Area schools hope to snag state bass fishing title

Illinois high school students have shown an array of skills in becoming state champions.

They've hit home runs. Pinned an opponent. Connected for a winning touchdown. Devised the perfect cheer.

This weekend, a state championship for the first time will go to the team that catches the most bass from a lake in downstate Carlyle.

Suburban high schools competing in the two-day tournament that ends today include: Marmion Academy in Aurora; Maine West in Des Plaines; Grayslake North; Conant in Hoffman Estates; Naperville North; St. Charles North; Streamwood; Vernon Hills; Wheaton Warrenville South and York High School in Elmhurst.

The competition got off to an inauspicious start, however. Severe downstate storms and tornado threats prompted officials to call off Round 1, leaving teams only three hours to fish rather than eight.

"We ended up finding shelter in an outhouse," said Dave Cromer, Conant High School coach, "but it was a nice outhouse. The cleanest one I've ever seen."

Maine West High School declared itself lucky to have caught a fish during the shortened competition round.

"Only 20 of the 52 teams caught any fish," said coach Paul Zafiropoulos. "We're sitting in 15th place right now, but we figure we're one fish away from second place. So it's anybody's game."

Given those harrowing conditions, don't tell these anglers they're not participating in a sport.

"The same characteristics that they're looking for in a good athlete, I'm looking for in these kids," Naperville North coach Don Zedrow said. "Self discipline, intelligence, coordination, agility. There's a lot more to it than just putting a line in."

Conversations to declare bass fishing a state-sanctioned sport started years ago, as the Illinois High School Association officials pondered other activities - including cheerleading, boys bowling and journalism. They hoped to create additional state championships in the interest of getting more students involved, said Dave Gannawa, IHSA assistant executive director.

Throughout the years, they've annexed each of those other sports. But creating a state championship for bass fishing proved to be more difficult. No other state in the country had such a program.

"We had to create the whole thing from scratch because there's nothing like it in the country," Gannawa said.

Still, it caught on hook, line and sinker. IHSA officials hoped for 100 schools to participate in the state sectional tournaments last month at 18 different lakes throughout the state. They doubled that with nearly 200 schools.

"Our goal was to reach different kids who really haven't participated much in any of the activities in the school, and it has done that," Gannawa said.

Wheaton Warrenville South Coach Art Tang agrees that it's provided different options for students.

"It's a great opportunity for a lot of kids who are not really into sports," he said. "This is a kind of an alternative activity."

It's "alternative" in many ways. Players must provide their own equipment, including a fishing boat driven by an adult. They're at the mercy of dozens of variables including weather and finicky fish. And a particular challenge this weekend is going up against downstate schools that have had warmer weather and more practice time. "Local knowledge" of the lakes probably hasn't hurt.

"The last nine days have been insane with preparation," said Dave Berendt, Maine West assistant principal. "We even sent guys down to scout out the site."

There's more.

"If you want to be really good and consistent, you have to be able to look at a lake and read a lake," said Naperville North's Zedrow. "You have to be an athlete. You have to be super disciplined and you have to be intelligent. Anybody can be lucky. I have some guys, when they go out fishing, they always catch fish."

About 35 students participate in the school's fishing club, 10 of whom are considered formal team members. They've spent much of the year practicing casting the school gymnasium, making lures, learning to read bodies of water and how to operate safety equipment. They regularly meet at area forest preserves, subdivision ponds and the DuPage River to fish.

"I've always liked fishing," said junior Ashley Malo, 17, of Naperville. "The outdoors in general is a big part of life. When I heard about it, I was really eager to become part of the club first, and then eager to be part of the team."

Teams in the state tourney traveled to Carlyle Lake on Thursday for an opportunity to pre-fish the lake and get a sense of the conditions.

Each team enters one boat driven by an adult and carries two students while one student stays on shore. A few schools qualified two boats for the tournament. The state champion will be determined by whatever team catches the most weight in bass.

Mike Nekritz, principal of Antioch High School, admitted he "kind of chuckled" when first hearing about the competitive activity. But he was pleasantly surprised by the number of students who wanted to be involved.

"This was a great opportunity for kids who weren't involved in other activities or sports but who fish regularly to be a part of a school team activity," he said.

Correspondent Eileen Daday and staff writers Lee Filas and Robert Sanchez contributed.

Bass tourney anglers

Here are the student teams that qualified for the state tournament this weekend

Boat No. 2

Aurora (Marmion Academy)

Head Coach: Joe Large Casey Smith (Fr.)

David Thielen (Fr.) Brad Warland (Fr.)

Boat No. 10

Des Plaines (Maine West)

Head Coach: Paul Zafiropoulos

Creighton Delgato (Jr.)

James Ramirez (Sr.)

Anthony Zourkas (Jr.)

Boat No. 11

Elmhurst (York)

Head Coach: Joseph Stolz

Jeff Grainge (Jr.)

Derrick Hermansen (Jr.)

Dan Martin (Jr.)

Boat No. 14

Grayslake North

Head Coach: Chris Groh

Cody Speno (Jr.)

Karl Wenkebach (Jr.)

Boat No. 17

Hoffman Estates (Conant)

Head Coach: Dave Cromer

Craig Davies (Sr.)

Steve Myska (Sr.)

Matthew Sells (Sr.)

Boat No. 24

Naperville North

Head Coach: Don Zedrow

Cam Barone (So.)

Kurt Deichstetter (Sr.)

Connor Stapleton (So.)

Boat No. 36

St. Charles North

Head Coach: Timothy Pinks

Ryan Fosbinder (Sr.)

Cody Hansen (Sr.)

Derrick Hoffman (Jr.)

Boat No. 39

Streamwood

Head Coach: Marty Baker

Ryan Pokorney (Jr.)

Matt Stilson (Jr.)

Boat No. 45

Vernon Hills

Head Coach: Jerry Miceli

Mike Seal (Jr.)

Brandon Wolf (Jr.)

Boat No. 48

Wheaton Warrenville South

Head Coach: Art Tang

Scott Nuzzo (Jr.)

Tom Pheiffer (Jr.)

Kyle Vander Mey (Sr.)