Sitting in a Tacoma, Washington-area hotel room on the night of May 24, 2019, Camas High School pole vaulter Anna Bedont decided to have a little fun with her appearance for the next day’s 4A state track and field meet at Mount Tahoma High School.
With no season-ending state championship events to prepare for, Camas High School’s traditional winter and spring sports coaches are adjusting their priorities as they ready their teams to begin truncated 2021 seasons this week.
Tristan Farrell’s first season as the Washougal High School football team’s starting quarterback included six touchdowns and 904 yards thrown over the 2020-21 condensed season’s five games and a path toward earning an all-2A Greater St. Helens League first-team selection.
Special Olympics Washington cancelled all Unified high school sports during the 2020-21 school year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the group encouraged schools to participate in its “Virtual Winter Games,” which included a wellness cup, a fitness heptathlon and an esports tournament.
Sam Geiger possesses obvious physical gifts, but his mental abilities have helped him become one of the best high school long-distance runners in Washington. He doesn’t get nervous when he’s running a race. He’s able to stay calm and steady by concentrating on his goals and eliminating distractions.
Though many young athletes prefer to specialize in one sport, training and playing with school, club and travel squads year-round in order to maximize their skills and land college scholarships, Camas High senior Josie Rein is not one of them.
In the fall of 2019, Washougal High School golfers Trevor Evers and Chase Baldwin qualified for the 2020 2A state tournament. which was scheduled for May but eventually canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has turned fall sports into winter-and-early-spring sports for most Washington high schools, including Camas and Washougal, where athletes and coaches have returned to their softball diamonds, volleyball courts and soccer pitches with great enthusiasm.
Even though the Camas and Washougal high school football teams won’t get the chance to replicate or improve upon their special 2019 campaigns this winter, players say they’re elated to return to the field for competitive play after the COVID-19 pandemic delayed their 2020 seasons by five months.
