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Stories by Dan Trujillo

email icon dan.trujillo@camaspostrecord.com

November 30, 2010
The Camas High School girls basketball players work on passing and pressure packed defense during practice.

Papermakers bound together by basketball

Friday, Feb. 19, 2010, a date Camas High School girls basketball players are never going to forget. On that historical night, the Papermakers defeated the Prairie Falcons 59-46 for the district championship. Prairie had won 136 straight games against Greater St. Helens League schools, before Camas brought the decade long streak to an end. Sitting around the table in the CHS commons room, seniors Kaeliana "Kat" DeVera, Katelyn Henson, Kayla Roche and Melissa Williams reflected on the evening that changed everything. "This is the first time we feel we have a chance to be a really successful team," Henson said. "Beating Prairie put Camas girls basketball on the map, but our goal and our dream has always been to go to state."

November 30, 2010
Camas High School seniors Marc Eppinger and Jacob Kaler (left to right) hope to leave a legacy on the hardwood for the Papermakers.

Breaking through the Camas basketball ceiling

The bitter taste in the mouths of the Camas High School boys basketball players has been sweetened by the beginning of a new season. After the Papermakers beat league rival Union last January, they plateaued and saw their season come to an abrupt end in the first round of the district playoffs on a circus 3-pointer off the backboard by Hudson's Bay. Those spoiling Eagles also nipped Union in the district finale, but the Titans rebounded at bi-districts and went on to win the state championship. Union is now out of the 3A Greater St. Helens League, and Kelso and Mountain View are in. Columbia River, Fort Vancouver and Prairie remain a thorn in Camas' side. And before league starts on Dec. 14, the Papermakers play Skyview, Evergreen, Union and Centennial.

November 30, 2010
Chandler Audette (left) reaches out to defend a shot by Maddie Down (right) during a Washougal High School girls basketball practice.

Panther girls basketball hopes to build on playoff experience

After an amazing autumn on the soccer field, Darcy Akers and Maddie Down are ready to lead the Washougal girls on the basketball court. Overcoming incredible odds in the final few weeks of the 2009-10 season, the Panthers galloped into the district tournament for the first time in recent memory. The coronation came after Washougal defeated Hockinson 70-63 in overtime on "Senior Night." Five nights later, the Panthers beat Mark Morris on the road 61-60 to qualify for the district tournament. They lost to Centralia in the first round, but they will never forget the journey. "The team got so much closer and alive," Akers said. "Hopefully, we can build off that intensity and add it to our game."

November 23, 2010
Addison Owen (9) goes over the top to score a huge touchdown for the Camas Papermaker football team in the state quarterfinals with the Lakes Lancers at Doc Harris Stadium in November 2010. A new study says football is the most dangerous sport for youth athletes.

Overtime nightmare

A touchdown delivered through the air by Addison Owen appeared to put the Papermakers over the top, but the Lancers won Friday's state quarterfinal joust at Doc Harris Stadium in overtime. Owen's flight into the end zone gave Camas a 21-14 lead with five minutes to go in the third quarter. Any sort of celebration was subdued moments later when junior linebacker Javon Ingram suffered a stinger and left the game on a stretcher. The Lancers pierced through the shaken Papermakers and tied the game with less than two minutes to go in the third. After both teams missed field goals in the final three minutes of the game, fans were treated to extra football.

November 23, 2010
Dylan Croeni competed with 78 of the best high school cross country runners from Washington and Oregon in the 2010 Nike Border Clash Sunday, in Beaverton.

Cannonball Croeni

A cross country race that begins with the firing of a cannonball might frighten most people, but Dylan Croeni was ready to go. The Washougal High School senior finished in 12th place out of the top 79 runners from Washington and Oregon at the 2010 Nike Border Clash Sunday, at the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton. Croeni completed the flat 4,400-meter course in 14 minutes, 16.77 seconds. He was the 10th best runner from Washington, who creamed Oregon by a margin of 31 points.

November 23, 2010
Chuck Knight brings a love of basketball to the Papermaker warehouse.

Knights are bright for Camas girls basketball

In the minutes following his announcement as the new Camas High School girls varsity basketball head coach, Chuck Knight and the Papermakers were challenged by a freak injury to one of their star players. While coaching the Vancouver Heat at an Amateur Athletic Union summer basketball tournament in San Diego, Knight shared his good news about becoming the Camas coach with upcoming seniors Kat DeVera, Katelyn Henson and Melissa Williams.

November 16, 2010
Addison Owen (9) was all over the field for the Camas football team Saturday. He scored a touchdown on the first series of the game, blocked an extra-point kick on defense, filled in at running back, threw a pass, caught a couple of them and returned kick offs for several yards.

History rewritten

The history of football in Camas has been rewritten, but the Papermakers are not going to stop climbing. Camas reached the century mark Saturday, becoming the first football team in school history to win a state playoff game. The thousands of fans who spilled out of Doc Harris Stadium are never going to forget those final seven minutes, when the Papermakers scored a touchdown and made a heart thumping stop on fourth-and-goal to defeat Juanita of Kirkland 20-13.

November 16, 2010
Sydney Schwartz and Kelsy Benton (left to right) attack the net for the Camas volleyball team at the Toyota Center in Kennewick. The 30-2 Papermakers placed fifth at state, and finished with the best record in school history.

Fifth at state is just fine for Camas volleyball

When the state championship was no longer in the cards for the Camas High School volleyball team in Kennewick, fifth place became a worthy consolation prize. Especially after the Papermakers defeated Capital 25-14, 26-24, 21-25, 18-25 and 15-12; Meadowdale 25-16, 27-25 and 25-17; and defending state champion Bishop Blanchet 25-17, 25-8 and 25-15 Saturday inside the Toyota Center. "Our record of 30-2 is the best ever in Camas. The girls proved without a shadow of a doubt that they are the best team in Camas history, even if they didn't get the highest finish at state," said head coach Julie Nidick. "Seattle Prep being able to beat us in the first round was their springboard to a state championship. There's no doubt in my mind how close we were to winning the whole thing."

November 16, 2010
Raya Klein (2) and a Bonney Lake Panther go head-to-head for the soccer ball.

A soccer sisterhood to remember forever

The Camas High School girls soccer sisters played their hearts out Saturday. They desired a return to the Final Four, and dreamed of winning a state championship. After the Bonney Lake Panthers edged the Papermakers 1-0 in the quarterfinals Saturday at Doc Harris Stadium, the sisters would have given anything for one more soccer game together. "I am extremely proud of our effort in this game. We never gave up. Even on the last throw-in with 10 seconds left, everyone was up and trying to get one more shot," said senior defender Adrienne Engel. "You play your heart out, but sometimes you end up with the short end of the stick."