Wesley represents CU and Team USA during Pan American Bass Championships

CORNWALL, Ontario – Competing in a Pan American Championship is a huge deal but representing your country as a freshman in college and fishing with professionals in one of the biggest stages for bass fishing, well that's on a different spectrum.

Freshman Hannah Wesley gained valuable experience as she was one of 16 anglers from the United States selected to compete for Team USA in the Pan American Bass Championship on Lake St. Francis.

With horrible weather on the canceled day and cold, breezy conditions on the competition day, Wesley and teammate Charlie Evans had many adjustments to make.

The duo finished in 20^th place with a total weight of 32.9 pounds of bass. Evans and Wesley reeled in only 12.8 pounds during the morning session but had one of the biggest bags of the tournament with 20 pounds in the afternoon to jump up the leaderboard.

Though Team USA locked up the top three places, Team Canada placed six teams in the top 10 and averaged 38.98 pounds for the title. Results were tallied based on the average weight brought in by each team in the two sessions of fishing, which almost guaranteed an extremely close finish. Earning a silver medal, Team USA finished just a hundredth of a pound back with a 38.97 average.

Earning bronze, Team Mexico had a tough afternoon overall and finished with a 28.62 average. Team Akwesasne First Nations brought up the rear with a 23.97 average.

Nicolas Gendron and Jason Gramada were the highest-finishing Canadian team at fourth, and they also weighed the big fish of the day, a behemoth 6.26-pound smallmouth.

The tournament for Wesley is one of the biggest she'll compete in during her career and the best part is she is just a freshman in college. The future is bright for this Lady Tiger!

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