HARRIS CHAIN, Florida — Former Kelseyville High School athlete Nathan Phillips, now a member of the Simpson University fishing team out of Redding, teamed up with partner Ryan Beaty to place 14th overall in the College National Championships, which opened Wednesday and concluded Friday in Florida.
Phillips and Beaty finished just outside the final-day cutdown to 10 teams in the 156-team field. They brought five-fish limits of bass to the weigh scales each of the first two days of the tournament for a total weight of 33 pounds, 2 ounces. They needed 34-13 to make the third-day cut.
Heading into the final day of the competition, Nathan Doty and Jacob Louis of McKendree University (Illinois) held the lead with 42-12 and were followed by Conner Dmauro and Cole Sands of Bryan College (Tennessee) with 37-11, Jayce Garrison and Mason Hoke of Sam Houston State (Texas) with 37-3, John Garrett Pearson and James Pearson of Georgia College (Georgia) with 37-2, and Nathan Ouince and Cody Neal of Slippery Rock University (Pennsylvania) with 36-6.
In addition to coming away from the tournament with the title of national champions, the winners also receive a new Phoenix bass boat.
Phillips, a 2019 Kelseyville High School graduate, competed for the Lake County Fishing Club and earned a fishing scholarship to Simpson University.
