Camas golfers are tops in the league

The view from the top of the Greater St. Helen’s League is grand, but the Camas golfers are looking for greener pastures.

After losing to Prairie by a stroke in 2009 and two strokes last season, the Papermakers beat the Falcons by 10 strokes Sept. 15 at Camas Meadows. On Wednesday, the Papermakers topped Mountain View 162-168 to capture that elusive league championship with a 6-0 record.

“It’s nice to win league,” said head coach Ed Givens. “It’s been a while since we’ve done that. It was definitely one of our main goals this year. The next one is to try and repeat as district champions. It’s going to be a tall order. We are going to need some kids to step up and play well under pressure.”

Despite Wednesday’s windy conditions, Camas senior Cosmo Peng was steady with a round of 38. Braeden Campbell added a 40, Daniel Patterson followed with a 41 and Brandon Waudby had a 45.

“Cosmo was spot-on spectacular,” Givens said. “He set the tone for the rest of the team.”

On the day before the league title match, the Papermakers placed fifth at the 17-team Prairie Invitational at The Cedars on Salmon Creek. Waudby grabbed fourth place in the tournament, with a score of 74. Peng and Campbell both shot an 82, Eugene Hsu turned in an 87 and David Wright rolled in an 86.

Mountain View beat Camas by three strokes in the tournament. The Thunder thought that gave them the edge going into Wednesday on their home course, but the Papermakers still had something up their sleeve. Patterson could not play in the tournament because it was his first day of Running Start classes at Clark College, but the Camas senior made his presence felt when he returned to the golf course the next day.

“Mountain View didn’t even see it coming,” Givens said. “They beat us the night before, and they thought they had it in the bag. It was fun to be able to sit back and watch our kids take them by surprise.”

The Papermakers are preparing for the district tournament Oct. 11 and 12, at the Tri-Mountain golf course in Ridgefield. The top 21 golfers from the first round will advance to the finals. The top six finalists will grab a spot in the state tournament next spring. The next nine placers will enter a regional tournament to get to state.

Busy week for WHS boys golf

On Sept. 26, the Panthers shot their best round of the season to beat R.A. Long 168-213 at Orchard Hills. Michael Moran earned medallist honors for shooting a 35, which was the lowest round of the day. Beau Scott shot a 42, Bryce Samwel added a 45, Joey Bratton followed with a 46 and Austin Miller rolled in a 48.

The next day, Washougal took 12th place in the Prairie Invitational. Samwel shot an 80, Scott followed with an 81, Moran added an 87, Bratton turned in a 105 and Max Tracy had a 127.

On Saturday, the Panthers placed sixth out of eight teams at the Ilwaco Invitational. Moran led with an 81, Scott shot an 85, Samwel scored a 90, Bratton had a 119 and Tracy turned in a 131.