Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By TYLER RALEY | Special to the Reporter

ANDERSON, S.C. – Four Shelby County High School students recently made themselves into local stars, after an outstanding performance at the 15th High School Fishing World Finals and National Championship at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina from June 19-22.

Brody Holliman and Aiden King were paired up while Mason Carden and Morgan Carden also fished together, all representing a program that was chasing history. And both fishing pairs did just that during the event.

Both pairs placed incredibly well for the weekend, each qualifying for the finals in the world championship. The Cardens finished 24th overall in the World Finals and 12th in the National Championship. Holliman and King placed 18th at the world level and qualified for the finals at the national level, recording an eighth place finish for the year.

The four-day events hosted hundreds of anglers, with the field being cut down after each round as the competition carried on. Weights of each fish were combined with each other, and the highest weights for the day moved on to the next round.

The Cardens started off strong, holding the top spot after day one of the World Finals with three fish totaling 12 pounds, two ounces. Day two showed a drop in production, pulling in three fish once again at four pounds, 13 ounces.

That was good enough to move them onto the semifinals where weights were cleared off and allowed a strong performance once again. Their three fish at 11 pounds, one ounce put them in second place heading into the finals.

While their final outing did not produce the results they wanted, the two fish that were eligible to weigh came out to five pounds, three ounces, which allowed them to finish at No. 24 in the world for the season.

Holliman and King also had a phenomenal outing overall. The pair caught three fish for nine pounds, nine ounces, placing them at No. 10 in the national championship and No. 11 in the world finals. Day two produced fairly similar results as well with three fish weighing in at eight pounds, one ounce, which only dropped them one spot in the world standing to No. 12.

Their top 10 combined placing in the national standings qualified them for the final round of the National Championship, where they went out and pulled in three fish for a combined six pounds, 13 ounces. That production placed them eighth in the final standings for the national competition.

As for the finals on the world stage on day four, the duo brought in another three fish at a combined seven pounds, one ounce, allowing them to finish 18th in the world and allowing the group to bring some nice hardware back to Columbiana.

The performance that both pairs put on will be one to remember for the community and a standard for the school to build on in years to come.