With a five-fish stringer of 21.50 pounds, Chatham resident Richie Faust, representing Weston High School, and his partner Zeb Ates, of D’Arbonne Woods Charter in Farmerville, have won the Student Angler Federation (SAF) State Championship fished on Lake D’Arbonne in Farmerville on March 7th. Ates also won the Big Bass Award with his catch of 9.13 pounds.
By taking first place in the Northeast Louisiana High School (NELAHS) Angler tournament, the pair has qualified for the 17th annual High School Fishing World Finals and National Championship, to be held on Lake Cumberland in Russell Springs, KY, on June 24-27.
The victory also propelled Ates and Faust into second place overall in the NELAHS year-to-date standings, with one tournament remaining on April 4th at Lake Claiborne in Homer, LA.
Jackson Parish was also represented by Jake Vail and Jaxon Cheatwood (Quitman High School), who finished 10th, just one spot ahead of Hailey Chatham and Ben Ramsey (Weston High School), who came in 11th.
Maddox Duck (QHS) and Benton Terry (WOHS) came in 22nd place, followed by Shepard Norris and Jackson Ables in 27th, Drew Caldwell and Asher Norred in 31st, and Jaxen Culpepper and Hayden Essmeier in 32nd place, all representing Quitman High School.
