Bryan College Uses Homegrown Knowledge To Take Lead At Bassmaster College Championship

DAYTON, Tenn. — Bryan College’s Cole Sands and Conner Dimauro know Lake Chickamauga about as well as anyone, and they proved it Thursday on Day 1 of the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro.

Cole Sands and Conner Dimauro of Bryan College take the lead on Day 1 of the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops at Lake Chickamauga out of Dayton, Tenn., with a total of 24 pounds, 9 ounces. Photo by Dalton Tumblin/B.A.S.S.

The duo caught five bass that weighed 24 pounds, 9 ounces, which gave them more than a 2-pound lead on the other 115 teams competing this week in the southeast corner of the Volunteer State.

Bryan College is located across the street from Dayton Municipal Park where takeoffs and weigh-ins are being held during the championship. The park abuts the trophy-bass lake and both anglers said their familiarity with the area clearly helped their fortunes Thursday.

“I spend my time out here,” Sands said. “It’s not a coincidence and I’m not gonna deny we were blessed today. But we had a really tough practice and didn’t know what we’d catch. We thought we could catch about 15 pounds and that was about it.”

The difference between a lackluster practice and a sensational first day was the 7-15 kicker bass that Sands caught Thursday. It tied for the heaviest bass of the day, and along with some other quality keepers that Dimauro boated, it was more than enough to give the locals the lead.

But as both anglers said, they didn’t think they were on the right fish to make that happen. To take advantage of any opportunities, Sands and Dimauro kept a dozen rods on the deck most of the day. At one point, the five bass they had in the livewell had been caught on five different lures.

The “kitchen sink” approach worked.

“We culled a bigger bag today than we had all of practice,” Dimauro said. “But as tough as conditions were for us, we saved a lot of stuff.”

Sands said he and Dimauro will continue to “fish the conditions.”

“When we blasted off today, we knew where we were going to start and how we did after that was how we were to go from there,” Sands said. “That is an advantage of knowing the lake … It’s not like we’re catching just deep or just shallow. It’s a little bit of everything.”

Carter McNeil and Cole Floyd of Bethel University are in second place with a five-bass limit that weighed 22-6. They won the Bassmaster College Series tournament on Bull Shoals Lake in Arkansas earlier this year, but now they’re after a bigger prize.

Like the tournament leaders, McNeil and Floyd compete regularly on Chickamauga, which is a four-hour drive from McKenzie, Tenn., where Bethel is located. But they too struggled in practice until finding their groove Thursday.

“We just expanded and fished a bunch of new water today,” Floyd said. “It’s just one here and one there. It’s not a big group of fish.”

McNeil is confident he and Floyd will have to produce another big bag if they want to survive the cut to the Top 12 following Friday’s weigh-in.

“This lake is capable of producing some really big bass,” McNeil said. “If we’re consistent, I think we can make it to the last day. But like Cole was saying, the fish are just scattered. We could go tomorrow and catch average fish. We’ll just stick to our game plan and see if we can do it again tomorrow.”

Landon Siggers and Logan Reynolds of Wytheville (Va.) Community College are third with 20-6, while Jarrett Brown and Elliot Torode of the University of Montevallo (Ala.) are fourth with 19-14. The University of Tennessee’s Robert Gee and Saxton Long are fifth with 19-12.

Brandon Mann of Arkansas Tech caught an 8-2 kicker on Day 1 that currently holds the title of Big Bass of the tournament. Mann and his partner Hunter Bryant are currently in 12th place.

The Top 4 teams (eight anglers) at the championship will advance to the Bassmaster College Classic Bracket to be held Aug. 27-29 at Watts Bar Lake, also in Tennessee. They will compete individually in a head-to-head format there with a berth in the 2020 Bassmaster Classic at Alabama’s Lake Guntersville going to the winning angler.

Day 2 of the College Series National Championship will begin Friday with takeoff from the Dayton Boat Dock at 6:40 a.m. ET. Weigh-in is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. at Point Park.

