Joliet Township High School Wins Big at Bass Fishing Sectional, Central Team Advances to State

The Joliet Township High School Central and West Bass Fishing Teams competed in the IHSA Braidwood Bass Fishing Sectional on Friday, May 1, with one team advancing to the state competition.

Joliet Central High School had a banner day. The team of Sean Cook, Tommy Zobel, John Murphy and Boat Captain Tony Cook captured 1st place and qualified for the IHSA State Tournament to be held at Carlyle Lake in Southern Illinois on May 14-16. The team of Nick Varman, Samantha Varman and Captain Mike Varman finished in 4th place and received a medal. The Joliet Central High School Bass Fishing Coach is Terry Piazza.

“It was a great team effort by both boats. The team worked hard and fished the lake 8-10 times prior to the event,” said Piazza. “This preparation led to the great results we had. The team is looking forward fishing in the state tournament in Carlyle and bringing home some additional hardware. I want to extend special thanks to Tony Cook and Mike Varman for volunteering their time and boats to provide our students with this opportunity.”

The Joliet West team of Drew Landrum, James Blankenship, Joshua Aalders, and Rachel Rowlett limited out and finished in 7th place overall. The Joliet West High School Bass Fishing Coach is John Barber.

“I would like to thank our Boat Drivers, Chris Olson & Dennis Goron, for taking time out of their day to give students the opportunity to fish in the sectional,” said Barber. “I would also like to thank the parents of the students for having them at school at 5:30 am. The students had a very exciting day and I am very proud of Rachel and Josh for catching 24 fish in total (5 keeper Bass). I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish next year with some more tournament experience.”


Photo Identification
Picture #1 (left to right): Mike Varmin (Boat #2 Captain), Tony Cook (Boat #1 Captain), Samantha Varman, John Murphy, Tommy Zobel, Nick Varman, Sean Cook, and Coach Terry Piazza.

Central Sectional Champions (left to right): John Murphy, Sean Cook, Tommy Zobel
West competitors (left to right): Joshua Aalders, Coach John Barber and Rachel Rowlett