day 1: 5   24-09   Total:   5  24-092.  Hunter Bond – GL Compton                     Clemson University                  249Day 1: 5   23-12   Total:   5  23-123.  Hayden Scott – Griffin Fernandes             Adrian College                      248Day 1: 5   22-14   Total:   5  22-144.  James Gillis – Craig Beucler                 Clarkson University                 247Day 1: 5   21-09   Total:   5  21-095.  Jack Tindell – Brett Fregia                  Lamar State College Orange          246Day 1: 5   21-07   Total:   5  21-076.  Jacob Woods – Samuel Vandagriff              Tennessee Tech University           245Day 1: 5   21-00   Total:   5  21-007.  Adam Puckett – Brendan Bingham               Murray State University             244Day 1: 5   20-13   Total:   5  20-138.  Cole Holloway – Taylor Mcmullen              Emmanuel College                    243Day 1: 5   20-02   Total:   5  20-029.  Joe McClosky – Ryan Winchester               Bethel University                   242Day 1: 5   20-01   Total:   5  20-0110. Grayson Morris –                             University of Montevalllo           241Day 1: 5   19-09   Total:   5  19-0911. Daelyn Whaley – Cy Casey                     Emmanuel College                    240Day 1: 5   19-06   Total:   5  19-0612. Peyton McCord – Caleb Whitehurst             Auburn University                   239Day 1: 5   19-02   Total:   5  19-0213. Colin Slentz – Evan Slentz                   Lander University                   238Day 1: 5   18-14   Total:   5  18-1414. Hunter Baird – Beau Browning                 Drury University                    237Day 1: 5   18-10   Total:   5  18-1015. Andrew Harp – John Higginbotham              Louisiana Tech University           236Day 1: 5   18-09   Total:   5  18-0916. Tyler Christy – Trey Schroeder               McKendree University                235Day 1: 5   18-05   Total:   5  18-0517. Ben Cully – Hayden Gaddis                    Carson-Newman University            234Day 1: 5   18-04   Total:   5  18-0418. James Willoughby – Chance Schwartz           University of Montevallo            233Day 1: 5   18-01   Total:   5  18-0119. Sam Hanggi – Sam Hoesley                     Auburn University                   232Day 1: 5   17-15   Total:   5  17-1520. Kyle Simmons – Brett Halstead                Kansas State University             231Day 1: 5   17-13   Total:   5  17-1321. Tyler Vanbrandt – Jarrod Layton              Adrian College                      230Day 1: 5   17-12   Total:   5  17-1222. Conner Crosby – James Cobbs                  Auburn University                   229Day 1: 5   17-11   Total:   5  17-1123. Dante Piraino – Hunter Stone                 Clarkson University                 228Day 1: 5   17-11   Total:   5  17-1124. Robert Cruvellier – Sam Harvey               Auburn University                   227Day 1: 5   17-10   Total:   5  17-1025. Pierce Knarr – Ryan Lowe                     University of Iowa                  226Day 1: 5   17-09   Total:   5  17-0925. Mason Phillpotts – Drake Shipman                                                 226Day 1: 5   17-09   Total:   5  17-0925. Jackson Swisher – Seth Slanker               Florida Gateway College             226Day 1: 5   17-09   Total:   5  17-0928. Austin Carr – Justin Carr                                                        223Day 1: 5   17-08   Total:   5  17-0829. Reagan Nelson – Caden Cowan                  Tarleton State University           222Day 1: 5   17-08   Total:   5  17-0830. Tyler Lubbat – Hayden O’barr                                                     221Day 1: 5   17-04   Total:   5  17-0431. Jacob Lambert – Austin Smith                 Carson-Newman University            220Day 1: 5   17-03   Total:   5  17-0332. Jack York – Jacob Miller                     Stephen F Austin State Universit    219Day 1: 5   17-02   Total:   5  17-0233. Tyler Campbell – Caleb Hudson                Emmanuel College                    218Day 1: 5   17-01   Total:   5  17-0134. Rob Lindsey – Mason Cizek                    Bryan College                       217Day 1: 5   16-13   Total:   5  16-1335. Connor Nimrod – Jacob Andrews                University of Louisiana Monroe      216Day 1: 5   16-11   Total:   5  16-1136. Drew Gill – Zebulon Frasure                  Wabash Valley College               215Day 1: 5   16-10   Total:   5  16-1037. Jackson Ebbers – Charlie DeShazer            University of Nebraska-Lincoln      214Day 1: 5   16-02   Total:   5  16-0238. Gus Mclarry – Dawson Cassidy                                                     213Day 1: 5   16-00   Total:   5  16-0039. Carter Ball – Austin Tapley                  Adrian College                      212Day 1: 5   15-15   Total:   5  15-1540. Tyler Cory – Scott Sledge                    University of Montevallo            211Day 1: 5   15-13   Total:   5  15-1341. Kayden Tanner – Trevor Easter                Tarleton State University           210Day 1: 5   15-10   Total:   5  15-1042. Carson Maddux – Jake Maddux                  Auburn University                   209Day 1: 5   15-09   Total:   5  15-0942. Tommy Sendek – Andrew Howell                 University of Montevallo            209Day 1: 5   15-09   Total:   5  15-0944. Solomon Glenn – Ryan