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Stories by Dan Trujillo

email icon dan.trujillo@camaspostrecord.com

June 14, 2011
The new fitness center at Camas High School offers a variety of equipment and teaching stations to students.

Promoting health at Camas High School

When the new Camas High School opened its doors in 2003, most of the equipment inside the school's smaller weight room had aged by more than 30 years. In the week after spring break, a new weight room and fitness center opened to the campus with great fanfare. The renovated rooms are home to approximately 600 students during the school day, and are used by athletes before and after school for weight training and summer conditioning. "With the weight room and fitness center next to each other, we have a total of about 5,000 square feet," said head football coach and fitness instructor Jon Eagle. "It's really great for the kids, when you think about how we had to do things before."

June 14, 2011

A championship family man from Washougal

Stepping into a caged octagon is the newest sensation for the 6-foot-4, 240-pound Chris de la Rocha of Washougal, but family always comes first. The 32-year-old mixed martial artist works as a correctional officer and a defensive tactics instructor for Larch Corrections Center, and is a member of the regional Special Emergency Response Team. De la Rocha is happily married to Sheila, his wife of 10 years. He is also a father of two daughters, Kiersten and Carissa, and a newborn son named Quinn.

June 14, 2011
Left to right: Clark County high school gymnasts Dakota McMillan (Union), Jordan Hess (Columbia River), Amy Siebenthaler (Camas) and Amanda Bolton (Camas) represented Team Washington at the National High School Gymnastics Senior Showcase May 20 and 21, at the DiamondHead Beach Resort in Fort Myers, Fla.

High school gymnasts go out shining for Washington

A love for gymnastics took Camas High School graduates Amy Siebenthaler and Amanda Bolton all the way to Florida. Bolton and Siebenthaler competed in the 2011 National High School Gymnastics Senior Showcase, May 20 and 21, in the Estero Community Center at the DiamondHead Beach Resort in Fort Myers, Fla. They represented Team Washington with Dakota McMillan, of Union High School in Camas, Jordan Hess, from Columbia River High School in Vancouver, and nine other girls from Tacoma and Seattle.

June 7, 2011
Nico Lema Severich (center) became good friends on the Washougal tennis courts with Patrick McCarthy (left) and Eyan Cagle (right). The three Panthers played in the state tournament May 27 amd 28 in Seattle.

An unforgettable year in Washougal

Bolivia is home for Nico Lema Severich, but Washougal will always hold a special place in his heart. By playing on the Washougal High School tennis and soccer teams, the 17-year-old foreign exchange student feels he has become a Panther for life. On May 29, Lema Severich earned third place in the single's bracket of the state tennis tournament in Seattle. He also helped the Panther soccer team win a home playoff game, on May 10.

June 7, 2011
Catching a fish brings a smile to a kid's face during the 2011 Camas Moose Lodge fishing derby.

Catching fish and sunshine with friends at Lacamas Lake

The sun was shining, the fish were biting and the kids were smiling. A total of 21 special needs students from Liberty Middle School caught their limit of five fish Friday, during the 2011 Camas Moose Lodge fishing derby at Lacamas Lake.

May 31, 2011
Parker Roland, Nate Beasley, Drew White and Adam Allison (inset, left to right) celebrate the first of seven goals for the Camas boys soccer team in the final four. Beasley scored two goals in the finals and one in the semifinals.

Brothers become state champions

Twenty eleven goes down as the year of redemption for the Camas High School boys soccer program. After losing in the state semifinals in 2010, and the first game of 2011, the Papermakers won their last 20 matches of the season. They did not stop scoring goals and slamming the door on opposing offenses until they were crowned state champions. "After what happened last year, it's nice to be able to come back here and win it all as seniors," said Drew Gourlie. "This is the way you want to go out."

May 31, 2011
Logan Grindy (7) goes deep for Camas for the second time in two days Saturday, at Cheney Stadium, in Tacoma.

Camas baseball team goes down in history

The first and only loss of the season derailed the dream Friday, but the Camas High School baseball players walked off the diamond as winners Saturday. After dropping a 2-1 heartbreaker to Shorewood in the semifinals, the Papermakers dug deep to defeat Kamiakin 6-4 for third place in state at Cheney Stadium, the home of the Tacoma Rainiers.

May 24, 2011
Drew White (8) and the Camas High School boys soccer team delivered two exciting victories in front of home crowds at Doc Harris Stadium to return to the final four.

No place like home

Eighty minutes goes by fast when the soccer is this good. Squaring off against the number-two ranked team in the state, the Camas High School boys smashed Shorecrest with a force of a tidal wave by scoring three goals in the final 17 minutes May 17, at Doc Harris Stadium. The 3-0 victory for the Papermakers was the 250th for head coach Roland Minder. "Minder deserves it," said co-captain Drew White. "He's worked so hard for all our teams, and it's about time he gets some credit."

May 24, 2011

More unfinished business for Camas baseball

The Camas High School baseball players wanted one more crack at the reigning state champions, and they got it Saturday in the Centralia Region Three championship game. "I wanted it to be Mountain View because they're in our league, and were the better team on paper," said head coach Joe Hallead. "The majority of the boys wanted O'Dea. They said we had some unfinished business."