2 Belgreen Anglers are state champions

BELGREEN – Two members of the Belgreen High School fishing team, the Belgreen Anglers, brought home the school’s first state fishing championship.

Seventh graders Eli Boyd and Trey Hicks, both 13 fished in the Junior/Senior combined category. Belgreen is the only school in Franklin County with a fishing team.

The pair also won lunker (big fish) with a total catch of 5.93 pounds on Saturday. They finished fourth place on Holt Lake in Tuscaloosa, fourth place on Smith Lake in Jasper, and second place on Pickwick Lake.

Hicks is the son of Alan and Laura Hicks of Russellville. He fished through BassTactix Alabama, which is run by Shane Mansell. His weight for day one was 11.55 pounds, and the weight for the second day was 11.60, making a two-day total of 23.15 pounds.

“Of all the lakes we’ve fished, Wheeler Lake was the toughest one to catch fish,” Hicks said. “It’s an honor to be able to do what I love.”

Boyd was equally happy about their performance.

“We worked really hard to achieve our goals that we set at the beginning of the season,” Boyd said. “It’s a blessing that we were able to do it.

“We really want to thank our boat captain, Sonny Boyd, for taking the time and Shane (Mansell) for putting on the tournaments.”

Miguel Willingham and Ben Wilkins also fished for Belgreen with an 8.61-pound total for the first day and 3.12 on the second day for a total weight of 11.73 pounds. They fished in the Senior Division.