Ringgold duo place at Bassmaster Nationals

Ringgold Bassin members Kasey Ferguson, Jakari Thomas and boat captain Jimmy Ferguson finished among the top 12 in the nation at the 2022 Abu Garcia Bassmaster High School Championship. The high school fishing nationals were held Aug. 11-13 at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, S. C. and Ringgold Bass’in was one of four teams from Virginia competing in the event. Out of 314 teams from the United States and Canada, Ringgold Bassin was one of the top 12 teams competing on the final day of the three-day tournament.

Ferguson and Thomas, both rising seniors at Dan River High School, qualified for nationals after winning their second-straight BASS Nation of Virginia high school state championship earlier this year. The duo found themselves in fifth place after they caught 15.7 pounds on Thursday. On Friday afternoon, Thomas and Ferguson improved themselves with their total of 27.7 pounds of fish. That amount put them in third place and qualified them to fish in Saturday’s final round. However, fishing proved tough for all the teams and the fish just couldn’t find their way into Ferguson and Thomas’s boat on Saturday. Ringgold Bassin would end the tournament in 12th place. Despite not having the final day they wanted, they didn’t leave Lake Hartwell empty-handed as they received a $500 scholarship for their top 12 finish.

Ferguson and Thomas were proud of their efforts and encouraged by the support from the Ringgold and Dan River communities and Bass Nation of Virginia. Both fishermen sacrificed a lot to compete in the tournament, missing their final first day of school and their first football scrimmage for the Wildcats. They are already looking forward to going for a state three-peat and getting back to Nationals in 2023.