Singletary and Cohen compete at BASS Master High School Nationals
Bradley Cohen and Levi Singletary competed at the BASS Master High School National Tournament in Tennessee late this summer. Read more...
As summer diminished, many people were turning their attention to the football fields. The Brookwood Warrior Bass Fishing Team of Bradley Cohen and Levi Singletary were only thinking about football-sized fish. Their season was still going on Kentucky Lake in the Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series National Championship presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods. Nationals were the last stop of the year for the team after their regular season performance qualified them for the Georgia BASS National High School Fishing State Championship where they earned a birth in the National Championship.
The week long event in Tennessee started at Bethel University with 337 high school fishing teams from 35 states, Canada, and Zimbabwe competing. At registration the Warriors would be lined up 136thto leave on day one of the tournament.
For the next two days Cohen and Singletary hit the lake with their Boat Captain, John Vickers. This was the team’s first trip to the 160,000 acre Kentucky Lake and it was time to practice, known as “prefishing”. After hours of looking at old fashion paper maps and online maps, the team hit the water early and spent all day scouting out the terrain. The team tried different tactics in multiple places but fishing proved difficult.
The morning of August 2nd, the tournament started with boat 136 taking off a little after 6 a.m. That afternoon Singletary and Cohen returned to the weigh in with a smile and two bass for a Day 1 total of 7lbs 2 ozs. When all the teams had weighed in on Day 1, the Warrior Bass Fishing Team settled in ranked 77th out of 337.
On Day 2 the order is reversed and the team left the docks 202nd. The weather turned sunnier and warmer than during prefishing. The atmosphere around the weigh in stage was buzzing as the first teams made it back for Day 2 weigh ins. The teams with the top 12 total weights after two days of fishing were going to get to fish for the championship on Saturday. Day 2 was not as kind for the Warrior Fishermen. As they crossed the weigh in stage the announcer reported they had “zeroed” today. When given the opportunity to speak, Bradley thanked his family and friends for their support this year and Levi thanked Boat Captain John Vickers for his efforts coaching the team and getting them to the pinnacle of the season.
Fishing was tough for everyone at Kentucky Lake. Tougher for some as 54 teams went two days without catching a bass to weigh. Not as tough for the champions who finished with a 3 day total of 50 plus pounds and 10 pounds ahead of 2nd place. When all the fish were weighed, the Brookwood Bass Fishing Team finished in 154th place in the 337 boat competition. Next season starts September 15th on Lake Seminole and they are already planning on making it all the way to Nationals again next year.
Brookwood School
Located in Thomasville, GA, Brookwood School is a private school for grades JK-12. Students benefit from a challenging academic program, fine and performing arts, competitive athletics, and a wide selection of extracurricular activities.