Lucas Murphy (right) and Nolan Hitt of Grand Valley State University won the 2018 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Eastern Tour presented by Bass Pro Shops on Cherokee Lake out of Jefferson City, Tenn., with a three-day total weight of 42 pounds, 10 ounces.

May 12, 2018

Grand Valley State Claims Title At Bassmaster College Eastern Tour Event On Cherokee Lake

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JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Lucas Murphy and Nolan Hitt had only fished one official tournament together before they teamed up this week in the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Eastern Tour presented by Bass Pro Shops.

The first event was forgettable, but this one they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.

Murphy and Hitt, who compete for Grand Valley State (Mich.) University, came from behind today to win the college tour stop here on Cherokee Lake in northeast Tennessee. The tandem caught a five-bass limit that weighed 13 pounds, 9 ounces. Combined with the 29-1 they caught on the first two days of the tournament, they finished with a three-day total of 42-10.

That was enough to overtake Bethel University’s Cully Scroggins and Nathon Portch, who held the lead on both Day 1 and Day 2 of this event, but wound up finishing third overall (41-2).

The University of Alabama team of Lee Mattox and Anderson Aldag finished second with 41-6.

Murphy and Hitt were in third place entering the final day of fishing in the Eastern Tour event. But with less than 6 pounds of bass separating the first place team from the 32nd place team, every team seemingly had a reasonable chance to win.

Murphy and Hitt seized their chances with consistent catches throughout the tournament – 15-1 on Thursday and 14-0 on Friday. That set the stage for their surge on Saturday.

When Scroggins and Portch came to the scales with 11-6 on Day 3 (their lowest of the tournament), the Grand Valley State duo breathed deep sighs of relief before hoisting championship trophies.

“We fish a lot together and work well together, but this is only the second eight-hour event we’ve entered together,” Murphy said. “I’ve been lying in my cot at the campground dreaming about holding up these trophies. What an incredible feeling.”

Murphy and Hitt drop shotted exclusively on Cherokee Lake and they had a limit each day by 10:15 a.m., which they said allowed them to relax. They only had to cull once, and that was on Saturday with minutes to spare.

“And we only picked up an ounce or so on that cull,” Murphy said. “The morning bite was important for us.”

Their best bass came on a point in the main lake about 12 miles north of the Cherokee Lake Dam. They also caught a few off an offshore hump about four miles from the dam that had no particularly pertinent features, but certainly was productive.

“The point basically was where somebody’s back yard met the lake,” said Murphy, a rising senior at Grand Valley State. “There was some sand or pea gravel down there and right away, we knew it was a good spot. I think we caught keepers that helped us in anywhere from 8 to 15 feet this week.”

Hitt’s best bites came on a Strike King Half Shell (green pumpkin) and Murphy on a Strike King Dream Shot (honey candy). Each was rigged with 1/4-ounce tungsten weights.

The Grand Valley State team tandem was prepared to employ different techniques if necessary, but got all the results they needed by drop shotting. All of their bass were smallmouth.

“We fished them the same way we do back in Michigan, we just had to go a lot slower,” Hitt said. “The fish were kind of finicky once the sun got up high. We really had to remind ourselves to slow down. Coming in, we thought we might have to try some different things, but all we had was six rods on the deck and all of them were rigged for drop shots.”

Murphy and Hitt won $2,000 for the Grand Valley State fishing team with their win. They also earned a berth in the 2018 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops, which will be held in July on Oklahoma’s Lake Tenkiller.

“I just graduated, so to be able to start the summer with a win at the highest level of college bass fishing is incredible,” Hitt said. “And now we have the national championship to look forward to.”

Rounding out the Top 6 are Nathan Bell and Cole Sands of Bryan College in fourth with 40-14, KJ Queen and Brad Ableman of Bethel University in fifth with 39-15, and Logan Parks and Lucas Lindsay of Auburn University in sixth with 39-9. Parks was a 2017 Bassmaster High School All-American presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods recipient — an honor that only 12 high school standout anglers receive each year.

