The Northfield High School bass fishing team wrapped up its season with three teams competing at the Minnesota Junior BASS Nation 2026 High School State Championship Tournament, which was held on the waters of Leech Lake near Walker, Minn. on Sept. 12-13.
In a field that included 79 teams of two from around the state, Northfield’s duo of Erin Kale’s and Mae Berglund placed 56th with a total weight of 8.09 pounds. In 57th place, Northfield’s team of Zander Arroyo and Grayson Gray finished the event with a total of 7.80 pounds and the team of Jacob Peters and Walker Sorem placed 74th at 2.20 pounds.
“Tough conditions after the Friday night storm and cold front came through,” NHS coach Craig Johnson said. “With the high winds on Saturday, the 79 boats were limited to the western side of Leech Lake near Walker. Each of the NHS teams weighed in one fish on Saturday. With less wind and the whole lake available on Sunday, Mae and Erin, the only girl/girl team in the field, brought in three fish, with Erin’s being 3.5 pounds, that put them at 56th – one spot ahead of the three fish brought in by Grayson and Zander.”
Johnson added, “Jacob and Walker tried hard all Sunday to find smallmouth bass on the rocks and had a tough day. All six anglers had a fun time, it was everyone’s first trip to HS BASS State and the five seniors finished their four years of fishing with a bang. Zander is a 10th grader, in his first year on the team and he hopes to find a new partner and a boat captain for next year and do it again.”
Students interested in joining the Northfield High School bass fishing team for the upcoming 2027 season should contact Craig Johnson at cjohnson@northfieldschools.org
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Tom Nelson is a freelance sports reporter for the Northfield News.