Youngsters fish through rain for Optimist event

The rain couldn’t stop over 20 youngsters from taking to Mozingo Lake Recreation Park Saturday for the annual Maryville Optimist Club youth fishing tournament.

Over 20 youth turned out for Saturday’s Maryville Optimist Club fishing contest at the city ramp at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park.

While the Optimist Club was able to hold their fishing event, it was cut short by the downpour of rain.

A lot of local communities were well-represented, including Maryville, Barnard, and Savannah. Children as far as Olathe, Kingsville, and Independence took part too, with families at the lake camping for the Fourth of July weekend.

Parker Prettyman of Barnard had the catch of the day in the 10-15-year-old division with a 14-inch bass for him to take home the first place trophy. Taking second place with the smallest fish was Keaton Allen of Maryville with a 5 ½-inch fish. Tyler Kendrick of Olathe won third place in the older division with six fish caught during the tournament.

In the 0-9-year-old division, Chaseelyn Wymore of Maryville snagged a 20 ½-inch fish to win first place. Taking second in the younger division was Kingston Adkin of St. Joseph with a 5-inch fish followed by Jaxon Turner in third place with seven fish caught that morning.

During the drawing portion of the event, the following won prizes such as fishing rods or tackle boxes: Bella Dreker of Independence, Lane Richardson of Kingsville, Cameron Fletcher of Maryville, Kristin Allen of Maryville, Desmond Perkins of St. Joseph, and Landon Dreker of Independence.