Four members of the Eureka High School fishing team received good news two days after their season hit rocky waters. On Tuesday (Oct. 26), a former Eureka resident donated more than 25 rod-and-reel combos and 10 40-gallon Tupperware crates filled with tackle and other fishing gear to help replace the equipment stolen from seniors Grant Priesmeyer and Brent Ryan and freshmen Roman Literski and Brayden Brown, Eureka High assistant principal David Arledge said.
He said John Turner, a long-time Eureka resident who recently moved to Ballwin, donated the equipment.
“Everything is brand new and never been used,” Arledge said. “When I called John to thank him, he said, ‘I have 10 times that in my barn. Have these kids come shop.’ This shows exactly what Eureka is as a community. We band together and we help each other and our kids. I want to say thank you to everyone who has supported our school and kids.”
The donation of equipment and offer for more is one of the many acts of kindness bestowed upon the students, who along with their coach Patrick Priesmeyer, had rod, reels and equipment stolen from two boats Sunday (Oct. 24) while they were at Table Rock Lake south of Springfield for a fishing tournament.
“This community never ceases to amaze me,” said Patrick Priesmeyer, who founded the fishing team with his son, Grant, in 2018. “I put a little vent post out last night (on Facebook), and I woke up this morning to see Debbie Bridges, a mom of one of our seniors, Nick Bridges, had started a GoFundMe account. This community almost instinctively knows when some of their kids are hurting, and they will rally around them.”
GoFundMe pages were created for the students Monday (Oct. 25). The GoFundMe page for the seniors is called “Help Grant and Brent,” and as of Tuesday, $3,745 had been raised for them. The GoFundMe page for the freshmen is called “Help Roman & Brayden: All Fishing Gear Stolen,” and $3,081 had been donated as of Tuesday.
Super Smokers owner Jeff Fitter announced on Facebook that the Eureka restaurant would donate $8 from every pulled pork sandwich with a classic side that was sold Monday. The pork sandwich combo costs $11.
Fitter said the restaurant raised $500 for the students.
“My goal was not just to replenish the students,” Fitter said. “It also was to replenish their faith in humanity. I hope they found out through this that there still are a lot of great people in the world.”
The thefts happened before the fishing team could compete Sunday at Table Rock Lake south of Springfield, Patrick Priesmeyer said.
He said the equipment was stolen between midnight and 5 a.m. Sunday and is worth about $17,000. He said stolen items included not just the teenager’s equipment, which included 23 rods and reels, but also 10 of his rods and gear he had collected throughout 30 years of fishing.
The coach said most of the rods and reels were stored in locked rod lockers, and the other equipment was in storage lockers. He said a rod or two may have been left out on one of the boats’ decks.
Grant, 18, Brent, 17, Roman, 14, and Brayden, 14, were going to compete in the tournament Sunday along with 12 of their teammates. Eureka High’s fishing team has 28 members, Patrick Priesmeyer said.
“Seeing how devastated they were Sunday morning was one of the hardest things I have witnessed in a long time,” he said. “They were crushed. They are good kids. They work to put gas in their cars and every other dollar goes towards rods, reels and fishing lures. To them, they lost everything.”
Priesmyer said Arledge has played a major role in letting the community know about the incident through social media, and the assistant principal has helped collect donations.
“Dr. Arledge has been in constant contact with me and people he knows to help get donations,” Priesmeyer said. “He has been incredible.”
Priesmeyer said the fishing season typically is early spring through early summer, but this year, tournaments were held in September and October.
He said the team will not compete in another tournament until March.
“You don’t ever want this to happen, but from a tournament standpoint, it is good,” Priesmeyer said. “We have time to get everybody reoutfitted and back out on the water. The ultimate goal is to get them back to normal. Goal No. 1 is to get them outfitted and water ready as soon as possible.”