Bethel’s Ryan Winchester and Tyler Powell won the Carhartt Big Bass Award (a $500 Carhartt gift certificate) for having the biggest bass of the three-day tournament – a 4-7 bass Powell boated on Friday.

Scroggins and Portch won the Bass Pro Shops Nitro Big Bag of the tournament with their Day 1 limit of 17-7. They received a $250 Bass Pro Shops certificate with the award.

In all, 263 tandems from 125 colleges and universities began the tournament here on Cherokee Lake. The field was cut to the Top 32 after Friday’s weigh-in.

Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Eastern Tour presented by Bass Pro Shops

5/10/2018 – 5/12/2018

Cherokee Lake – Hamblin County Park – Jefferson City, TN

STANDINGS BOATER DAY 3

Name # Fish # Live Lbs – Oz # Fsh # Live Lbs-Oz PTS

1 Lucas Murphy – Nolan Hitt Grand Valley State University 5 5 13- 9 15 15 42-10 500.00

2 Lee Mattox – Anderson Aldag University of Alabama 5 5 12- 5 15 15 41- 6 498.10

3 Cully Scroggins – Nathon Portch Bethel University 5 5 11- 6 15 15 41- 2 496.20

4 Nathan Bell – Cole Sands Bryan College 5 5 13- 0 15 15 40-14 494.30

5 KJ Queen – Brad Ableman Bethel University 5 5 11-15 15 14 39-15 492.40

6 Logan Parks – Lucas Lindsay Auburn University 5 5 12-12 15 15 39- 9 490.49

7 Johnathan Peck – Griffin Heffington Bryan College 5 5 13- 3 15 15 39- 9 488.59

8 Dakota Cantrell – Austin Moore Campbellsville University 5 3 14- 6 15 13 39- 2 486.69

9 Brian Pahl – John Garrett Bethel University 5 5 12-10 15 15 39- 2 484.79

10 Hunter Louden – Seth Roberts Bethel University 5 5 13- 7 15 15 38- 7 482.89

11 Carter McNeil – Cole Floyd Bethel University 5 5 11-15 15 15 38- 6 480.99

12 Cantley Krafft – Ethan Morrison Virginia Tech 5 5 11- 5 14 14 37- 5 479.09

13 Sloan Pennington – Hunter McCarty U. of North Alabama 5 5 12- 9 15 15 37- 4 477.19

14 Stephen Jesso – Ryan Fox Penn State University 5 5 11-14 15 15 36-10 475.29

15 Hunter Sales – Tristan Stalsworth Carson-Newman University 5 4 10- 3 15 14 36- 4 473.38

16 Garrett Enders – Cody Huff Bethel University 5 5 10- 3 15 15 35-13 471.48

17 Tyler Andrews – McLane May Michigan State University 5 5 11-14 15 14 35-13 469.58

18 Hunter Stewart – Luke Slaton U. of North Georgia 5 4 10- 2 15 14 35-11 467.68

19 Thad Simerly – Ethan Shaw Bryan College 5 5 9-13 15 15 35-11 465.78

20 Travis Howard – Sam Carris Tennessee Tech University 5 5 10-15 15 15 35- 5 463.88

21 Nathan Ragsdale – Jerimiah Freelund University of Georgia 5 5 8-11 15 15 34-10 461.98

22 Zeke Gossett – Hayden Bartee Jefferson State 5 5 10- 3 13 13 34- 6 460.08

23 Jonathan Kelley – Rickey Wood Jr Coastal Carolina University 5 5 10- 0 15 15 33-13 458.17

24 Thor Swanson – Mitch Swanson Bemidji State University 5 5 9-12 15 15 33-10 456.27

25 Jack Hippe – Nick Czajka Adrian College 5 5 9- 3 15 15 33- 0 454.37

26 David Brashear – Ryan Kent Georgia Southern University 2 2 4-15 12 12 31-12 452.47

27 Ben Barrus – Tyler VanBrandt Adrian College 3 3 6- 6 13 13 31- 8 450.57

