Chandler Christian (left) and Lance Freeman of Murray State University win the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Midwestern Regional presented by Bass Pro Shops on Clinton Lake out of Clinton, Ill., with a three-day total weight of 57 pounds, 5 ounces.
June 4, 2016
Murray State Team Seals Victory In Bassmaster College Series Midwestern Regional
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CLINTON, Ill. — Lance Freeman and Chandler Christian of Murray State University surprised even themselves by bringing in a huge limit on the final day to win the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Midwestern Regional presented by Bass Pro Shops on Clinton Lake Saturday.
What they thought would be their toughest day of the three-day tournament was actually their best as they brought in a limit of five bass weighing 20 pounds, 4 ounces, their biggest catch of the week. The haul gave them a total of 57-5 and a nearly 6-pound margin over their nearest competitor, the McKendree University team.
Clinton Lake suited the Murray State duo as they fished the way they do back home on Kentucky and Barkley lakes. Fishing offshore was the key. Their prime fishing area on the main lake produced all three days of the tournament, despite intense fishing pressure from the 93-boat field.
“I started to second guess this area today with the rain and clouds,” Freeman said. “As soon as I started doubting, I caught a 3-pounder. Then Chandler caught a 5-13, and we knew it was going to (pay off) slowly, but surely.”
As on the previous two days, the pair landed four keeper bass before 8:30 a.m., but they went on a three-hour dry spell had to calm their nerves before finishing their limit.
“We sat on four fish for a long time today,” Freeman said. “We ran around quite a bit and then came back. We settled our nerves, and then Chandler pulled out a finesse tactic and put the fifth fish in the boat. We culled a couple times real fast after that.”
The baits that vaulted them to victory were “old school” lures that have caught bass in deep water for years, and Freeman and Christian were comfortable fishing them. They relied on a 10-inch Zoom Ol’ Monster Worm in the plum color and a 7/16 to 1/2-ounce green pumpkin colored jig.
Along with the win, Freeman and Christian took home the Livingston Lures Leader Award worth $250 for each angler.
McKendree University’s Austin Chapman and Curtis Lilly brought the Bass Pro Shops Nitro Big Bag of the tournament to the scales on Championship Saturday and vaulted into second place. Their final day weight of 22-4 helped them earn the award and also surpassed the second biggest bag of the event by 2 pounds.
After stumbling Friday and only weighing three fish, Chapman and Lilly altered their game plan and capitalized on the weather change to catch the biggest limit of their lives. Local knowledge played a big part for the team as Chapman lives less than an hour from Clinton Lake.
“We were able to watch most of our areas in practice to see how many people fished them,” Chapman said. “We concentrated on three different areas, and knowing the lake was a big help when it came to managing spots.”
Like the winners, they too, used slow-moving bottom baits like jigs and shaky heads to catch the majority of their weight.
St. Cloud State University’s 7-7 largemouth from Day 1 of the event held up for the Carhartt Big Bass and Joachim Speldrich and Marcus Welk cashed in on the $500 big fish prize.
The Top 14 teams in the regional qualified for the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship on Green River Lake in Campbellsville, Ky., July 28-30.
