Watertown, Sioux Falls seniors-to-be recently won state events on Lake Sharpe & Lake Kampeska

High school seniors-to-be Max Flatten of Watertown and Sam Spies of Sioux Falls have fished their way to two state championships and along with them, two berths in national tourneys.

Flatten, the son of Dustin and Jenny Flatten of Watertown, and Spies, the son of Josh and Heather Spies of Sioux Falls, teamed up to win two tournaments in May. The Spies formerly lived in Watertown.

On May 19 at Lake Sharpe near Fort Pierre, Flatten and Spies teamed to win the high school division of the TBF (The Bass Foundation) Student Angler Federation South Dakota State Tournament.

The win helped them qualify for the 15th TBF Student Angler Federation High School Fishing World Finals and National Championships June 19-22 on Lake Hartwell in Anderson, S.C.

On May 25 at Lake Kampeska in Watertown, Flatten and Spies joined forces to repeat as champions in the Bassmaster High School South Dakota State Tournament. They won last May at Enemy Swim Lake in Day County and qualified for the 14th High School Fishing World Finals and National Chamionships held on the Mississippi River near La Crosse, Wis.

With the win, they qualified for the Strike King Bassmaster High School National Championship Aug. 1-3 on Chickamauga Lake in Dayton, Tenn.

Flatten, who attends Watertown High School, and Spies, who attends Sioux Falls Christian High School, will compete for millions in scholarships and prizes during the two national events.

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com