28 Logan Brewster – Chase Dawson U. of Tennessee 3 3 6- 6 13 13 31- 6 448.67

29 Bradley Dunagan – Nick Ratliff Campbellsville University 4 4 7- 0 14 14 30-15 446.77

30 Dillon Bryant – Dustin Wagner Patrick Henry Comm College 3 3 6- 6 12 12 30- 3 444.87

31 Cullen Lamm-Hoover – Jules Williams Hampden-Sydney College 3 3 5- 9 13 13 29-13 442.97

32 Mike Anderson – Zachary Schnepf U. of Wisconsin Oshkosh 2 2 3-13 12 11 27-15 441.06

33 Tyler Craig – Spencer Lambert U. of Louisiana at Monroe 9 9 23-12 439.16

34 Drew Elrod – Luke Byerly University of Tennessee 10 10 23-11 437.26

35 Nolan Minor – Casey Lanier West Virginia University 10 10 23-11 435.36

36 Evan Slentz – Colin Slentz Lander University 10 9 23-10 433.46

37 Josh Hart – Ben Dominque Clemson University 10 8 23- 9 431.56

38 Spencer Guthrie – Ryan Kennedy Kennesaw State University 10 10 23- 9 429.66

39 Josh Bean – Caden Watson Tennessee Tech University 10 10 23- 6 427.76

40 Dillon Harrell – Colby Bryant Sam Houston State University 10 10 23- 4 425.86

41 Mitchell Jennings – Roy Zhang Auburn University 10 10 23- 4 423.95

42 Branden Newcome – Michael Shughart West Virginia University 10 10 23- 4 422.05

43 Caiden Sinclair – Hunter Gibson University of Alabama 10 10 23- 4 420.15

44 Trevor McKinney – McKendree University 10 9 23- 3 418.25

45 Will Brown – Chase Chastain Jacksonville State University 10 10 23- 3 416.35

46 Dawson Cranford – Braxton Resweber University of Louisiana at LaFayette 10 10 23- 2 414.45

47 Dylan Fuller – Dalton Bradford UT Martin 10 10 23- 1 412.55

48 Cole Cloud – Blake Wade U. of North Georgia 10 10 22-12 410.65

49 Mason Sapp – Tray Hardwick Campbellsville University 10 10 22-10 408.75

50 Anthony Vintson – Brandon Mathews Auburn University 10 10 22-10 406.84

51 Nathan Doss – Trey Rieser U. of North Alabama 10 10 22- 9 404.94

52 Maxwell Moneuse – Austin Mumford University of North Florida 10 10 22- 8 403.04

53 Kenny Wilkins – Connor Felstead Northern Michigan University 10 10 22- 8 401.14

54 Caleb Blackwood – Brett Blackwood Winthrop University 10 10 22- 8 399.24

55 DJ Barber – Dalton Price Bryan College 10 10 22- 8 397.34

56 Daniel Kennedy – Sean Hall SCAD 10 10 22- 7 395.44

57 Jared Rascoe – LSU Shreveport 10 10 22- 7 393.54

58 Ty Cox – Alden Keel Jr Blue Mountain College 10 10 22- 6 391.63

59 Dalton Noble – Kolby Hillman Eastern Kentucky University 9 9 22- 3 389.73

60 Caleb Gibson – Tyler Winn Northeastern State University 10 9 22- 3 387.83

61 Austin Starford – Spencer Selby James Madison University 10 10 22- 3 385.93

62 Weston Hollar – Landon Tidwell Central AL Community College 10 10 22- 1 384.03

63 Rick Couch Jr – Cole Hewett U. of Central Florida 10 10 21-14 382.13

64 John Duarte – David Houchens Coastal Carolina University 10 10 21-13 380.23

65 Trevor Lewis – Hunter Osborne Georgetown College 10 9 21-10 378.33

66 Gabe Dubois – Brock Gordley University of Missouri 10 9 21-10 376.43

67 Trevor Sagrecy – Travis Hunt Campbellsville University 10 9 21- 8 374.52