Clinton Lake – Clinton Lake Marina – Clinton, IL
6/2/2016 – 6/4/2016
Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Midwest Regional presented by Bass Pro Shops
# Fish Lbs – Oz
Accumulative
Name # Live # Fish # Live Lbs – Oz
2 Austin Chapman – Curtis Lilly McKendree University 5 5 22- 4 13 13 51- 9
3 Mitch Swanson – Thor Swanson Bemidji State University 4 4 14- 9 14 13 48- 5
4 Andrew Mlotek – Calvin Vang U. of Wisconsin Whitewater 3 3 10- 8 13 13 47- 3
5 Phillip Germagliotti – Shane Campbell McKendree University 5 5 16- 5 13 11 43-11
6 Kyle Alsop – Taylor Bivins Kansas State University 4 4 11- 7 14 14 42- 6
7 Garrett Cates – Tyler Nekolny Kansas State University 4 4 10-14 13 13 41-15
8 Dan Scott – Dakota Lenske U. of Wisconsin Stevens Point 4 3 13- 5 12 11 37-14
9 Zach Clisch – Adam Neu U. of Wisconsin Platteville 5 5 15-15 11 11 37-13
10 Nicholas Kirkton – Seth Becker Illinois State University 5 5 13-13 11 9 36- 5
11 Austin Butler – Ryan Kirkpatrick Murray State University 5 4 12-11 12 10 34- 5
12 Austin Niggli – Derrik Starrett McKendree University 1 1 2-13 11 11 33- 1
13 Charlie Sterrett – Nicholas Schneider University of Illinois 2 2 5- 7 11 11 32- 9
14 Steve Nebel – Jared Mataczynski U. of Wisconsin Whitewater 3 3 9- 1 11 11 30- 7
15 Steven Sellnow – Mitch VanErt U. of Wisconsin Whitewater 3 3 8-12 9 9 28- 7
16 Brian McClanahan – Braden Watt McKendree University 1 1 2- 5 9 9 27-12
17 Chris Oja – Jake Huested Ferris State University 1 1 2-10 8 8 27- 0
18 Danny Sprague – Tyler Andrews Michigan State University 1 1 2- 4 8 8 24-14
19 Taylor Umland – Carlos Thomas Illinois State University 1 1 3- 0 7 6 24- 1
20 Alec Garrison – Aron Pontillo U. of Wisconsin Platteville 0 0 0- 0 6 6 21- 7
21 Bryce Wegman – Justin Schick Illinois State University 7 7 19- 5
22 Joachim Speldrich – Marcus Welk St Cloud State University 4 4 19- 2
23 Justin Mayfield – Jake Smith Campbellsville University 5 5 18- 9
24 Travis Blenn – Grant Srajer Kansas State University 6 6 17- 8
25 Austin Sherwood – Jared Havenaar Western Michigan University 4 4 16- 0
26 John Neubauer – Andy Jensen Moraine Valley Community College 5 4 15- 3
27 Brock Wilke – Trent Robinson McKendree University 5 3 15- 0
28 Grant Ehlenfeldt – Brett Stanek U. of Wisconsin Platteville 5 5 15- 0
29 Jacob Louis – JT Russell McKendree University 5 5 14-13
30 Ryan Kweisinski – Jim O’Neil Moraine Valley Community College 5 5 14-12
31 Austin Brimeyer – Jake Wolfe University of Dubuque 5 5 14-12
32 Sam Sobieck – Max Hellmann U. of Wisconsin Stevens Point 5 4 14- 7
33 Crosley Welch – Matt Fielder Missouri State University 4 4 14- 7
34 Sheldon Rogge – Davis Parker Kansas State University 4 2 14- 0
35 Almich Alex – Daniel Carlson St Cloud State University 5 5 13- 8
36 Brennan Critzer – Louie Dazzo U. of Wisconsin Whitewater 5 4 12-13
37 Travis Hunt – Hunter Pierce Campbellsville University 3 3 12- 9
38 Jacob Daily – Ian Snowden Eastern Illinois University 3 3 12- 5
39 Jake Dorony – Logan Archibald Lake Superior State University 4 4 11-10
40 Bates Enmeier – Eric Hanna Oklahoma State University 4 4 11- 0
41 Hunter Reifschneider – Jonathan Klaes University of Dubuque 4 4 10- 4
42 Colton Smith – Lindsey Wilson College 4 3 10- 3
43 Brody McWilliams – Nick Moretton Indiana University 3 2 10- 0
44 Nate Sleight – Blaine Timonera University of Oklahoma 3 3 9-15
45 Hunter Adams – Adam Carman Campbellsville University 3 3 9-11
46 Tyler Ellis – Kyle Doherty Missouri State University 3 3 8-14
