The university’s fishing team made history with a dynamic duo winning a national championship at the 2023 Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI National Championship Presented by Lowrance Feb. 23 at Lake Toho in Kissimmee, Florida. Two sophomore fishing team anglers Peyton Harris and Dalton Head won the title in an intense weigh-in on the final day of competition. 

“It’s probably the most exciting weigh-in I’ve ever seen,” said Montevallo fishing team coach William Crawford. “It was a magical day for those guys and the program. They do it the right way and they’re really good guys.”

Harris and Head were in third place going into the final day of the competition. But, the pair were able to pull out a weight of 27 pounds, 11 ounces for the day. This gave them a total of 66 pounds, 15 ounces for their 15 basses over the three-day event. 

The race for first was tight with less than two pounds separating the falcons from the second-place winners representing Webber International University. 

Their win granted them a chance to compete in the 2023 Toyota Series Championship along with professional anglers. Both Harris and Head are Alabama locals who grew up fishing on the Coosa River and other community rivers. 

“We can’t thank the University of Montevallo enough,” Harris said. “Both of us sought out Montevallo as a university because of its impressive fishing program. We knew in order to become better anglers, we needed to go somewhere where we could fish with the best college anglers in the country. Fishing with the best pushes us to be our best. And that’s why we are here today.”

This historic win has been a long-term goal for the falcons and builds off of the team’s recent success after winning back-to-back School of the Year titles.

“I kept telling the guys it was going to happen eventually,” Crawford said. “I’m so excited for the students and the program.”

The national championship will add to the fishing team’s extensive resume as they fight for their 3rd consecutive title.