WADDINGTON, NY — There have been several intriguing storylines during the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series at St. Lawrence River presented by Bass Pro Shops, but just about everything has rightfully taken a backseat to the record-breaking haul caught on Day 1 of the tournament.
Not to be forgotten, however, is the race for Team of the Year, whose winner won’t be announced right away, but for all intents and purposes, will be decided Friday.
Jacob Louis and Nathan Doty of McKendree University (Ill.) led the TOY points race entering the derby on the St. Lawrence River, and the duo finished 35th of the 149 teams entered here. K.J. Queen and Dax Ewert of Bethel University (Tenn.) were only a few points behind the leaders, and they placed 21st overall this week.
Of the 12 tandems that survived the cut on Thursday, only two entered in the Top 10 in the points race. They are West Virginia’s Nolan Minor and Casey Lanier, who are in fourth place in the tournament and third in the TOY standings; as well as Bemidji (Minn.) State University’s Brian Linder and Nathan Thompson who are second in the tournament and 10th in TOY points.
TOY points are tallied in each of the four Bassmaster College Series regular-season tournaments, including events on North Carolina’s Lake Norman in February, Alabama’s Smith Lake in March, Arkansas’ Bull Shoals Lake in April, and the fourth and final regular-season battle here on the St. Lawrence River.
The top 25 teams in the points race when this tournament wraps will earn automatic berths in the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops when it is held Aug. 1-3 on Lake Chickamauga in Tennessee.
The top 10 percent of teams from each regular-season event will qualify for Nationals, as well, and 15 of them cemented a spot in the championship when the Day 2 weigh-in ended.
Those national championship qualifiers are: Jackson Carrell and Bryton Kurtz of Sam Houston State University (Tex.), Jack Hippe and Chase Serafin of Adrian College (Mich.), Shane Nelson and Brayden Federer of Adrian College, Ben Seaman and Dante Piraino, Clarkson University (NY), Nick Ratliff and Bradley Dunagan of Campbellsville (Kent.) University, John Garrett and Kyle Palmer of Bethel University, and Perry Marvin and Cantley Krafft of Virginia Tech.
Also, Tanner Ward and Rory Franks of Kent Sate (Ohio) University, Brandon Buckley and Michael Orris of Penn State University, Ty Black and Avry Thomason of Georgia Southern University, Ty Cox and Chandler Boman of Blue Mountain (Miss.) College, Anthony Fazio and Luke Jasper of Illinois State University, Jonathan Kelley and Grant Tattersall of Coastal Carolina (SC) University, Griffin Fernandes and Gunner Wilson of Adrian College, and Dan Dubose and Jon Kilpatrick of the University of Alabama.
The final five of those teams didn’t finish among the Top 10 percent this week, but several duos that finished ahead of them already had qualified for the national championship. When that occurs, B.A.S.S. officials roll down through the standings to finish a list of 15 “new qualifiers.”
In other words, the 15 teams who punched a ticket to Chickamauga had yet to do so prior to the derby on the St. Lawrence River. College teams also can fish their way into the championship via their respective state tournaments.
There will be a lot to follow when the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series at St. Lawrence River presented by Bass Pro Shops concludes Friday. The remaining dozen teams blasted off from Whittaker Park at 5:30 a.m. and the final weigh-in is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at Clarkson University in nearby Potsdam.
Make sure to follow all the action right here on Bassmaster.com.