Thomas                  University of Montervallo           207Day 1: 5   15-08   Total:   5  15-0845. Robert Gee – Chase Dawson                    University of Tennessee             206Day 1: 5   15-05   Total:   5  15-0546. Blair Cox – Keegan Barber                    Missouri State University             0Day 1: 5   15-02   Total:   5  15-0247. Cole Breeden – Cameron Smith                 Drury University                    204Day 1: 5   14-15   Total:   5  14-1548. Cole Rankin – Ewing Minor                    Carson-Newman University            203Day 1: 5   14-14   Total:   5  14-1449. Taylor Mazur – Keegan Witt                   St Cloud State University           202Day 1: 5   14-13   Total:   5  14-1350. Kollin Smith – Lilly Smith                   Emmanuel College                    201Day 1: 5   14-07   Total:   5  14-0751. Harmon Marien – Devon Rathbun                McKendree University                200Day 1: 5   14-06   Total:   5  14-0652. Joshua DeKoning – Dalton Mollenkopf          Adrian College                      199Day 1: 5   14-04   Total:   5  14-0453. Weston Hollar – Wesley Gore                  University of Montevallo            198Day 1: 5   14-03   Total:   5  14-0354. Trevor McKinney – Blake Jackson              McKendree University                197Day 1: 5   14-02   Total:   5  14-0255. Jamesen Simion – Alex Strunk                 Bowling Green State                 196Day 1: 5   13-13   Total:   5  13-1356. Brian Linder – Nathan Thompson               Minnesota State – Mankato           195Day 1: 5   13-12   Total:   5  13-1257. Hunter Fillmore – Coleman Bingham            Bethel University                   194Day 1: 5   13-10   Total:   5  13-1058. Logan Anderson – Tyler Little                North Carolina State University     193Day 1: 5   13-09   Total:   5  13-0958. Dalton Smith – Cade Hayford                  Campbellsville University           193Day 1: 5   13-09   Total:   5  13-0960. Logan Parks – Tucker Smith                   Auburn University                   191Day 1: 5   13-08   Total:   5  13-0860. Chris Payne – Chad Sentell                   Tennessee                           191Day 1: 5   13-08   Total:   5  13-0862. Lafe Messer – Matt Messer                    Kentucky Christian University       189Day 1: 5   13-08   Total:   5  13-0863. Ryan Park – Sam Niemeyer                     Murray State University             188Day 1: 5   13-07   Total:   5  13-0764. Cole Hopson – Phillip Green                                                      187Day 1: 5   13-07   Total:   5  13-0765. Nathan Doty – Bailey Bleser                  McKendree University                186Day 1: 5   13-05   Total:   5  13-0565. Grayson Perkins – Luke Barrett                                                   186Day 1: 5   13-05   Total:   5  13-0567. Blake Brashears – Tyler Stacy                University of Kentucky              184Day 1: 5   13-04   Total:   5  13-0467. Jeremy Dellinger – Nathan Smith              Catawba Valley Community College    184Day 1: 5   13-04   Total:   5  13-0469. Zach Salters – Jenson Kay                    Adrian College                      182Day 1: 5   13-04   Total:   5  13-0469. Rudy Worley – John Nowlin                    Blue Mountain College               182Day 1: 5   13-04   Total:   5  13-0471. Bennett Kudder – Andrew Fisher               Bryan College                       180Day 1: 5   13-02   Total:   5  13-0272. Calvin Landsberg – Jack Palaia                                                   179Day 1: 5   13-01   Total:   5  13-0173. Chase Clarke – Mitchell Peterson             Auburn University                   178Day 1: 5   12-08   Total:   5  12-0873. Brenton Godwin – Hunter Odom                 University of Montevallo            178Day 1: 5   12-08   Total:   5  12-0875. Braden Perry – Aidan England                 Carson-Newman University            176Day 1: 5   12-07   Total:   5  12-0775. Christian Wright – Conner Giles              Bryan College                       176Day 1: 5   12-07   Total:   5  12-0777. Jackson Staib – Baylor Howell                Bethel University                   174Day 1: 5   12-06   Total:   5  12-0678. Hunter Loftin – Mac Johnston-Herzberg        Missouri State University           173Day 1: 4   12-00   Total:   4  12-0079. Mitchell Gunn – Kyle Kunst                                                       172Day 1: 5   11-15   Total:   5  11-1579. Evan Thomas – Alex Briggs                    Liberty University                  172Day 1: 5   11-15   Total:   5  11-1581. Britt Myers – Tyler Anderson                 Lander University                   170Day 1: 5   11-13   Total:   5  11-1382. Cordell Beckman –                            Greenville University               169Day 1: 4   11-06   Total:   4  11-0683. Caleb Dachenhaus – Elliot Wielgopolski       Adrian College                      168Day 1: 5   11-00   Total:   5  11-0084. Ethan Jones – Joseph Bruener                 McKendree University                167Day 1: 5   10-13   Total:   5  10-1385. Easton Fothergill – Nick Dumke               University of Montevallo            166Day 1: 5   10-13   Total:   5  10-1386. Ty Black – Avry Thomason                     Georgia Southern University         165Day 