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Swindle Wins AOY, Kile
Leads Finale
 MANNING,
S.C. - Arizona's Mark Kile's 68-pound, 10-ounce total put him solidly in
first place after the third day of the CITGO Bassmaster Tour event on Santee
Cooper, putting him nearly 7 pounds ahead of his
closest competition heading into the tournament's final day.
But Kile's runaway one-day catch of 32-8 wasn't the day's biggest story:
Saturday saw a host of new champions crowned. After the last bass had been
weighed and released with the crowd holding its breath in excitement, BASS
officials handed out CITGO Bassmaster Angler of the Year honors to Alabama's
Gerald Swindle, who beat Rookie of the Year Greg Hackney by just three
points.
Hackney took home his Rookie of the Year trophy at the same time South
Carolina's own Davy Hite collected the $25,000 Horizon Award for most
improvement in season point standings since 2003.
Both Hackney and Swindle joined 2003 CITGO Bassmaster Classic champion
Michael
Iaconelli with sealed berths for the upcoming Bassmaster Elite 50
tournaments.
The remaining 47 spots for the four-event, $1.6 million series will be set
following Sunday's weigh in. Berths to the 2004 CITGO Bassmaster Classic
presented by Busch Beer will also be announced following the weigh-in. The
top
25 anglers in the Angler of the Year points will qualify for the Classic in
Charlotte, N.C., July 30-Aug. 1.
Kile said he has appreciated the drama surrounding the various awards
decided
at the Tour finale.
"It's kind of good," Kile said. "It takes a lot away from me. I'd have been
the big show if (Hackney and Swindle) wouldn't have been here, so it's kind
of
gotten the focus off me and that's good."
Kile's catch included a 9-10 lunker that earned him $1,000 from Purolator
for
the Purolator Big Bass of the Day. If it holds out one more day, he will
receive an additional $1,000 from Purolator for the Big Bass of the
Tournament.
Second place angler Kelly Jordon brought in a huge catch on day two as well.
His 28-9 sack gave him the $1,000 bonus for the Busch Heavyweight program.
If
the Texan's weight is in the top 10 heaviest catches for the remainder of
the
tournament and the Bassmaster Elite 50 events, he will qualify for the
$160,000
Busch Shootout Tournament on a mystery lake in September.
The big news of the day was the CITGO Bassmaster Angler of the Year award.
Coming into the third day of competition, Hackney had to finish eighth or
better to win the title. In a heartbreaker, Hackney brought in only 13-2,
dropping him to ninth place, a mere three points from the championship.
Swindle was beside himself after winning the CITGO Bassmaster Angler of the
Year award and was relieved that he could focus on other happenings.
"Even coming into the tournament with it standing right in front of me, I
kept
trying to focus on the event," Swindle said. "It never really sank in.
"I haven't had a chance to talk to guys like Davy Hite, who've won it
before.
I just can't really believe it."
Former Angler of the Year and Classic champ Hite was enjoying his own
success
on Saturday. The South Carolina native, who struggled into 163rd place in
the
2003 season point standings, improved 151 spots to finish in 12th in the
2004
points race, earning him the $25,000 Horizon Award.
"When they first announced this award two years ago, I was the reigning
Angler
of the Year and I just kind of laughed and thought, 'There's no way I'll
ever
win that because I'll never fall far enough back,'" Hite said. "Man, it took
me less than a year to become the number one contender. It's good and bad,
but
the bad was last year. I wanted to turn my bad luck around and not only did
I
turn it around, but I turned it around better than anybody else."
The amateur competition at the Tour finale ended Saturday with Alabama's
Bill
Logsdon taking top honors with a three-day catch of 25-8. Logsdon, who has
fished many BASS tournaments as an amateur, recorded his first win and
thanked
CITGO for its participation in the amateur anglers' program. CITGO offers a
year's worth of free gasoline to winning anglers, and provides
professional-quality sponsorship clothing to the Top 12.
"I really appreciate them sponsoring this program," Logsdon said. "They do a
super job and with the clothing, the jackets and shirts. ...We appreciate
it."
Along with the jackets and shirts, Logsdon is going home with the $36,000
grand
prize.
The Tour will wrap Sunday afternoon when the Super Six pros weigh in at John
C.
Land Landing at 3:30 p.m.
Fans can catch the finale of the CITGO Bassmaster Tour presented by Busch
Beer
on the Santee Cooper Lakes, Saturday, April 3 at 10:30 a.m. ET/9:30 a.m. CT
on
ESPN2.
Day 3 Pro Standings
| Rank |
Name |
Hometown |
Bass |
Weight |
| 1 |
Mark Kile |
Tonto Basin, AZ |
15 |
68-10 |
| 2 |
Kelly Jordon |
Mineola, TX |
15 |
61-11 |
| 3 |
Mike McClelland |
Bella Vista, AR |
15 |
58-09 |
| 4 |
Cody Bird |
Granbury, TX |
15 |
57-06 |
| 5 |
Matt Reed |
Madisonville, TX |
14 |
56-15 |
| 6 |
Terry Scroggins |
Palatka, FL |
15 |
56-11 |
The following anglers did not qualify to fish the final
day.
| Rank |
Name |
Hometown |
Bass |
Weight |
Points |
Winnings |
| 7 |
Shaw E. Grigsby, Jr. |
Gainesville, FL |
15 |
56-08 |
272 |
$12,000.00 |
| 8 |
Dean Rojas |
Grand Saline, TX |
15 |
56-03 |
268 |
$10,000.00 |
| 9 |
Greg Hackney |
Gonzales, LA |
15 |
53-00 |
264 |
$10,000.00 |
| 10 |
Aaron Martens |
Castaic, CA |
15 |
50-14 |
260 |
$8,000.00 |
| 11 |
Skeet Reese |
Auburn, CA |
15 |
49-10 |
257 |
$6,000.00 |
| 12 |
Brian Snowden |
Springfield, MO |
14 |
48-06 |
254 |
$5,500.00 |
From BASS
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