68 Reid Conner – Joshua Butts Wallace State Hanceville 10 10 21- 8 372.62

69 Jacob Miller – Colin Bope Ohio State University 10 10 21- 8 370.72

70 Trevor St. John – Bailey Fain Bryan College 10 10 21- 7 368.82

71 Jarred Jones – Devin Mobbs Jacksonville State University 8 7 21- 6 366.92

72 Garret Sanders – Parker Hamil Florida State University 10 10 21- 6 365.02

73 Connor Chapman – Grayson Wages Kennesaw State University 10 10 21- 0 363.12

74 Rick Lassiter – Mathew Biernat University of Florida 10 9 20-15 361.22

75 Alex Henderson – John Franko Adrian College 10 10 20-15 359.32

76 Brennan Ramirez – Jared Havenaar Western Michigan University 10 10 20-14 357.41

77 Saxton Long – Jordan Burdette University of Tennessee 10 10 20-14 355.51

78 Will Nichols – Cody McBryar Jacksonville State University 10 10 20-13 353.61

79 Jacob Keith – Mason Beatty East Texas Baptist University 10 10 20-12 351.71

80 Johnny Ledet – Northwestern State University 10 10 20-12 349.81

81 Benjamin Hager – Noah Shaver UNC Charlotte 10 10 20-12 347.91

82 Evan Owrey – Isaac Duncan Bethel University 10 10 20-10 346.01

83 Matthew Lamastus – Elliott Tomlinson UT Martin 10 10 20- 9 344.11

84 Brady Bowden – Tyler Pennington Faulkner University 9 9 20- 7 342.21

85 Kyler Chelminiak – Ricky Harris Bethel University 10 9 20- 7 340.30

86 Kyle Palmer – Jason Felter Bethel University 10 8 20- 6 338.40

87 Sam Thomas – Solomon Smith Alice Lloyd College 9 9 20- 5 336.50

88 Danny Sprague – Riley Welch Michigan State University 9 9 20- 2 334.60

89 Gunner Wilson – Zach Manneback Adrian College 8 8 20- 1 332.70

90 Zane Loveday – Blake Burtram Calhoun Community College 8 8 19-15 330.80

91 Joshua Rockefeller – Zachary Ramsey Augusta University 10 9 19-15 328.90

92 Adam Carman – Grant Adams Campbellsville University 10 9 19-15 327.00

93 Gavin Lagle – Atom Ward Indiana University Southeast 10 10 19-13 325.10

94 Huff McIntosh – Chris Gaudin Louisiana Tech U 9 8 19- 9 323.19

95 Dustin Jones – Dalton Smith Campbellsville University 10 10 19- 7 321.29

96 Tanner Ward – Kent State University 10 10 19- 6 319.39

97 Garrett Brown – Jordan Gantt LSU Shreveport 9 9 19- 5 317.49

98 JP Kimbrough – Ryan Antee LSU Shreveport 9 9 19- 5 315.59

99 Derek Freeman – Robert White Clemson University 10 8 19- 4 313.69

100 Cody Chambers – Ty Johnston U. of North Georgia 10 10 18-14 311.79

101 Ryan Winchester – Tyler Black Bethel University 8 7 18-12 309.89

102 Nick Schultz – Trey Autry UNC Charlotte 8 8 18-12 307.98

103 Dylan Bucci – Savannah Perry University of Florida 8 8 18-10 306.08

104 Chase Farris – Reid Daniel U. of North Georgia 8 7 18- 9 304.18

105 Collin Jump – Kyle Jump Western Michigan University 9 9 18- 8 302.28

106 Max McQuaide – Grant Tattersall Coastal Carolina University 8 8 18- 7 300.38

107 Joe Long – Clayton Davis Indiana University 9 8 18- 7 298.48

108 Armando Ortiz – Dylan McKee Auburn University 8 5 18- 6 296.58

109 Chase Serafin – Cody Batterson Adrian College 8 8 18- 5 294.68

