Lawrenceburg HS Anglers Among The Best At National Championship Tournament In Alabama

Tuesday, July 3, 2018 at 12:49 PM

By Mike Perleberg @mikedup84

Will Halbig and Dylan Jones placed 25th out of 232 teams from across the U.S.

Will Halbig (left) and Dylan Jones with their catches at the Student Angler Federation’s High School Fishing National Championship. Photo provided.

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) – Being the best team in the state is a pretty remarkable accomplishment in traditional high school sports like football and basketball.

It means something in the growing arena of high school fishing competitions, too. Just ask Lawrenceburg High School’s Will Halbig and Dylan Jones.

The two Tigers placed 32nd out of 232 teams competing in the Student Angler Federation’s High School Fishing National Championship held June 26 through 29 at Pickwick Lake in Florence, Alabama. They were the best-placing team from Indiana.

In two days of competition on the water, the young anglers caught nine out of 10 allotted fish totaling over 22 pounds. Halbig and Jones had the bass fishing equivalent of a buzzer-beater by catching their last two fish in the final 20 minutes of the second day.

The performance was enough to get them into the SAF’s World Finals held at Pickwick on June 30. As happens to many fishermen, they experienced some boat trouble. The duo persevered with help from Will’s father, Bill Halbig, and his boat and were able to place 25th out of 31 teams in the World Finals.

Jones and Halbig will be seniors next school year at LHS.