The Ben Lippen Bass Fishing club winning their state championship is extraordinary—especially when you realize the two members are a freshman and 7th grade student taking on 140 other high school teams.
Charlie Thompson and Reece Williams endured 4 a.m. wakeup calls, isolated lake weekends, freezing and sweating in extreme temperatures and more as they trained to battle against other South Carolina teams for the state’s Bass Fishing Championship. Sometimes those sacrifices resulted in rewards; sometimes, their labor yielded no fruit.
But, despite heavy competition, the two students reeled in the ultimate catch: the South Carolina High School Bass Fishing Championship.
“This team has been resilient,” said Middle School Principal and proud father Corey Thompson. “Charlie and Reece have been very humble and gracious in receiving this awesome blessing, and they certainly haven’t taken anything for granted.”
With Reece, a 7th grade student, competing at the high school level, the Ben Lippen team came in as one of the youngest in the state. In this case, age was just a number—collectively, the two pulled a 25.74 lb. return, six pounds more than the 2nd place team.
Their next step, with Coach Graem Clark and Boat Captain Pat Williams, is to represent Ben Lippen and the state of South Carolina this summer at the High School Bass Fishing National Championship. While the date and time have not yet been disclosed, we are happy to cheer on Charlie and Reece as they compete.