Susquehanna Valley takes Top 2 spots

Shawn Diffendorfer and Dylan Powling of Susquehanna Valley High School won Pennsylvania’s first high school bass fishing tournament April 5 on the Susquehanna River.

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — Shawn Diffendorfer and Dylan Powling of Susquehanna Valley High School won Pennsylvania’s first high school bass fishing tournament April 5 on the Susquehanna River.

The Pennsylvania B.A.S.S. Nation High School and Youth Club Team Qualifier hosted 17 teams. The one-day event was shortened by a few hours because of high waters and heavy rain. The temperature never rose above the mid-40s, and it was overcast and windy during competition.

“Despite the conditions, the kids caught some really nice fish,” said Ernie Watkins, Pennsylvania B.A.S.S. Nation youth director.

The winning team of Diffendorfer and Powling weighed in four fish for 12.58 pounds. Right behind them were Garret Enders and Nick Osmon, also of Susquehanna Valley High School, with 9.86 pounds. Enders and Osmon also caught the biggest fish of the day, a 4.02-pound smallmouth.

Both teams qualified for the 2014 Bassmaster High School Championship, July 16-19, on Tennessee’s Kentucky Lake.

The Top 5 high school teams and the Top 2 youth club teams also qualified to compete in the 2014 Pennyslvania B.A.S.S. Nation High School Championship, Sept. 21, on Memorial Lake in Grantville, Pa.