47 Tyler Robinson – Austin Mau Bemidji State University 3 3 8- 5
48 Taylor Schmitt – Brady Faust McKendree University 3 3 8- 2
49 Justin Brown – Brandon Bissell Northern Michigan University 3 3 7-11
50 John Murphy – Brock Miegs McKendree University 3 3 7- 9
51 Kyle Wagner – Matt Stevens Southern Illinois University 2 2 7- 8
52 Luke Jasper – Tommy Rimbo Illinois State University 3 3 7- 5
52 Levi Umland – Heartland Community College 3 3 7- 5
54 Mason Bishop – John Gale Southern Illinois University 2 2 6- 9
55 Cole Atkinson – Tanner Atkinson St Ambrose University 2 2 6- 1
56 Jack Kons – Nick Retka Bemidji State University 2 2 6- 1
57 Mike Anderson – Johnny Moua U. of Wisconsin Oshkosh 2 2 5-11
58 Colten Curtis – Johnna Coleman U. of Wisconsin Platteville 2 2 5- 9
59 Dakota Cantrell – Austin Moore Campbellsville University 2 2 5- 8
60 Hunter Scharphorn – Dalton Wehler Lake Superior State University 2 1 5- 2
61 Jake Kurtzweg – Brandon Hiltner Bemidji State University 2 1 4-11
62 Jacob Gieske – Gavin Jungels St Cloud State University 2 2 4-10
63 Brody Anderson – Justin Bruno Grand Valley State Univ 2 1 4- 7
64 Randal Argo – Dominick Schenewerk Murray State University 2 2 4- 6
65 Robert Riley – Jordan Wolf University of Illinois 1 1 3-13
66 Nic Rand – Brandon Reith Lake Superior State University 1 1 3- 9
67 Blake Burd – Miles Kopplin University of Illinois 1 1 3- 2
68 Anthony Gilmore – CJ Hatton Schoolcraft College 1 1 3- 1
69 Alex Meister – Andrew Wolfe University of Wisconsin 1 1 2-15
70 Marshall Sandretto – Kevin Gross Milwaukee School of Engineering 1 1 2-13
71 Chad Murphy – Gabriel Dubois University of Missouri 1 1 2-12
71 Nick Ratliff – Ben Riggs Campbellsville University 1 1 2-12
73 Caleb Taylor – Nick Marsh Adrian College 1 1 2-10
74 Jordan Ledbetter – Brad Wyss McKendree University 1 1 2- 7
75 Jack Hippe – Brandon Herzberg Adrian College 1 1 2- 6
76 Remington Stittleburg – Jordan Saladis U. of Wisconsin Platteville 1 1 2- 4
77 Jake Hoselton – Ryan Spencer Southern Illinois University 1 1 2- 3
77 Thomas Oltorik III – James Oltorik Daytona State College 1 1 2- 3
79 Kit Benson – Western Illinois University 0 0 0- 0
79 Collin Cropp – Austin Stanwick U. of Wisconsin Whitewater 0 0 0- 0
79 Nick Dagel – Scott Humphreys U. of Wisconsin Stevens Point 0 0 0- 0
79 Brandon Feldman – University of Dubuque 0 0 0- 0
79 Ethan Goldstein – Neal Wisinski U. of Wisconsin Stevens Point 0 0 0- 0
79 Andrew Guilliams – Quinton Booth Missouri State University 0 0 0- 0
79 Spencer Hahn – Ben Wanke University of Wisconsin 0 0 0- 0
79 Kason Morley – Ryan Pinkalla U. of Wisconsin Stevens Point 0 0 0- 0
79 Boris Moskoff – Nathan Adams Murray State University 0 0 0- 0
79 Mitchell Olszewski – Brennan Ramirez Western Michigan University 0 0 0- 0
79 Jason Richardson – Austin Fralick Adrian College 0 0 0- 0
79 Mason Sapp – Cameron Brooks Campbellsville University 0 0 0- 0
79 Ryan Tune – Blake Westhues University of Central Missouri 0 0 0- 0
79 Hayden Wennerdahl – Kimberly Weissinger University of Illinois 0 0 0- 0
79 Mike Wolthusen – St Ambose University 0 0 0- 0
Name City,State Lbs-Oz
BIG BASS
Day
1 Joachim Speldrich – Marcus Paynesville, MN Welk 7- 7
2 Taylor Umland – Carlos Thomas Normal, IL 5-11
3 Austin Chapman – Curtis LillyBlue Mound, IL 6- 5
Day # Live Lbs-Oz # Limits
TOTALS
# Fish
1 176 164 542- 7 14
2 152 144 494-11 10
3 62 60 198- 3 6
Today’s Activity
# Fish Lbs – Oz
Accumulative
Name # Live # Fish # Live Lbs – Oz