110 Chase Christie – Brandon Black University of West Georgia 9 9 18- 5 292.78

111 Justin Barnes – Adam Carroll University of Montevallo 8 8 18- 2 290.87

112 Will Phillips – Sean Murphy Auburn University 8 8 17-15 288.97

113 Caleb Fisk – Chris Lupo Calhoun Community College 9 9 17-15 287.07

114 Anthony Fazio – Luke Jasper Illinois State University 8 8 17-13 285.17

115 Jacob Moore – Gilliam Tharpe NC State 8 8 17-10 283.27

116 Parker Davis – Ethan Goodwin U. of North Alabama 7 7 17- 4 281.37

117 Neal Wisinski – Sam Swiderski University of Wisconsin Stevens Point 7 7 17- 1 279.47

118 Jon Kilpatrick – Dan Dubose University of Alabama 8 8 17- 1 277.57

119 Tanner Metler – Tennessee Tech University 7 7 17- 0 275.67

120 Chad Ziegler – Ross Kellermeier Bemidji State University 8 8 16-15 273.76

121 Dylan True – Justin Melson UT Martin 8 8 16-11 271.86

122 Grayson Whicker – Alex Rhoney UNC Chapel Hill 8 8 16-11 269.96

123 GL Compton – Mathew Sprouse Clemson University 8 6 16- 8 268.06

124 Jesse Erb – Gavin Oswalt University of Pittsburgh 8 8 16- 8 266.16

125 Andrew Himmelreich – Ben Giles Young Harris College 9 9 16- 7 264.26

126 Matt Garfield – Justin Sande University of Minnesota-Duluth 9 9 16- 5 262.36

127 Nathan Sheehan – Trevor Howard U. of Kentucky 7 7 16- 2 260.46

128 Jake Rogers – Lafe Messer Alice Lloyd College 7 7 16- 0 258.56

129 Austin Tubbs – Jay Cowan U. of West Alabama 8 8 16- 0 256.65

130 Tyler Lawwill – Chris Carnes UNC Charlotte 8 7 15-15 254.75

131 Robert Gee – Ben Dodson University of Tennessee 7 7 15-15 252.85

132 Payton Morgan – Heath Alread Kennesaw State University 8 8 15-13 250.95

133 Justin Mayfield – Colby Hays Campbellsville University 7 6 15-12 249.05

134 Tyler Woolcott – Daytona State College 7 7 15-12 247.15

135 Levi Neave – Noah Caulder Clemson University 7 6 15-11 245.25

136 Joe Wyatt – Ben Grizzell Middle Tennessee State Universtiy 7 7 15- 6 243.35

137 Billy Mathews – Peter Lombado Grand Valley State University 7 7 15- 6 241.44

138 Jared Baker – Branson Marks Georgia Southern University 8 8 15- 4 239.54

139 Austin Young – Colin Glover University of North Georgia 6 6 15- 1 237.64

140 Justin Roberts – Jacob Cox SCAD 7 7 15- 0 235.74

141 Austin Finley – Hunter Ward Central AL Community College 8 8 14-15 233.84

142 Peyton Nance – Mitchell Peterson Auburn University 7 7 14-13 231.94

143 Zachary Catoe – U. of South Carolina 6 6 14-12 230.04

144 Jacob Louis – McKendree University 7 7 14-11 228.14

145 Logan Anderson – Joshua Frederick NC State 8 7 14- 8 226.24

146 Ty Black – Grant Tootle Georgia Southern University 8 8 14- 7 224.33

147 Briana Tucker – Hollie Reagan Bryan College 7 7 14- 6 222.43

148 Drew Pridgen – Chasten Beck Lander University 7 7 14- 5 220.53

149 J T Russell – Tyler Harless University of Montevallo 6 6 14- 0 218.63

150 Andrew Kelley – Chase Cavalier Central AL Community College 6 6 13-15 216.73

151 Benjamin Statly – Blake Johnson Adrian College 6 6 13-14 214.83

152 Derek Horner – Matt Huggler Penn State University 5 5 13-13 212.93

