Members of PCHS Fishing Team competed in the Joseph Thomson Memorial 6-Man BASS Nation Virginia State Championship in a June 18 tournament held in Occoneechee State Park, Clarksville, Virginia. It was a tough day on Buggs Island, but the members did a great job. Patrick County High School Fishing Team members caught a total weight of 18.42 pounds, and while the team may not have brought home the trophy this time, it was represented well in the 6-man JAT.
The top three teams from each school in Virginia competed in the state tournament, weighing in all of the fish together as a team of six anglers.
Twenty-three high school teams, and nine junior teams, competed for the Championship Trophy this year to display in their school for the 2022-23 school year. The winning high school team was Southern Outcast. The winning junior team was Mecklenburg High School Anglers.
Patrick County seniors David Bryant and Zach Heath have both done an outstanding job this season, and while this was their final tournament as a PCHS Cougar, they will both be fishing with Patrick & Henry Community College (P&HCC) in the fall.
Jonah Shockley and Hunter Heath will return next season to compete in the 2022-23 JSQs.
Nash Thompson and Gavin MCGhee have a final tournament as PCHS anglers, competing at the national level in August. Congratulations on all of your achievements. Patrick County is proud of each of you.
The Joseph Thomson Memorial Tournament was created to raise scholarship money in memory of Joseph Thomson, a college student who was killed in a vehicle accident in 2006. Joseph had been a member of the Orange County High School Anglers in Orange, VA. and after one year, he soon started a club with his own school in Warren County, VA. The Joseph Thomson 6 Man Team Championship is held to raise money for the BASS Nation of Virginia Memorial Scholarship.
(Story and photo contributed by Sandra Heath)
