Roadrunners qualify five boats for Bassmaster College National Championships

Published 11:17 am Monday, June 17, 2024

By Scott Novak

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DOWAGIAC — Southwestern Michigan College has qualified five boats for the upcoming Bassmaster College National Championships at Lake Hartwell, South Carolina, Aug. 22-24.

Here are the Roadrunners qualifiers:

Billy Erdakos and Davis Klimczak

Elijah Jaime and Jack Hay

Ryan Olsen and Delaney Platt

Evan Ludlow and Drake Heath

Hunter Petrovic and Kaiya Ziga

Erdakos and Klimczak were the first SMC team to qualify for nationals. They earned their spot by finishing 15th out of 244 boats at the opening qualifier on Lake Murray in January. The finished with a two-day total of 35 pounds.

Hay and Jaime were the second Roadrunner boat to advance to the national. They finished fifth out of more than 200 teams at Kentucky Lake, with a two-day total of 39 pounds, 10 ounces.

Qualifying for the final event of the year at Saginaw Bay, Olsen and Platt became the third boat to qualify. They finished in eighth place with a two-day total of 30 pounds, 2 ounces.

Two teams were on the bubble as Ludlow and Heath finished 24th with a total weight of 27 pounds, 4 ounces, and Petrovic and Ziga were 28th with a two-day total of 27 pounds.

Bassmaster takes the top 10 percent of the field at each qualifier. That meant 19 teams would advance. Bassmaster then goes through the list of qualifiers and removes any who had previously qualified.

That meant the final two Roadrunner boats made the national championship field, with Petrovic and Ziga earning the final spot.

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