VALDOSTA — Max Gresham and Cody Cleary of Valdosta State’s Bass Fishing Club is competing at the 2017 YETI Fishing League Worldwide (FLW) College Fishing National Championship through Saturday at Wheeler Lake in Alabama.

This is VSU’s first time qualifying for the YETI FLW College Fishing National Championship.

“We are super excited to be heading to Wheeler Lake,” said Gresham, a Milner native pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting. “We are looking forward to getting back on the water together.”

Cleary, a Dalton native, graduated from VSU with a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice in December.

“Since then we haven’t been able to compete with each other,” Gresham added. “We are excited to make VSU history, and we hope to grow into a championship-winning team.”

To earn the 2017 YETI FLW College Fishing Championship title, Gresham and Cleary will have to beat out 147 other collegiate bass fishing clubs from across the United States, all of whom are expected to converge at Wheeler Lake for a chance to win $30,000 in prizes, including a new Ranger Z175 boat with a 90-horsepower Evinrude outboard and entry into the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing.

Gresham and Cleary qualified for the 2017 YETI FLW College Fishing Championship more than a year ago when they competed against 201 other teams at the two-day 2016 FLW College Open on Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, Ky. The duo finished the first day of the competition in 24th place, catching five bass weighing 13 pounds, 14 ounces. They moved up to 11th place on the second day with five bass weighing 12 pounds, 13 ounces and ended the tournament in 11th place with 10 total bass weighing 26 pounds, 11 ounces.

“Going to the national championship is not something that everyone gets to do, so it is very special,” Cleary said. “Qualifying means a lot to the both of us because we have worked so hard for it.”

The collegiate anglers started from Joe Wheeler State Park in Rogersville, Ala. Today’s weigh-in will be held at the state park beginning at 3:30 p.m. Friday’s weigh-in will be held at McFarland Park in Florence, Ala., at 4 p.m.

The 2017 YETI FLW College Fishing National Championship is presented by Lowrance C-Map Genesis and hosted by the Florence/Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau.

FLW is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money in 2017 across five tournament circuits. Headquartered in Benton, Ky., with offices in Minneapolis, it conducts more than 274 bass fishing tournaments annually across the U.S. and sanctions tournaments in Canada, China, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea.