The fishing team aims to hook bass on May 14 and 15 during their state tournament at Lake Belton in Temple Texas.

“Lovejoy has a strong team,” senior member Connor Dunn said. “We are prepared to do well at state.”

Five fishing teams of two member teams were sent to regionals. Eight members are advancing to the state tournament: Ben Burns, Aidan Abramson, Connor Dunn, Ian Nash, Grant Pursiful, Cade Stubb, Mason Mueller and Avery Conn.

“Points are awarded to teams with the five largest basses,” Burns said. “They must also be over 14 inches and white in color.”

There are nine divisions in the Texas High School Bass Association (THSA); the team competes in the north division. Individually, Abramson and Burns were awarded the Angler of the Year while seniors Connor and Nash were awarded second place Angler of the Year, and Max Nwanebu won tenth place Angler of the Year.  

“Personally I feel like I have improved a lot this season,” Abramson said. “I’m blessed to have an extremely talented, skilled and dedicated partner who I credit with the majority of the success of our partnership.”

The team has been preparing for the tournament. Connor and Nash finished third place in regionals out of 327 boats with just under a 17-pound bass. 

“Ian and I’s goal is to win the whole tournament,” Connor said. “We have felt like we have gotten really close to winning the past couple of tournaments.”

The team won multiple tournaments this season as well as several team and individual accolades. As a whole, they won Team of the Year for the fifth consecutive year. The Team of the Year award is calculated through the percentage of podium finishes. 

“We are hoping to continue that momentum and win state,” Burns said. 

Throughout the season, the team competes in tournaments against 40 schools and an average of 200 boats in the water. 

“We have a team of really dedicated kids who work really hard to prepare for tournaments,” Abramson said. “The Lovejoy Fishing Team is extremely successful because we work hard to be that way.”