Clinton High fishing team finishes the year on the national stage
For the second consecutive year, the Clinton High School fishing team finished the summer on the nation’s grand stage.
The duo of Kobe Walden and J.C. Mashburn competed in the National Bass Fishing Championships. Walden and Mashburn finished 47th over the weekend at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina.
“We’re really pleased,” Clinton Coach Rachel Jones said. “They were hard on themselves because as a competitor, you always want to finish at the top.
“But they have a lot to be proud of, a lot to be happy about. I think it was a much bigger deal that they really thought. You are among 481 teams competing (at the nationals).”
Walden and Mashburn, who began their junior year in the classroom earlier this week, were in the National Bass Fishing Championships in 2022 and finished 119th last summer, so this year’s effort represented a vast improvement. Jones had high praise for the team after its stay in the Palmetto State.
“They’re just good and they work hard,” Jones said. “You don’t get a team like this that comes along every day and every year. The drive is what keeps them going.
“They’ve been really consistent all year. They finished 119th last year. They finished 47th this year, so they really improved.”
Walden and Mashburn posted a Top 50 finish in the 481-team field. But perhaps more significantly, the tandem had a Top 10 finish among teams from the Volunteer State.
“The team finished eighth against teams from the state, and that’s big because Tennessee and Alabama have the most teams,” Jones said. “They’re the only (fishing) team at the school, in Clinton and in Anderson County, and we’re really proud of them.”