Bryan College, the City of Dayton and Fish Dayton are hosting the national championship.

Follow all the action on Bassmaster.com.

2019 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Title Sponsor: Carhartt

2019 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Presenting Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops

2019 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota

2019 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Premier Sponsors: Abu Garcia, Berkley, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Skeeter Boats, Talon, Yamaha

2019 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Supporting Sponsors: Lowrance, Mossy Oak Fishing, TNT Fireworks

About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S. is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the 510,000-member organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), television show (The Bassmasters on ESPN2), radio show (Bassmaster Radio), social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Bassmaster Elite Series, BassPro.com Bassmaster Opens Series, TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Bassmaster Team Championship and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.
2019 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops 8/1-8/3
Lake Chickamauga, Dayton  TN.
(BOATER) Standings Day 1

Angler                                       Club/School                       Pts

1.  Cole Sands – Conner Dimauro                  Bryan College- TN                     0
Day 1: 5   24-09   Total:   5  24-09
2.  Carter McNeil – Cole Floyd                   Bethel University- TN                 0
Day 1: 5   22-06   Total:   5  22-06
3.  Landon Siggers – Logan Reynolds              Wytheville Community College          0
Day 1: 5   20-06   Total:   5  20-06
4.  Jarrett Brown – Elliot Torode                University of Montevallo              0
Day 1: 5   19-14   Total:   5  19-14
5.  Robert Gee – Saxton Long                     University of Tennessee               0
Day 1: 5   19-12   Total:   5  19-12
6.  Jared Turnbloom – Thomas Milstead            University of Alabama                 0
Day 1: 4   19-04   Total:   4  19-04
7.  Noah Boyett – Hunter Hanby                   University of Arkansas- AR            0
Day 1: 5   18-12   Total:   5  18-12
8.  Cody Huff – Garrett Enders                   Bethel University                     0
Day 1: 5   18-06   Total:   5  18-06
9.  Tyler Christy – Trey Schroeder               McKendree University- IL              0
Day 1: 5   18-02   Total:   5  18-02
10. Chase Serafin – Jack Hippe                   Adrian College                        0
Day 1: 5   18-02   Total:   5  18-02
11. Joshua Boone – Blake Riley                   Eastern Kentucky University- KY       0
Day 1: 5   18-00   Total:   5  18-00
12. Brandon Mann – Hunter Bryant                 Arkansas Tech                         0
Day 1: 5   17-09   Total:   5  17-09
13. Cal Culpepper – Mason Waddell                University of Montevallo              0
Day 1: 5   16-08   Total:   5  16-08
14. J T Russell – Porter James                   University of Montevallo              0
Day 1: 5   16-01   Total:   5  16-01
15. Josh Flynn – Zac Hopkins                     Kansas State University               0
Day 1: 5   16-00   Total:   5  16-00
16. Jordan Hartman – Will Gentry                 Murray State University- KY           0
Day 1: 5   15-15   Total:   5  15-15
17. KJ Queen – Dax Ewart                         Bethel University                     0
Day 1: 5   15-14   Total:   5  15-14
18. Derek Freeman – Caleb Allgood                Clemson University                    0
Day 1: 5   15-13   Total:   5  15-13
19. Perry Marvin – Cantley Krafft                Virginia Tech University              0
Day 1: 5   15-10   Total:   5  15-10
20. Trevor McKinney – Ethan Jones                McKendree University                  0
Day 1: 5   15-07   Total:   5  15-07
21. Dalton Combs – Jack Rankin                   Drury University- MO                  0
