Last weekend students from Kennedale High School went fishing. Nothing new about weekend fishing except these students were part of bass fishing teams sponsored by the KHS Outdoor Education Club. One of the KHS teams beat out 196 other teams to finish in 10th place.
It is all part of the Kennedale High School Outdoor Education program and club at Kennedale High School, the creation of KHS teacher Danny Wilcox.
The fishing tournament last week was held at Lake Lewisville at Little Elm Park. Anglers could legally start at 7 a.m. with lines up at 3 p.m. At the end of the day, the team of Dylan Warren and Jake Cantu with boat captain Blaze Platt placed 10th with their catch for the day.
Fishing for KHS this year are students:
- Dylan Warren
- Jake Cantu
- Grayson Dean
- Hayden Swenson
- Brenden Heutzenroeder
- Zeth McGough
Boat captains are Blaze Platt, Timothy Heutzenroeder, Shawn Swenson. Under Texas High School Bass Association rules and regulations, each high school team has to be accompanied by a non-student adult who operates the boat.
Outdoor Education at KHS …
Wilcox who teaches Aquatic Science, Biology, Archery, and Outdoor Education at the high school, started the Outdoor Education Club seven years ago. In addition to the fishing teams, the program also sponsors archery teams that compete in regional and state tournaments.
The Outdoor Education program at the high school teaches gun, hunting, and boat safety as well as outdoor conservation best practices. Club trips including boating and outdoor cooking. In 2017, Wilcox was recognized as the Educator of the Year by the Outdoors Tomorrow Foundation.
More about the THSBA tournaments …
Each high school in Texas that participates in Texas High School Bass Association tournaments are assigned a division. Kennedale is in the West Division with approximately 36 other teams. Students compete in two-person teams in their division at several tournaments scheduled at different lakes in the state throughout the year. At the end of the season, teams that qualify compete in the state tournament.
Upcoming tournaments are scattered throughout the year on lakes at Possum Kingdom, Whitney, Granbury, Ray Roberts, and the regional at Lewisville on April 17, 2021. The state tournament will be held at Lake Texoma May 15 & 16, 2021.
One of the former Kennedale High School anglers, Simon Horn, holds the youth record for Lake Lewisville from a THSBA event for the spotted bass (September 24, 2016). Last year the Team of Riley Bush finished 10th at Lake Texoma; Team Morgan Earle/Dylan Warren was 20th at Lake Lewisville; and, Team Bush/Justin Harper came in 10th at the regionals at Lake Lewisville. Overall, Kennedale finished 17th in team totals for the year in the West Division out of 34 schools in 2019-20.
If you want to learn more about the activities and/or become a supporter of the program check out Kennedale HS Outdoor Education Club on Facebook or the school’s webpage @ P.E. & Outdoor Education.
The following video was made in 2017 by the Outdoors Tomorrow Foundation to help demonstrate of the mission of its outdoor education program. Featured prominently in the video is the program at Kennedale High School.
Outdoors Tomorrow Foundation Mission Video from Safari Classics on Vimeo.
