South Carolina fishing team wins college national championship

South Carolina claimed a national championship Saturday when the duo of Anderson’s Hampton Anderson and Irmo’s Chris Blanchette claimed a FLW College Fishing title on Lake Keowee in the Upstate.

It gave the school back-to-back championships, becoming the second ever to do it after Florida in 2009 and 2010.

The pair posted a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 38 pounds, 15 ounces. They claimed a $30,000 prize package that included a Ranger Z175 boat and one entry into the 2016 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing, which will go to Anderson after winning a fish-off Sunday.

They were in 18th-place after the opening day, rose into the top-10 after day two and finished strong to win by just short of a pound.

The team from Colorado Mesa came in second, Auburn third and Henderson State fourth.

On Sunday at Lake Russell near Seneca, Anderson weighed a five-bass limit totaling 10 pounds, 1 ounce, to win the fish-off and earn the entry into the 2016 Forrest Wood Cup. Blanchette brought four bass to the scale weighing 6 pounds, 6 ounces.

This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 11:44 AM with the headline "South Carolina fishing team wins college national championship."