By Kevin Eckleberry

Sports Editor

Mark Biagiotti got a little extra pleasure announcing the winner of last weekend’s youth tournament at Highland Marina Resort.

Biagiotti runs many of the tournaments at the marina, including the West Point Lake Extreme Kids series events.

The series teams up one youth angler and one adult fishermen.

In last weekend’s Extreme Kids tournament, which was the third of the year on the series, Biagiotti’s son Ryan teamed up with 18-year-old Trey Eslinger to take the top spot.

The two brought in a hefty five-fish haul of 22 pounds, 12 ounces, to win the tournament by more than seven pounds.

Their biggest fish came in at 5 pounds, 13 ounces, and they had four other good-sized bass to reach the 22-pound mark.

Ryan Biagiotti said he and Eslinger realized they’d had a big day, but “we thought it’d be more like 20 (pounds). When we saw 22, we were happy.”

Biagiotti added “we caught half our stack early, and we caught the big ones later in the day. We had three really good-sized fish, and two regular-sized ones.”

Eslinger isn’t a bad guy to be partnered with at the moment.

He’s won numerous tournaments this year on West Point Lake, and he and partner Robert Medas are leading the Highland Marina Resort Team Trail standings.

Eslinger and Biagiotti are also now leading the Kids Extreme standings through three of six tournaments.

In last weekend’s tournament, 16-year-old Travis Valentine and Ryan Valentine were second to Biagiotti and Eslinger, and 16-year-old John Crowley teamed with Bill Haines to finish third, just one ounce ahead of 15-year-old Tyler O’Neal and Tony O’Neal.

The next Kids Extreme tournament is set for July 3.

WEST GEORGIA BASS CLUB: This series will return to West Point Lake on Sunday, with dozens of boats launching from the Yellow Jacket Creek access.

This will be the eighth West Georgia Bass Club tournament of the year, and the fourth on West Point Lake.

The series has been off since May 16 when a tournament was held at Lake Guntersville in Alabama.

Mark Ware and Kenny Carroll head into today’s tournament owning the top spot in the points standings.

Jeff Morgan and Brad Warfield, who are in second, are coming off a victory at the May tournament at Guntersville.

At the most recent tournament on West Point Lake in April, Jake Scott and Brent Johnson brought in an amazing haul of nearly 30 pounds to capture the top spot.

After this weekend, there’ll be five more tournaments on the schedule, including the season-ending Classic on Oct. 23-24.

HIGHLAND TEAM TRAIL: The sixth tournament of the year on this series will be held Sunday on West Point Lake.

Eslinger and Medas will try to hold their lead in the points standings, and they’ll be seeking their third win of the year on the series.

Mark Biagiotti, who runs the series for Highland Marina Resort, said the anglers have been bringing in some impressive pots all year.

“The weights have been real consistent,” Biagiotti said. “It’s probably the best year, as far as average per tournament, that we’ve ever had.”

In the tournament on May 22, Wayne Bates and Jason Grantham brought in more than 22 pounds worth of fish to claim the top spot.

Medas and Eslinger have a 15-point lead over Brett Self and Brian Elder, and Trent Adams and Daryl Adams are another eight points back.

A team earns 25 points for finishing first, 24 for second, 23 for third, all the way down to one point for finishing 25th.

Eslinger and Medas are leading the standings because of their ability to earn points every time out.

“That’s the biggest key is being consistent, getting points every tournament,” Eslinger said.

OTHER TOURNAMENTS: American Bass Anglers will offer a pair of tournaments on West Point Lake this weekend.

On Saturday, the Bassmaster Weekend Fishing Series will make a stop at the lake.

It will be the fourth of five tournaments on the Georgia schedule, and a prize of $6,000 will be offered to the first-place boater.

On Sunday, American Bass Anglers will bring its American 150 series to West Point Lake.

The series is designed for boats with motors of 150 horsepower or less.

The series, which is brand new this year, has divisions in five states, including Georgia.

This will be the final tournament of the year in the Georgia division.