The Bass Fishing team of Danny Swallow ‘24 and Nick Whitney ‘27 with Boat Captain Jeff Geiser won The Bass Federation (TBF) Student Angler Federation Missouri State Championship at the Lake of the Ozarks March 16.

They had a five-fish total weighing 16 lbs, 15 oz.

This was Swallow and Geiser’s second straight state championship.

“We didn’t expect anything going into it,” Swallow said. “I was super excited to have Nick Whitney along with me and it was just a thrill to hear the result.”

This is Whitney’s first year competing in a De Smet uniform.

“It’s really cool because it was the second tournament I’ve ever fished in,” Whitney said. “I’ve been fishing for a long time and I haven’t caught very many fish that big, and it was super rewarding.”

Also competing were Casey Burkot ‘26 and Evan Wehmueller ‘26 who placed 10th, Michael Distelrath ‘25 and Rylan Govero ‘25 who placed 12th, and Henry Dinan ‘27 and Alex Montellano ‘27 who placed 14th.

“It was exciting to see so many guys get to compete,” Team Coordinator Kevin Berns said. “With so many young guys on the team, this is definitely a program on the rise.”