Ryan Dietzman pumped up the jam on the high bar. The 16-year-old Level 10 Camas gymnast delivered a perfect dismount and landing to earn a goal medal during the USAG Washington state men's gymnastics championships Saturday evening, at the Clark County Event Center. "It was such a clean and crisp routine," Dietzman said. "It felt so good."
The Washington state men's gymnastics championship meet is coming to Clark County for the first time in more than 20 years. This is the ground breaking opportunity members of the host Vancouver Elite Gymnastics Academy have been striving for since they moved into the Camas Armory building in 2004. It has become home base for gymnasts, dancers, musicians and cheerleaders. "People from all different walks of life come here," said founding coach and co-owner Randy Fox. "VEGA started with 10 kids 10 years ago. Now, there's well over a thousand. That's all from word of mouth and our loyal community."
With vehicles driving on the new 38th Avenue, Caryn and Clark Vitek cannot wait to plant their seeds and watch them grow into the Evergreen Tennis Facility. "It's the gateway corridor from East Vancouver to Camas," Caryn said. "We're looking forward to having great visibility on that new road." Four indoor courts will be constructed on 2.28 acres of land at 5225 N.W. 38th Ave., next to Fisher Investments, in Camas. These courts will come with two glass cargo doors at each end of the facility, and a translucent ceiling to capture natural light.
The hard work of these Washougal and Stevenson horseback riders is all for the final district three showcase April 17 to 20, at the Grays County Fairgrounds in Elma. "It's an adrenaline rush," said Washougal Equestrian Team President Fee Harrison. "It's my senior year, so this is the last impression I can leave on everybody. It's also really sad because I grew up in this sport. It developed who I am, what I stand for and what my morals are." Harrison hopes this won't be her last ride at a high school equestrian meet. Neither do fellow seniors Savannah Lehman, Mattie Olson, Megan Templer and Shelby Valaer. They all want to compete for state medals May 8 to 11, at the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds in Lynden.
Erin Locke is made of iron. Her combination of work ethic and addiction for competition is unbreakable. The cerebral assassin never missed a practice or a meet in four years of high school. She also kept her GPA above 3.5, while qualifying for the postseason four times. By meeting all of that criteria, Locke became the first female to win Washougal High School wrestling's Ultimate Ironman award.
Look through a roll of paper and you get an idea how Kyle Robiduox sees every day life with retinis pigmentosa. Extreme tunnel vision. No peripheral vision. Not able to see at night. Unable to drive a vehicle. Robiduox was diagnosed with the disease when he was 11 years old, but that didn't stop him and his older brother Jayson from playing baseball and basketball, or chasing each other down the slopes on skis.
Egged on by her teammates and coaches, Abby Lees reluctantly climbed two flights of stairs to hang the Washougal banner on the top balcony at the Tacoma Dome. The ritual to break in the freshman turned into an impressive event of foreshadowing. During the next two days of wrestling competition, Lees scaled the Mat Classic mountain with a refusal to lose. She defeated Nooksack Valley's Kylee Dekoekkoek in overtime 6-4 in her first match Friday. Lees then pinned Kendra Maxfield, of Emerald Ridge, with five seconds left on the clock in the final round.
Kasey Calwell completed the backstroke, butterfly, breaststroke and freestyle laps in a personal best time of 1 minute, 54.23 seconds during Saturday's 4A state swimming meet, at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.
Ashley Carter, Emily Karkanen, Caleigh Lofstead and Shannon Ross are the Fantastic Four Camas gymnasts who reached the 4A state meet together Friday, at the Tacoma Dome. Ross finished in 13th place on the floor exercise, with a 9.3, and 18th place on the vault, with an 8.9. The sophomore just missed qualifying for Saturday's finals on the floor. "I hit that routine like I knew I could," Ross said. "I left everything on that floor, and I'm walking away happy."
Six years after losing his grip on the head football coaching position at Washougal High School, Dave Hajek got it back Monday. "Hajek demonstrated throughout the interview process all of the qualities that we are looking for in a coach," Athletic Director Doug Cox wrote in a press release. "He has a tremendous amount of highly successful experience as a coach and as a player. He understands, and has demonstrated that he is committed to the goals and objectives of an education based athletic program. He is clearly passionate and enthusiastic about the sport, and the personal development of our athletes. He is organized, a good communicator, a capable fundraiser, and a solid role model for our athletes." A proud Panther since graduating from the high school in 1987, Hajek played football for Eastern Washington University while earning his teaching degree. He returned to his alma mater in 1993 to teach social studies and coach.
dan.trujillo@camaspostrecord.com
