Column: Fishing and baseball like father, like son; SCOL track and hall of fame

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The Floyd family has experienced good results in the last month or so.

Father Steve and son Cole have finished at or near the top of recent tournaments. On April 30, Steve won the Costa FLW Series (Central Division) Kentucky Lake professional tournament. Just a few weeks prior to that, Cole and his Bethel University teammate Carter McNeil were runnersup in the FLW College Fishing Open at Kentucky Luke.

For Cole, it was his first collegiate fishing tournament. Bethel University had 10 two-person teams in the April 2 event and Floyd and McNeil were the top finishers. Their 33-pound, 1-ounce two-day catch earned the duo a berth in the 2017 FLW College Fishing National Championship early next spring.

Steve said he was joined by sons Wyatt and Dalton on the water at the Kentucky Lake to watch Cole in his collegiate debut.

“It’s up to him how good he wants to be at it,” Steve said of Cole’s fishing future.

For Steve, the win moved him into a second-place tie in the circuit with 487 points, just seven points behind the overall leader. The final Central Division event is set for Oct. 6 at the Lake of the Ozarks.

Steve trailed by more than nine pounds going into the third and final day of the tournament. He did, however, have all three of his sons on the water following him in a tournament for the first time,

“Them being there probably relaxed me,” Floyd said. “They were kind of quiet for the most part.”

After all, Steve was in sixth place going into the final day. An average day by the leaders would have forced Steve to do the unthinkable with his five-catch limit. But a lackluster day by those ahead of him, allowed Steve to get the win.

“The furthest thing from my mind (on the final day) was that I was going to win that tournament,” he said.

On the strength of an 8 1/2 pound bass, Steve reeled in 19-pound, 8-ounces on the final day, overcame the nine-pound deficit and won by five ounces.

…. PART 2: LIKE FATHER, LIKE … A few years back Steve Cluxton and Brent Patton earned All-SCOL honors while attending Wilmington High School.

Cluxton, a 1982 graduate of Wilmington High School, earned the honors in basketball and as a member of the track and field team. Patton, a 1988 graduate of WHS, earned all-league honors in football, basketball and baseball at WHS.

Ironically, their sons also have earned All-SCOL honors.

But Caden Cluxton and Jarett Patton earned the honors while playing baseball for the Washington Senior Blue Lions.

Both Caden and Jarett were first team selections for the all-league baseball team. The Blue Lions were 7-7 in league play.

…. HALL OF FAME/SCHOLAR ATHLETE: The 2016 class of the Clinton County Sports Hall of Fame will be inducted June 2 at the Expo Center on the Clinton County Fairgrounds.

The newest members will be Bill Huffman, Kurt Blohm, Gary Newsome, Dale Hillard and Jennifer Caldwell Iapichino, along with posthumous inductees Charles Murphy and Kroger Babb.

The Clinton County Sports Hall of Fame website is located at http://clintoncountysportshalloffame.weebly.com/.

The induction ceremony will take place in conjunction with the presentation of the fifth annual Wilmington News Journal Clinton County Scholar-Athlete Award. The award winner will receive a $500 scholarship.

Reservations are required and can be made in advance or at the door the night of the program. If paid in advance, the cost is $20. If paid at the door, the cost is $25.

Reservations are due Thursday, May 26. To make reservations, visit the News Journal at 761 S. Nelson Ave. in Wilmington or call 937-382-2574. All checks should be made payable to the Clinton County Sports Hall of Fame.

To be eligible for the $500 award, student-athletes must be a senior; must participate in at least two varsity sports during senior year OR earn four varsity letters in a single sport during high school career; must be involved in community, school and/or church activities that reflect a sense of loyalty and citizenship; and must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher.

A panel organized by the News Journal judged each nominee based solely on the nomination form.​

Previous winners of the scholar-athlete award are Travis Jackson and Jordanne Finley in 2012, Colt Briggs in 2013, and Bayle Wolf and Logan Frederick in 2014.

…. SCOL TRACK, FIELD: The South Central Ohio League track and field championship meet in Chillicothe was halted by inclement weather Tuesday. The meet will begin 4:30 p.m. Wednesday with field events. The running events will start at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. Assuming the weather cooperates on Wednesday, the meet will be completed Wednesday.

Mark Huber On The Mark
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2016/05/web1_Huber.Mark_.jpgMark Huber On The Mark

By Mark Huber

[email protected]

Reach Mark Huber at 937-556-5765, or on Twitter @wnjsports

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