Four high school anglers were awarded Shimano Varsity Program scholarships on Thursday at the B.A.S.S. High School National Championship at Kentucky Lake.
The winners are: Nicolas Boyett and Chase Ditchkoff, both from Georgia; Patrick Durand from New Jersey; and Logan Parks from Alabama. Each student is being awarded a $3,000 scholarship to pursue college degrees within biology, fisheries, wildlife or natural resource fields.
In making the presentation Thursday, Shimano Youth Fishing Director Frank Hyla said, “assisting young anglers and their passion for a career in helping assure there are excellent fishing resources for the next generation is one of the keystone goals of our Shimano Varsity Program. All of us with Shimano couldn’t be happier that in our first year with the scholarship program, we were able to select four outstanding future college freshman - plus they are all pretty good bass anglers.”
Boyett graduated from Bainbridge High School, and plans to major in wildlife management at Bainbridge State College. One day he hopes to own or manage a fishing or hunting operation.
Ditchkoff, who hails from from Lithia Springs, Ga., graduated from Alexander High School, earning a varsity letter for competing on the school's fishing team. Alexander High is the first school in the country to honor its student athletes with awards for fishing. Ditchkoff aspires to
work for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources after studying fisheries at West Georgia University.
A graduate of Cherry Hill High School in Cherry Hill, N.J., Durand is the founder of the Cherry Hill Outdoorsman Club. He is majoring in environmental science at the SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry, and plans a career in the environmental field.
Along with being a co-founder of the Auburn High School bass team – and serving as the team president – Parks designed and implemented a fishing line recycling project at seven sites around Alabama’s Lake Logan Martin. He will major in fisheries or agri-business at Auburn University.