Day 1: 5   15-05   Total:   5  15-05
22. Jacob Moore – Gilliam Tharpe                 North Carolina State University       0
Day 1: 5   15-03   Total:   5  15-03
23. Griffin Heffington – Mason Cizek             Bryan College- TN                     0
Day 1: 5   14-11   Total:   5  14-11
24. Jacob Woods – Samuel Vandagriff              Tennessee Tech University             0
Day 1: 5   14-10   Total:   5  14-10
25. Will Andrie – Gaige Blanton                  Kansas State University- KS           0
Day 1: 5   14-08   Total:   5  14-08
26. Dalton Smith – Wil Rigdon                    Campbellsville University- KY         0
Day 1: 5   14-05   Total:   5  14-05
27. Conner Choate – Hunter DeSplinter            University of Wisconsin – Platte      0
Day 1: 5   14-04   Total:   5  14-04
28. Benjamin Hager – Noah Shaver                 UNC-Charlotte                         0
Day 1: 5   14-03   Total:   5  14-03
29. Nolan Minor – Casey Lanier                   West Virginia University- WV          0
Day 1: 5   14-02   Total:   5  14-02
30. Ben Seaman – Dante Piraino                   Clarkson University                   0
Day 1: 5   14-02   Total:   5  14-02
31. Collin Cropp – Mitch Van Ert                 University of Wisconsin-Whitewat      0
Day 1: 5   13-15   Total:   5  13-15
32. Aidan England – Braden Perry                 Carson-Newman University              0
Day 1: 5   13-14   Total:   5  13-14
33. Carter Henderson – Connor Whisenant          Texas A&M University- TX              0
Day 1: 5   13-13   Total:   5  13-13
34. Cole Breeden – Cameron Smith                 Drury University                      0
Day 1: 3   13-13   Total:   3  13-13
35. Grant Pavelka – Dylan Petersen               MPCC                                  0
Day 1: 5   13-10   Total:   5  13-10
36. Nicholas Inzeo – Nick Montilino              Murray State University               0
Day 1: 5   13-07   Total:   5  13-07
37. William Nichols – Jamon Phillips             Jacksonville State University         0
Day 1: 5   13-05   Total:   5  13-05
38. Jackson Carrell – Bryton Kurtz               Sam Houston State University          0
Day 1: 5   13-03   Total:   5  13-03
39. Matt Baker – Kory England                    Arkansas Tech University-AR           0
Day 1: 5   13-02   Total:   5  13-02
40. Tristan McCormick – Dakota Pierce            Bethel University                     0
Day 1: 5   13-00   Total:   5  13-00
41. Spencer Lambert – Wesley Banks               University of Louisiana at Monro      0
Day 1: 5   12-14   Total:   5  12-14
42. Tyler Bounds – Carson Leber                  Chico State                           0
Day 1: 5   12-11   Total:   5  12-11
42. Aaron Digh – Jerris Bush                     East Carolina University              0
Day 1: 5   12-11   Total:   5  12-11
42. Zeke Gossett – Hayden Bartee                 Jacksonville State University- A      0
Day 1: 5   12-11   Total:   5  12-11
45. Bradley Dunagan –                            Campbellsville University             0
Day 1: 4   12-11   Total:   4  12-11
46. Garrett Warren – Eric Lampkin                Snead State Community College         0
Day 1: 5   12-08   Total:   5  12-08
47. Fisher Overton – Alden Keel Jr               Blue Mountain College                 0
Day 1: 5   12-05   Total:   5  12-05
47. Tyler Price – Preston Kendrick               Bryan College                         0
Day 1: 5   12-05   Total:   5  12-05
47. Alex Williamson – Coleman Roberts            Liberty University                    0
Day 1: 5   12-05   Total:   5  12-05
50. Ty Black – Avry Thomason                     Georgia Southern University           0
Day 1: 4   12-05   Total:   4  12-05
51. Logan Parks – Lucas Lindsay                  Auburn University                     0
Day 1: 4   11-15   Total:   4  11-15
52. Anthony Vintson – Brandon Mathews            Auburn University                     0
Day 1: 4   11-14   Total:   4  11-14
53. Tyler Lubbat – Harold Wells                  University of Alabama                 0
Day 1: 5   11-12   Total:   5  11-12
