By Fred Kroner
Heritage junior teammates Drew Williams and Joel Bear placed fifth out of 75 teams that qualified for the IHSA state bass fishing contest.
On Friday (May 20) at Lake Carlyle, Williams and Bear weighed in three fish that totaled 5 pounds, 11 ounces.
That proved to be their final total when the Saturday (May 21) session was canceled due to inclement weather.
The finish was the highest ever for Heritage in the bass fishing state tournament.
Heritage had a second state-qualifying team, junior Fletcher Hannah and freshmen Robert Holloman and Brennan Struck.
They ended in a tie for 40th after not having any fish to weigh in. Almost half of the state entries did not catch any fish.
Williams and Hannah competed at state together in 2021 and finished in 19th place.
