As title sponsor of the Bassmaster High School Series and official pattern of B.A.S.S., Mossy Oak Fishing is thrilled to congratulate Grayson Morris and Tucker Smith on winning the 2019 Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series National Championship presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors. This victory makes for back-to-back titles for the duo and their boat captain, J.T. Russell.
This tournament took place on Kentucky Lake and the anglers took out from Paris Landing State Park in Paris, Tennessee, each day. There were over 300 high school teams comprised of two anglers, each also having a boat captain/coach. The field had representatives from 27 states and one Canadian province.
Fishing out of Birmingham, Alabama, for Briarwood Christian High School, Morris and Smith finished the three-day tournament with a total weight of 50 pounds, 1 ounce, beating the second place finishers by 1 pound, 9 ounces.
“We were ecstatic after winning last year’s National Championship, but to do it two years in a row was unbelievable to all of us,” said Russell. “We were confident coming into this year’s event, but to pull it off two years in a row and for it to come down to the wire like it did was amazing. We caught our last keeper with only 15 minutes left and had we not caught that fish, we wouldn’t have won.”
Morris will continue his career as a freshman, fishing for the University of Montevallo Fishing Team with Russell who is now a senior angler for the team. Smith, a senior, has one more year to fish with Briarwood Christian.
“We are honored to play a role in this tremendous program for young anglers at the high school level,” said Ben Maki, Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer of Mossy Oak. “These young men and women perform at such a high level and represent themselves and the sport with such class. We would like to acknowledge the effort by all of the anglers and congratulate Grayson and Tucker on back-to-back championships.”
About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 510,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), radio show (Bassmaster Radio), social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.
The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, BassPro.com Bassmaster Opens Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.
