Fishing Derby Winners and Some Confusion
ABOVE, the photo of the two girls who were not initially recognized as the winners of the fishing derby held on Sunday, May 7, Kylie Davis, 12, LEFT, who caught a 22 1/2″ catfish, and Hailey Kolweier, 10, RIGHT, who caught an 8 1/4″ bluegill. The winners trophies were presented to Mr. Szopinski and Mr. Hausner, and new trophies are being made for Miss Davis and Miss Kolweier, with all four youths being declared winners in a tie by the Sportsmen’s Club.
After getting a call from a parent, I discovered that the winners of this weekend’s fishing derby were announced prematurely, and that there were two girls, Hailey Kolweier, 10, with a winning bluegill at 8 1/4″, and Kylie Davis, 12, with a winning catfish at 22 1/2″, who were not recognized (or who were not recognized while I was present at the Fishing Derby). A representative of the Washington County Sportsmen’s Club did confirm that this was the case.
As a personal note, I did shoot a photo of Miss Davis with her catfish, (BELOW) they told me it was 22 1/2″ long. When the winning catfish was announced at 22 3/8″ long, I should have sought clarification, which I did not. I apologize for not doing so.
I was told that there was a photo shot of these two girls after the error was discovered, and I would like to be able to run that in the paper, if anyone would be able to provide it for me. While I do have a photo of Miss Davis (SEE ABOVE), I would like to recognize both of them if at all possible.
None of this is to diminish the accomplishment of Mr. Szopinski and Mr. Hausner whose photo we ran in the paper. Rather, we wish to recognize the accomplishment of Miss Davis and Miss Kolweier.
– Alex Haglund, Managing Editor
This year’s Kids’ Fishing Derby, the 44th such event put on by the Washington County Sportsmen’s Club, brought out about 130 entrants from the ages of 5 to 14, along with numerous younger or older brothers and sisters and parents too – it was a busy day at the Memorial Park Mill Ponds. There were plenty of big fish caught too, but the biggest (OR, what were prematurely announced as the biggest, see the TOP OF THIS PAGE FOR THE LATER NOTE) in their respective categories came from these two young men, Mason Szopinski,11, LEFT, who caught a 22 3/8 inch channel catfish, and Theron Hausner, 14, RIGHT, who brought in an eight inch bluegill. They weren’t the only two to get prizes though, with winners from all the classes getting prizes to take home, like fishing rods, tackle boxes and plenty of other gear and accessories, all provided thanks to the Washington County Sportsmen. Helping the sportsmen out were the Sons of the American Legion, who provided free food for the kids, and the Nashville Moose, who raffled off boys and girls bikes.
Graedon Kottmeyer pulls his line in on Sunday, May 7 at Memorial Park in Nashville for the 44th annual Kid’s Fishing Day, put on by the Washington County Sportsmen’s Club.
Kylie Davis with her 22 1/2″ channel catfish.
