Gasping for air during the race of his life, Sean Eustis looked down at his chest and gained strength. "I don't see any blood," the Washougal High School junior told himself. "I can run harder, I can run faster." On his 17th birthday, Eustis outkicked Aberdeen's Poli Baltazar on the final straightaway toward the finish line to win the 2A boys district cross country championship race Saturday, at Lewisville Park in Battle Ground.
The Camas High School cross country teams are embracing the definition of teamwork. "For the team, I would go through any amount of pain just so we can succeed," said junior Andrew Duffy. "So would any one else." It's the reason both teams will compete together at the 3A state championship meet Saturday, on the Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco. The girls race first at 12:30 p.m., followed by the boys at 2 p.m.
Washougal football pushes league champion Hockinson to overtime, before losing 14-7. Panthers finish the season 6-3.
Washougal juniors Sean Eustis and Isaac Stinchfield were the first two runners to cross the finish line at Thursday's league championship race in Hockinson, and freshman Karina Miller motored into the top 10. Head coach Terry Howard says watch out for the Panther hot rods during Saturday's district championship meet, at Lewisville Park in Battle Ground. Their brand new orange and white jerseys are turning heads as they run by. "Everybody knows who Washougal is now," Stinchfield said.
"Hold everything, there's a flag on the play!" It just wouldn't sound like a Camas High School football game at Doc Harris Stadium without hearing those words from Dale Croswell. Fans love his famous line so much, they shout it for him at away games. Croswell hears those voices and appreciates them. "I didn't set out to get that kind of reaction," he said. "People told me it sounded unique and different, and so I kept doing it."
A little different report this time. Camas coach Joe Hallead shares a bone chilling story from his own homecoming football game 23 years ago.
Red suited Daniel Patterson just fine Wednesday, during the final round of the 3A district boys golf tournament on the Tri-Mountain golf course in Ridgefield. "A lot of people liked the pants," said the Camas High School senior. "I didn't want to be boring out there." After shooting a two-day total of 153 strokes, Patterson won a playoff hole to earn a one-way ticket to the state tournament. He struggled through the first few holes Wednesday, before chipping in an eagle out of the sand on seven.
Two heads are better than one, but four is even better. Washougal junior Regan Townsend and sophomore Andrew Kelly teamed up to beat seniors Michael Stevens and David Choi 6-4, 6-3 Saturday, at the Mint Valley Racket Club in Longview. But this was no indoor practice. It was the championship match for the 2A sub-district doubles title. "It felt like we were representing what Washougal is all about," Choi said. "Our friendships are still pretty much intact."
The Papermaker cross country teams polished off their league championship trophies by defeating longtime nemesis Columbia River Oct. 11, at Round Lake. Freshman Alexa Efraimson finished first for the Camas girls, and established a new course record time of 19 minutes, 51 seconds. She dedicated her performance to seniors Austen Reiter and Lindsay Wourms. "This was the last time Austen and Lindsay got to run this course," Efraimson said. "I just wanted to run for them today, and help our team win the meet."
Washougal football loses its first game in double overtime, and Camas football soars past Heritage.
dan.trujillo@camaspostrecord.com
