AOY: Classic qualifying berths

After an eight-event regular season stretching from California to Georgia, a bevy of Bassmaster Elite Series anglers were able to cash in on the fruits of their labor Sunday in the form of Bassmaster Classic berths.

MUSKOGEE, Okla. — After an eight-event regular season stretching from California to Georgia, a bevy of Bassmaster Elite Series anglers were able to cash in on the fruits of their labor Sunday in the form of Bassmaster Classic berths. The final Elite event of the regular season, the AutoZone Sooner Run on Fort Gibson Lake, is in the books and with that, 37 anglers grabbed a coveted qualifying spot into the 2011 Bassmaster Classic.

 While BASS qualifies 36 anglers for the Classic based on their ranking in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year race, because 2010 Classic champion Kevin Vandam of Kalamazoo, Mich., automatically qualifies and was sixth in the AOY points, the 37th angler, Paul Elias of Laurel, Miss., also gets in.

 The 2010 Bassmaster Classic is set for Feb. 18-20 on the Louisiana Delta out of New Orleans.

 While Elias finished strong — he scored a 16th place finish at the Sooner Run — a trio of BASS veterans were able to land their Classic berths despite missing the top 47 cut at the Oklahoma Elite event. Still, Kevin Wirth of Crestwood, Ky., (34th); Kelly Jordon of Mineola, Texas (35th) and Terry Scroggins (36th) of San Mateo, Florida, did just enough during the course of the season to sneak in. Each angler holds a Classic qualifying streak of at least five consecutive.

 "I felt sick because I thought I cost myself a Classic berth here," said Wirth, who will fish in his 10th consecutive Classic in 2011. "That's what we fish for. To get into that Classic and have a shot at the top prize. Plus, the exposure opportunities are incredible."

 Joining the 37 Elite qualifiers in the 50-angler Classic field will be six BASS Federation Nation anglers who will qualify via the Federation Nation National Championship (Oct. 27-29; Red River; Shreveport, La.); two each from the Bassmaster Southern, Central and Northern Opens; and the winner of the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series Operated by American Bass Anglers Championship. The field will be vying for a $500,000 top prize.

 In the case of anglers who qualify through two avenues, BASS will work down through the Elite Series' AOY standings. That means all is not lost for the 38th placed competitor. In fact, in 2009, BASS worked down to the 39th spot in the AOY rankings due to anglers who double qualified via both the Opens and Elite Series.

 Jared Lintner of Arroyo Grande, Calif., would be the first angler to qualify in the case of a double qualifier. The final list of the AOY regular-season standings is the following:

 2010 Muskogee, OK: Points Ending 06-20-2010, Day 4

 

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 Place  Name               St            Pts

 

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 1 Skeet Reese           Calif.       2116

 

 2 Edwin Evers           Okla.        2010

 

 3 Cliff Pace            Miss.        1868

 

 4 Derek Remitz          Ala.         1854

 

 5 Terry Butcher         Okla.        1841

 

 6 Kevin VanDam          Mich.        1825

 

 7 Tommy Biffle          Okla.        1801

 

 8 John Crews            Va.          1792

 

 9 Gary Klein            Texas        1771

 

 10 Greg Hackney          La.          1767

 

 11 Russ Lane             Ala.         1766

 

 11 Aaron Martens         Ala.         1766

 

 13 Brian Snowden         Mo.          1732

 

 14 Mark Davis            Ark.         1726

 

 15 Mike McClelland       Ark.         1723

 

 16 Todd Faircloth        Texas        1712

 

 17 Scott Rook            Ark.         1705

 

 18 Morizo Shimizu        Japan        1690

 

 19 Matt Herren           Ala.         1686

 

 20 Bill Lowen            Ohio         1669

 

 21 Stephen Browning      Ark.         1663

 

 22 Michael Iaconelli     N.J.         1644

 

 23 Dave Wolak            N.C.         1643

 

 24 Shaw Grigsby          Fla.         1622

 

 25 Boyd Duckett          Ala.         1618

 

 26 Bobby Lane            Fla.         1608

 

 26 Jeff Kriet            Okla.        1608

 

 28 Gerald Swindle        Ala.         1601

 

 29 Jason Williamson      S.C.         1597

 

 30 Greg Vinson           Ala.         1578

 

 31 Steve Kennedy         Ala.         1573

 

 32 Dean Rojas            Ariz.        1572

 

 33 Brent Chapman         Kan.         1547

 

 34 Kevin Wirth           Ky.          1546

 

 35 Kelly Jordon          Texas        1531

 

 36 Terry Scroggins       Fla.         1530

 

 37 Paul Elias            Miss.        1525

 

 38 Jared Lintner         Calif.       1513

 

 39 Mark Tucker           Mo.          1502

 

 40 Bradley Roy           Ky.          1475

 

 40 Davy Hite             S.C.         1475

 

 40 Rick Morris           Va.          1475

 

 43 Marty Robinson        S.C.         1471

 

 44 Pat Golden            N.C.         1453

 

 45 Clark Reehm           Ark.         1450

 

 46 Casey Ashley          S.C.         1439

 

 47 Dustin Wilks          N.C.         1433

 

 48 Denny Brauer          Mo.          1427

 

 49 James Niggemeyer      Texas        1425

 

 50 Mark Menendez         Ky.          1423

 

 51 Timmy Horton          Ala.         1422

 

 52 Cliff Crochet         La.          1414

 

 53 Jason Quinn           S.C.         1412

 

 54 Takahiro Omori        Texas        1406

 

 55 Matt Reed             Texas        1405

 

 56 Alton Jones           Texas        1397

 

 57 Randy Howell          Ala.         1382

 

 58 Kenyon Hill           Okla.        1378

 

 59 Billy McCaghren       Ark.         1374

 

 60 Ish Monroe            Calif.       1368

 

 61 Marty Stone           N.C.         1364

 

 62 Pete Ponds            Miss.        1360

 

 63 Kevin Short           Ark.         1354

 

 64 Kotaro Kiriyama       Ala.         1352

 

 65 Bradley Hallman       Okla.        1350

 

 65 Peter Thliveros       Fla.         1350

 

 67 Guy Eaker             N.C.         1339

 

 68 J Todd Tucker         Ga.          1334

 

 69 Zell Rowland          Texas        1327

 

 70 Rick Clunn            Mo.          1317

 

 71 Chris Lane            Ala.         1288

 

 72 Jami Fralick          S.D.         1286

 

 73 Keith Poche           Ala.         1276

 

 74 Mark Tyler            Okla.        1274

 

 75 Grant Goldbeck        Md.          1266

 

 76 Chad Griffin          Texas        1260

 

 77 Byron Velvick         Texas        1247

 

 78 Jeff Connella         La.          1246

 

 79 Bernie Schultz        Fla.         1228

 

 80 Britt Myers           S.C.         1226

 

 81 Matt Greenblatt       Fla.         1225

 

 82 Fred Roumbanis        Okla.        1213

 

 83 Charlie Hartley       Ohio         1210

 

 84 John Murray           Ariz.        1186

 

 85 Wade Grooms           S.C.         1156

 

 86 Yusuke Miyazaki       Texas        1144

 

 87 Vince Fulks           Okla.        1132

 

 88 Dennis Tietje         La.          1096

 

 89 Byron Haseotes        Mass.        1010

 

 90 Jeremy Starks         W.Va.         990

 

 91 David Smith           Okla.         988

 

 92 Mark Burgess          Mass.         970

 

 93 Scott Ashmore         Okla.         906