54. Brad Ableman – Seth Roberts                  Bethel University                     0
Day 1: 4   11-12   Total:   4  11-12
55. Brian Linder – Nathan Thompson               Bemidji State University              0
Day 1: 5   11-11   Total:   5  11-11
56. Chris Carnes – Tyler Lawwill                 UNC-Charlotte                         0
Day 1: 5   11-08   Total:   5  11-08
57. John Garrett – Kyle Palmer                   Bethel University- TN                 0
Day 1: 4   11-03   Total:   4  11-03
58. Jacob Louis – Nathan Doty                    McKendree University- IL              0
Day 1: 5   11-02   Total:   5  11-02
59. Alex Moore – Marshall Wiggins                U. of Central Florida                 0
Day 1: 4   10-13   Total:   4  10-13
60. Chase Sansom – Tyler Drown                   Marshall University                   0
Day 1: 5   10-11   Total:   5  10-11
61. Ty Cox – Chandler Boman                      Blue Mountain College                 0
Day 1: 5   10-10   Total:   5  10-10
62. Cole Lamb – Tristan Weaver                   Arkansas Tech University- AR          0
Day 1: 5   10-10   Total:   5  10-10
63. Matthew Davis – Jarrod Layton                Adrian College                        0
Day 1: 5   10-07   Total:   5  10-07
64. Bailey Fain – Trevor St. John                Bryan College                         0
Day 1: 5   09-15   Total:   5  09-15
65. Chandlar Ellis – Gil Senn                    Lander University                     0
Day 1: 5   09-11   Total:   5  09-11
66. Isaac Duncan – Fisher Young                  Blue Mountain College- MS             0
Day 1: 5   09-09   Total:   5  09-09
67. Jason Felter – Joseph McClosky               Bethel University                     0
Day 1: 5   09-08   Total:   5  09-08
68. Jonathan Kelley – Grant Tattersall           Coastal Carolina University           0
Day 1: 5   09-07   Total:   5  09-07
69. Aaron Denny – Bill Mathews                   Grand Valley State University- M      0
Day 1: 5   09-06   Total:   5  09-06
70. Justin Sisavath – Nathan Ragsdale            University of Georgia                 0
Day 1: 4   08-12   Total:   4  08-12
71. Lucas Murphy – Mitchell Gunn                 Grand Valley State University         0
Day 1: 4   08-09   Total:   4  08-09
72. Nick Schultz – Trey Autry                    UNC-Charlotte                         0
Day 1: 3   08-08   Total:   3  08-08
73. Griffin Fernandes – Gunner Wilson            Adrian College                        0
Day 1: 4   08-02   Total:   4  08-02
73. Scott McClellan – Huff McIntosh              LA Tech                               0
Day 1: 4   08-02   Total:   4  08-02
75. Joshua Gruen – Riley Blair                   University of Wisconsin- Plattev      0
Day 1: 3   08-00   Total:   3  08-00
76. Rob Hendrick – Chad Pruner                   Western Carolina University           0
Day 1: 2   07-15   Total:   2  07-15
77. Shane Nelson – Brayden Federer               Adrian College                        0
Day 1: 3   07-11   Total:   3  07-11
78. Tanner Johnson – Guy Wegienka                LaGrange College                      0
Day 1: 3   07-09   Total:   3  07-09
79. Derek Pietsch – Trey Dawson                  Texas A&M                             0
Day 1: 4   07-05   Total:   4  07-05
80. Louis Monetti – Andrew Weaver                UNC-Charlotte                         0
Day 1: 4   07-03   Total:   4  07-03
80. Mitchell Naler – Lee Mattox                  University of Alabama                 0
Day 1: 4   07-03   Total:   4  07-03
82. Adam Puckett –                               Murray State University               0
Day 1: 3   06-12   Total:   3  06-12
83. Jacob Schrimsher – Nathan Wight              Calhoun Community College- AL         0
Day 1: 3   06-10   Total:   3  06-10
84. Grant Ehlenfeldt – Seth Korb                 University of Wisconsin- Plattev      0
Day 1: 3   06-09   Total:   3  06-09
85. Dan Dubose – Jon Kilpatrick                  University of Alabama                 0
Day 1: 2   06-07   Total:   2  06-07
86. Miller Spivey – Trey Dickert                 University of Montevallo              0
