The Briarwood Christian duo of Tucker Smith and Hayden Marbut on Saturday won the Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School National Championship presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors.
The National Championship victory is the third-straight title for Smith and the first for Marbut.
The Alabama duo secured two smallmouth bass for 7 pounds, 14 ounces on the final day of the competition, which featured windy conditions; their final three-day total was 47-5.
“It feels amazing, especially because of the time of year,” stated Smith, who is now a freshman at Auburn University. “[It started] superhot to where your glasses are fogged up from sweat, to being so cold you wished you were at home.”
“It’s kind of crazy to win both times of the year,” he added.
With the victory, the Briarwood team earned $5,000 in scholarship money and another $200 for the big bass of the tournament, a 7-5 lunker caught on Day 1.
The Day 1 bag also earned Smith and Marbut an $875 scholarship from the family of Hunter Owens in memory of Owens, who finished in the Top 12 of the Bassmaster High School National Championship two years ago before tragically dying in a car accident.
The competition was held on Kentucky Lake.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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