The road to the Tacoma Dome for 4A and 2A Greater St. Helens League wrestlers began in Camas and Washougal Saturday. The Washougal boys won the 2A sub-regional championship trophy. The Washougal girls earned second place at the girls sub-regional tournament. The Camas boys took third place at the 4A Southwest Washington district tournament.
Porsche Chartrand dreamed of this moment since she started rolling bowling balls down the lanes at the age of 11. "To win any tournament is something I've always wanted," said the 17-year-old Camas High School junior. "It feels good to be the first Camas district bowling champion. I walk a little taller now, that's for sure." Chartrand made her dream come true by racking up scores of 205, 198 and 226 for a combined series of 629 Friday, at Allen's Crosley Lanes near downtown Vancouver. Her 226-game set a new school record and helped the Papermaker defeat Stacy Dettling of Evergreen High School for the 4A district championship medal by five pins.
For one weekend during the Washington High School Equestrian Teams' season, the Camas and Washougal horseback riders get to show what their horses can do in front of family and friends at the Clark County Fairgrounds in Ridgefield. "A lot of people can come and watch us when they normally couldn't because the meets are so far away from home," said Washougal High School Senior Drill Team captain Tenley Stedman. "It makes us feel important, just like basketball is important and wrestling is important to our school."
Lightning didn't strike twice for Jordan Lenard and the Camas High School boys basketball team. Skyview gained a seven-point advantage before the Papermakers came roaring back in the final minute of the Jan. 22 home game. A steal by Brandon Nguyen and a bucket in transition brought the Camas crowd to its feet. Trent Johnson then picked off a pass and Trevor Jasinsky made two foul shots to cut the lead down to three points. Skyview added a point at the foul line, and then Lenard nailed a 3-pointer to bring the Papermakers all the way back to within one. "I caught it in rhythm and just shot it. It felt so good when it went in," Lenard said. "Coach said, 'we're not out of this game. Anything can happen. Just keep playing hard.' We got a few steals and grabbed the momentum."
As the Camas High School girls basketball team fights to even the score with Skyview tonight, Sierra Brown points to her beating heart and says, "It all needs to start in here."
Ten medalists, seven finalists and three champions helped the Washougal wrestlers climb to the top of the Columbia River Gorge Invitational Saturday, at Stevenson High School.
Mountain View and Union have become fierce rivals for the Camas High School boys swimmers in the Greater St. Helens League.
Michael McElroy shot the ball over the outstretched arms of two Hockinson defenders and made the game-tying basket for Washougal as the buzzer sounded.
Six Camas High School wrestlers made history at the Clark County Championships Saturday, at Skyview High School. Vince Huber became the first Papermaker in six years to win a county championship medal. The CHS senior gained a 7-6 edge on Union's Cody Gromes with 22 seconds left in the final round of the 182-pound championship match. Gromes attempted to escape twice, by Huber refused to let go until the referee blew the whistle. "I kept my eye on the clock and knew I had to ride him out somehow," Huber said. "I'm proud of the win. He's a tough kid. It just feels great to be able to represent Camas as a Clark County champion." Taryn Lommasson and Erin Tully not only became the first county girls champions from Camas, they also helped the Papermakers place in their first girls tournament in school history. Jenna Rae Wilson pinned Washougal’s Emily Alder-Storm for third place at 106 pounds. Katie Lindstrom finished fourth for the Papermakers at 124 pounds and Shauna Ahern scored some points for Camas in the 100-pound bracket. The combined effort of those five Papermakers netted a third-place team finish.
Thirteen Panthers signed on the dotted line for Washougal Thursday night. They knew their school had never beaten Mark Morris before in boys basketball. Head coach Malcolm Estes didn't have to say anything. "Before the game I wrote 'Do you believe?' on the board and walked out," he said. "They all signed their names." The Panthers then entered the jungle and defeated the Monarchs 66-58. Senior guard Michael McElroy led the charge by scoring 10 of his team-leading 15 points in the second half. He glided to the basket several times and put the ball off the glass for points. He drew a foul shot on one of those occasions and converted it for a 3-point play to give Washougal the edge leading into the last three minutes of the game.