Day 1: 3   06-06   Total:   3  06-06
87. Justin Carr – Austin Carr                    Illinois State University             0
Day 1: 3   06-05   Total:   3  06-05
88. Grant Adams – Adam Carman                    Campbellsville University- KY         0
Day 1: 3   05-13   Total:   3  05-13
89. Mason Bishop –                               Southern Illinois University Car      0
Day 1: 3   05-12   Total:   3  05-12
90. Luke Lamb – Wilson Smith                     Bethel University                     0
Day 1: 3   05-05   Total:   3  05-05
91. Taylor Hamburger – Tristen Turley            Oklahoma State University- OK         0
Day 1: 3   05-01   Total:   3  05-01
92. Brandon Buckley – Michael Orris              Penn State University                 0
Day 1: 2   05-00   Total:   2  05-00
93. Thad Simerly – Ethan Shaw                    Bryan College                         0
Day 1: 2   04-10   Total:   2  04-10
94. Britt Myers – Tanner Maness                  Lander University- SC                 0
Day 1: 3   04-08   Total:   3  04-08
95. Tanner Ward – Rory Franks                    Kent State University                 0
Day 1: 2   04-07   Total:   2  04-07
96. Zachariah Edwards – Drew Douglas             University of Central Oklahoma        0
Day 1: 2   04-00   Total:   2  04-00
97. Mitch Moore – Clark Mannas                   Texas A&M University                  0
Day 1: 2   03-09   Total:   2  03-09
98. Austin Phillips – Samuel Scott               Arkansas Tech University- AR          0
Day 1: 1   02-15   Total:   1  02-15
99. Emma Mullineaux –                            University of Maryland                0
Day 1: 1   02-11   Total:   1  02-11
100. Charley Kuhn – Reese Penfield                University of South Carolina- Be      0
Day 1: 1   02-05   Total:   1  02-05
100. Reid Strobl – Samuel Scott                   Dallas Baptist University- TX         0
Day 1: 1   02-05   Total:   1  02-05
102. Rudy Worley – John Nowlin                    Blue Mountain College- MS             0
Day 1: 1   02-04   Total:   1  02-04
103. Ethan Wallace – Tyler Beckerman              University of Missouri                0
Day 1: 1   02-03   Total:   1  02-03
104. Walker Wilson – Jackson Hall                 Univeristy of Arkansas- AR            0
Day 1: 1   02-01   Total:   1  02-01
105. Josh Worth – Calvin Corey                    Colorado Mesa University              0
Day 1: 1   02-00   Total:   1  02-00
106. Brian Volkernick – Erik Zilgme               University of Maine                   0
Day 1: 1   01-15   Total:   1  01-15
106. Liam West – Brady Waits                      Clemson University                    0
Day 1: 1   01-15   Total:   1  01-15
108. David Dueland – Cameron Glasscock            University of Montevallo              0
Day 1: 1   01-14   Total:   1  01-14
108. Grant Hack – Jonathan Stepp                  Ohio State                            0
Day 1: 1   01-14   Total:   1  01-14
110. Justin Barnes – Adam Carroll                 University of Montevallo              0
Day 1: 1   01-13   Total:   1  01-13
110. Zach Oldre – Andrew Okada                    University of North Dakota            0
Day 1: 1   01-13   Total:   1  01-13
112. Anthony Fazio – Luke Jasper                  Illinois State University             0
Day 1: 1   01-07   Total:   1  01-07
113. Grant Adams – Shane Stafford                 Texas A&M University                  0
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00
113. Logan Tate – Chase Chastain                  Jacksonville State University         0
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00
113. Connor Usher – Omar Petty                    UNC-Charlotte                         0
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00
113. Riley Welch –                                Michigan State University             0
Day 1: 0   00-00   Total:   0  00-00
———————————————————————–
Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
1        60       434      1185-03
———————————-
60       434      1185-03