Golfers roll at state

If Brian Humphreys had one word to describe his second high school state tournament, it would be “educational.”

The defending champion from Camas High School was uncharacteristically 5-over par after the first three holes at Camas Meadows Wednesday.

“The first day was a good experience for me to have,” Humphreys said. “It was one of the most nervous days I’ve had on the golf course. I think it will teach me how to deal with nerves like that in the future.”

The sophomore shot out of his mind Thursday. Humphreys (77-69 — 146) nailed three birdies on the front nine and dropped two more on the back. He finished 3-under, the best round of the day, to move up 19th to a three-way tie for second place with Puyallup’s Mitchell Baldridge (73-73 — 146) and Thomas Jefferson’s Sean Yi (69-77 — 146). Lynwood’s Rudy Caparas (71-71 — 142) finished in first place.

“I was very pleased with the turnaround,” Humphreys said. “Bad shots happen, but you can’t afford to have that many in a row. You have to be able to recover from it. That’s easier said than done.”

Humphreys was able to recover Thursday. It all started with a birdie on the first hole. Then another. He bounced back from bogies on seven and eight with a birdie on nine to shoot 35 on the front nine. He kept it up with a 34 on the back.

“It’s so much better when you’re not playing with doubts in your mind and hitting it where you want to,” Humphreys said. “It’s a huge advantage.”

The Camas boys golf team finished in sixth place at the state tournament. Brett Ball took 44th place (79-86 — 165).

Samwel improves

Bryce Samwel shaved five strokes off his score in the final round of the 2A boys state tournament, at Chambers Bay in Tacoma. The Washougal High School junior finished in 15th place with rounds of (84-79 — 163).

Camas girls snag seventh

Sophomores Elise Filuk and Connie Wang carried the Papermakers to seventh place in the 4A girls state tournament, at Green Meadows in Vancouver. Filuk finished in 17th place (80-89 — 169) and Wang earned 30th place (88-89 — 177).