1: 5   10-12   Total:   5  10-1287. Cal Culpepper – Mason Waddell                University of Montevallo            164Day 1: 4   10-11   Total:   4  10-1188. Spencer Black – Lucas Oliver                 Catawba Valley Community College    163Day 1: 5   10-05   Total:   5  10-0589. Hunter Waldrop – Mark Kershaw                University of South Carolina Uni    162Day 1: 5   10-03   Total:   5  10-0390. Lane Bailey – Justin Eggers                  Catawba Valley Community College    161Day 1: 5   10-02   Total:   5  10-0291. Easton Lindus –                              Emmanuel College                    160Day 1: 4   10-00   Total:   4  10-0092. Michael Postlewait – Andrew Rickman          Dallas Baptist University           159Day 1: 4   09-15   Total:   4  09-1593. Connor Jacob – Sam Smith                     Auburn University                   158Day 1: 5   09-14   Total:   5  09-1494. Connor Cartmell – Andrew Vereen              Coastal Carolina University         157Day 1: 5   09-12   Total:   5  09-1295. Lucas Smith – Dalton Mize                    Jacksonville State University       156Day 1: 4   09-12   Total:   4  09-1296. Brad Ableman – Kyle Palmer                   Bethel University                   155Day 1: 5   09-10   Total:   5  09-1096. Gunner Whitaker – Mitchell Johnson           Kentucky Christian University       155Day 1: 5   09-10   Total:   5  09-1098. Brooks Anderson – Parker Guy                 Emmanuel College                    153Day 1: 4   09-10   Total:   4  09-1099. Ryan Feehan – Perry Marvin                   Virginia Tech University            152Day 1: 3   09-10   Total:   3  09-10100. Garrett Thompson – Ethan Perry               West Virginia University            151Day 1: 5   09-07   Total:   5  09-07101. Ty Mundhenke – Cam Busby                     Auburn University                   150Day 1: 5   09-00   Total:   5  09-00102. Chase Carey – Dylan Akins                    Emmanuel College                    149Day 1: 5   08-14   Total:   5  08-14102. Hunter Haraway – Malcolm Patton              Calhoun Community College           149Day 1: 5   08-14   Total:   5  08-14104. Allex Conner – Grant Hack                    Ohio State University               147Day 1: 2   08-11   Total:   2  08-11105. Matt Baker – Kory England                    Arkansas Tech University            146Day 1: 4   08-10   Total:   4  08-10106. Louis Monetti –                                                                  145Day 1: 3   08-08   Total:   3  08-08107. Jack Dice –                                  Liberty University                  144Day 1: 5   08-07   Total:   5  08-07108. Cole Lamb – Tristan Weaver                   Arkansas Tech University            143Day 1: 4   07-13   Total:   4  07-13109. Tripp Bowman – Blakely Young                 Louisiana State University-Shrev    142Day 1: 2   07-12   Total:   2  07-12110. Caden Sweeten – Samuel Heichel                Bemidji State                      141Day 1: 4   07-10   Total:   4  07-10111. Aaron Cherry – Chandler Holt                 University of Montevallo            140Day 1: 3   07-06   Total:   3  07-06112. Kaleb Brown –                                Lander University                   139Day 1: 3   07-05   Total:   3  07-05113. Brock Williams – Christopher Batts           Ohio State University               138Day 1: 5   06-04   Total:   5  06-04114. Alden Keel Jr – Lake Norsworthy              Blue Mountain College               137Day 1: 2   06-01   Total:   2  06-01115. Nate Lesch – Will Schibig                    Tennessee Tech University           136Day 1: 3   04-15   Total:   3  04-15116. Tanner Barnes – Jordan Smallwood             Campbellsville University             0Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00116. Bryar Chambers – Clent Blackwood             Wallace State                         0Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00116. Cam Cornelius – Jordan Nicely                Georgetown College                    0Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00116. Jacob Emery – Aaron Jagdfeld                 Adrian College                        0Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00116. Brady Harp – Garrett Warren                  Auburn University                     0Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00116. Benjamin Moore – David Gadd                  Eastern Kentucky University           0Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00116. Chad Pruner – Ethan Ange                                                           0Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00116. Chase Sansom – Tyler Drown                   Marshall University                   0Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00116. Paul Tabisz – James Ge                       University of Michigan                0Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00116. Emil Wagner – William Perry                  Ole Miss                              0Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00———————————————————————–TotalsDay   #Limits    #Fish      Weight1        97       546      1611-05———————————-97       546      1611-05

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