Camas swimmers save best for last

A heart pounding effort by 12 Papermakers propelled the Camas girls swimming team to the district championship Friday and Saturday, at Kelso High School.

Sidelined by shoulder surgery last season, Corinne Bintz accomplished her goal of qualifying for state in all four of her events. Bintz, Siobhan Choong, Hannah Clayton and Jessica Bretz won the 200-meter medley and the 200 freestyle relay races. Bintz also earned second place in the 100 breaststroke and third place in the 50 freestyle.

The Papermakers earned 254 points to win the district title. Union settled for second place with 249 points. Mountain View took third place with 222 points.

“It was so surreal,” Bintz said. “I didn’t think Camas could pull it out. I didn’t think we had enough people. It’s just a great way to cap off my senior year, and a great way to come back.”

Clayton captured first place in the 200 and 100 freestyle races to go along with her wins as part of the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relay teams.

Choong claimed third place in the 100 breaststroke and fourth place in the 50 freestyle. Bretz grabbed third place in the 100 freestyle and fourth place in the 100 breaststroke. Callie Rouske took sixth place in the 100 breaststroke. Jessica Rouske finished in sixth place in the 500 freestyle and seventh place in the 100 butterfly. Nicole Lobkov notched seventh place in the 100 freestyle and the 100 backstroke. Emily Hows secured 12th place in the 100 butterfly.

Head coach Mike Bemis said the turning point of the meet for Camas came in the backstroke and the breaststroke.

Brooke Kelly was seeded in 11th place in the breaststroke, but she finished in eighth place Saturday. Lydia Keller moved up from 11th to ninth place, and Maddy Scherwinski improved from ninth to eighth place in the backstroke.

Lobkov, Hows, Jessica Rouske and Kelly earned fourth place in the 400 freestyle relay to seal the deal for Camas.

“The girls were hugging, yelling, screaming and cheering,” Bemis said. “It was an amazing meet. Everything ended the way you want it to end.”