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Stories by Dan Trujillo

email icon dan.trujillo@camaspostrecord.com

May 29, 2012
Katie Wright clears the high jump bar set at 5 feet, 3 inches for third place at the 2A state track and field championships Friday, at Mt. Tahoma High School.

WHS senior clinches third in the high jump and ninth in the long jump

Katie Wright had a lot of fun flying through the air against the best jumpers in the state Friday. The Washougal High School senior cleared the high jump bar set at 5 feet, 3 inches to get into the top three at the 2A state track and field championships, at Mt. Tahoma High School. "I wanted to make a clean 5' and then go as high as I could," Wright said. "Clearing 5-3 felt so great. I was at the height I was usually jumping and going after my PR again."

May 22, 2012
The 20-4 Camas softball team is back in the state tournament this weekend. The Papermakers play Bainbridge in the first round Friday, at the Regional Athletic Center in Lacey. First pitch is at noon.

Sliding into state

A bi-district championship was not in the cards for the Camas girls softball team Saturday. But what the Papermakers were betting their whole season on was a return engagement into the state tournament. On Friday, they cashed in on that goal by defeating Bonney Lake 9-3 at the Sprinkler Center in Tacoma. "Last year we were heart broken. After being the district champions, going two and out at bi-districts was horrible," said senior catcher Mikaela Searight. "This year, we wanted to give our all and win that first game. That was the most important one. A bi-district title would have been nice, but our goal all along was to get back to state."

May 22, 2012
Camas freshmen Esther Kwon (pictured above) and Jen Lewis led the Papermakers to the bi-district tennis championship Saturday, at Clover Park High School. Kwon captured the singles crown and Lewis took third place.

Camas tennis sends a senior and three freshmen to state

The tennis season just keeps getting more exciting for four Camas Papermakers and their coaches. On Saturday at Clover Park High School in Lakewood, freshmen Esther Kwon and Jen Lewis led Camas to first place as a team at the bi-district girls tournament. Kwon clinched the singles championship with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Maggie Henderson of Auburn Mountain View. Lewis finished off Bonney Lake's Alise McCoy 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 for third place. "These are two 15-year-olds facing high pressure situations," said head coach Jonathan Burton. "These tennis days can be long and exhausting. The mark of a good player is somebody who can stay focused for that duration of time. They both did that."

May 22, 2012

Camas and Washougal track and field athletes reach state

Twenty Camas Papermakers and six Washougal Panthers qualified for the state track and field championships Thursday, Friday and Saturday, at Mt. Tahoma High School in Tacoma. The Camas girls captured their third straight 3A bi-district championship Saturday, at Mt. Tahoma. The Papermaker boys finished in fifth. Alexa Efraimson won the 800-meter run and set a new meet record time of 2 minutes, 12.26 seconds. She has the fastest time in the state and the sixth-best time in the nation.

May 15, 2012

Papermaker softball team is playing for more prizes

After becoming league and district champions in the same season for the first time in school history, the Camas softball players are determined to go the distance. On Friday at 4 p.m., the Papermakers play Capital or Bonney Lake in the quarterfinals of the bi-district tournament at the Sprinkler Center in Tacoma. And that is the only game that matters to them. "We can't look too far ahead. Just take things inning by inning and pitch by pitch," said senior pitcher and infielder Sarah Nidick. "If we take care of that first goal and win that first game we're going to state, which is the ultimate goal." Camas (17-3) was in this same position in 2011 and failed to capitalize. The opportunity to rewrite history in 2012 makes this the most important week of the season for the Papermakers.

May 15, 2012
Roldan Alcobendas wins the battle in the air for the soccer ball Saturday, at Doc Harris Stadium. The junior from Camas fired in the winning goal in the final five minutes.

Camas boys soccer reaches state for the 14th year in a row

Tradition continued for the Camas boys soccer team Saturday. Giving up the lead to Bonney Lake in the last 20 minutes put the Papermakers on the hot seat, but then Roldan Alcobendas took his coaches and teammates for a cool ride by kicking the ball into the back of the net in the final 4 minutes, 27 seconds. "I just tried to find an opening and put all I had left into that shot," Alcobendas said. "Thankfully, it went in."

May 15, 2012
The Washougal boys soccer players celebrate their first trip to the 2A state championship tournament since 2001. The Panthers play Fife today at 6 p.m., at at Sunset Chevrolet Stadium next to Sumner High School.

Washougal boys soccer gets to state for the first time in 11 seasons

Today is the day six Washougal High School seniors have been dreaming about for four years. Zach Boland, Caleb Howard, Sam O'Hara, Jeremiah Palmer and Colton Sullivan never made it to the playoffs in football, so they focused all of their attention on soccer. "We've all been working toward this moment for pretty much the whole year, and in previous years too," Boland said. "I trust my teammates with my life." "When I say these guys are my brothers, I view them as that," O'Hara added. "We grew up together in this town and we all care about this community. I just feel lucky to be around this great group of guys all through high school."

May 8, 2012
The Papermaker softball players and coaches celebrate after beating Kelso 2-1 Monday, at Camas High School, to clinch their first league championship since 2002.

Camas softball snags elusive league title

Winning a league championship has been a rallying cry for the Camas softball team all season long. On Monday, they captured that elusive title for the first time in 10 years. "I don't think words can describe how amazing it feels," said senior center fielder Cali Mulholland. "It really shows how much hard work pays off. It wasn't always easy, but our love for the game kept us going. Everybody on this team has the passion. You can see it when we step out on the field." The Papermakers showed plenty of desire Monday, and defeated Kelso 2-1 for their first league title since 2002.

May 8, 2012
Washougal sophomore Elesey Razumovskiy (8) delivered a goal and an assist to help the Panthers defeat Abderdeen 2-1 Saturday, in the first round of the district tournament at Fishback Stadium.

Chasing destiny

Destiny was on the side of the Washougal soccer family Saturday, at Fishback Stadium. The Panthers snagged a 2-1 victory against the Aberdeen Bobcats in the quarterfinals of the district tournament. Goals by sophomores Spencer Carnera and Elesey Razumovskiy gave the Panthers a 2-0 advantage with 23 minutes to go. Five minutes later, Aberdeen put a ball in the net and threatened to tie the game on two penalty kick attempts. Senior goalkeeper Caleb Howard dove left and deflected the first attempt. The last shot by the Bobcats hit the crossbar with 17 seconds left. "If I block this, we win the game. It hit the bar, but I was right there," Howard said. "It wasn't just me. My whole team got together and scored those goals. We came out fierce and we fought for this win like a family. I'm going to remember every moment. These guys are my brothers."