153 Joshua Bennett – Hatten Mitchell Georgia Highlands College 7 7 13-13 211.03

154 Tyler Dixon – Robert Pryor Virginia Tech 6 6 13-10 209.13

155 Breanna Wyatt – Joseph Lacy Faulkner University 7 7 13- 6 207.22

156 Grant Harris – Lauren Plunkett Drury University 6 5 13- 5 205.32

157 Landon Siggers – Eric Hawks Wytheville Community College 7 7 13- 5 203.42

158 Ethan Stone – Stephen Stang Virginia Tech 6 6 13- 4 201.52

159 Blake Miles – Cooper Casillas James Madison University 6 6 13- 3 199.62

160 Cody Stahl – Reese Kingston SCAD 5 5 13- 2 197.72

161 Miller Spivey – Chandler Sickafoose Wallace State Hanceville 6 6 13- 1 195.82

162 Colton Parrot – Trevor Topken University of South Carolina 6 6 12-15 193.92

163 Taylor Cranford – Brent Rome Jr LSU 6 4 12-14 192.02

164 Scott Ellis – Ronnie Moore University of Tennessee 7 7 12-13 190.11

165 Luke Gillund – Bemidji State University 5 4 12- 5 188.21

166 Conner Young – Ryan Richardson University of Florida 6 6 12- 5 186.31

167 Benjamin Chandler – David Froehlich Abraham Baldwin Ag College 6 4 12- 4 184.41

168 John Neubauer – Joshua Lopez Western Michigan University 6 6 12- 3 182.51

169 Jacob Schrimsher – Austen Willard Calhoun Community College 6 6 12- 3 180.61

170 Will Monti – Chase Owens NC State 6 6 12- 1 178.71

171 Bryce Grogan – Eric Allen Mercer University 5 5 11-15 176.81

172 Jake Lee – Steven Ricketts Bryan College 6 6 11-14 174.90

173 Dylan Kear – Dannon Grubb Bryan College 5 5 11-13 173.00

174 Jacob Blocker – Tennessee Tech University 5 5 11-11 171.10

175 Dax Ewart – Logan Millsaps Bethel University 6 5 11-11 169.20

176 Trey Torres – Alec Smith Carson-Newman University 6 4 11-10 167.30

177 Michael Fisher – Brandon Padilla Jacksonville State University 5 5 11- 8 165.40

178 Austin Mau – Isaac Johnson Bemidji State University 6 6 11- 4 163.50

179 Tristan Thomas – Braxton Martin U. of North Georgia 5 5 11- 0 161.60

180 Denver Satterlee – Landon Smith Calhoun Community College 5 5 10-13 159.70

181 Ryan Wood – Reid Strobl Dallas Baptist University 5 5 10-10 157.79

182 Haden Holmes – James Whitacre Wallace State Hanceville 5 5 10- 9 155.89

183 Garrett Guinan – Jake Haggerty Kennesaw State University 5 5 10- 7 153.99

184 Dakota Pierce – Tristan McCormick Bethel University 5 5 10- 5 152.09

185 Colton Lindsey – Jacob Middleton Ohio State University 5 4 10- 5 150.19

186 Jackson Greer – Jacob Hutchins U. of West Georgia 5 5 9-15 148.29

187 Jordan Mullis – Jacob Gress Indiana University 6 6 9-10 146.39

188 Martin McCravy – Koby Littrell U. of North Alabama 4 4 9- 8 144.49

189 Jake Walters – Tanner Nettleship Murray State University 5 5 9- 4 142.59

190 Tanner Barnes – Ezra Oliver Campbellsville University 5 5 9- 0 140.68

191 Justin Grigg – Collins Janus Winthrop University 4 4 9- 0 138.78

192 Drew Camp – Connor Fenwick Christopher Newport University 4 4 8-14 136.88

193 Steven Petz – UAB 5 4 8-10 134.98

194 Liam West – Brady Waits Clemson University 4 4 8-10 133.08