The Union Titans brought plenty of tricks to the Camas warehouse on Halloween, but they couldn't scare the Papermakers. Camas defeated their Lacamas Lake rivals 17-25, 25-13, 25-23, 19-25, 15-9 in a volleyball thriller that had fans on the edge of their seats watching the Papermakers rise from the grave and grab the 4A district championship.
The Camas football team came home Friday and defeated Battle Ground 49-21 to become league champions. The Papermakers earned a perfect 5-0 record in their first year in the 4A Greater St. Helens League. "My whole life has been on this field with my brothers and my family," said senior running back Vince Huber. "I'll never forget these last four years of high school and growing up with these guys. I'm happy with everything we've accomplished together." Nate Beasley delivered two touchdown runs and snagged an interception on defense. Zach Eagle added a 43-yard interception return for a touchdown. Reilly Hennessey fired touchdown passes to Connor Maloney and Dylan White. Huber and John Norcross also had touchdown runs. "Nate and Vince were running all over the place, and our linemen were getting the blocks," Maloney said. "Reilly got the ball right were it needed to be. Everything just flowed and worked out for us."
The Camas High School cross country teams are on their way to repeating and rewriting history. The Papermaker girls captured the 4A regional championship trophy Saturday, on the American Lake golf course in Tacoma. Alexa Efraimson defeated defending 4A state champion Jordan McPhee of Mount Rainier by 33 seconds. Efraimson crossed the finish line in first place with a time of 17 minutes, 52 seconds. What thrilled the sophomore more than her individual win was seeing her teammates coming in one after the other in the top 12. "It just goes to show how determined we are as a team," Efraimson said. "It's not just one or two runners doing well, it's everybody performing to the best of their ability on the same day. That just makes it more meaningful."
The Papermakers are watching from the shadows, ready to strike fear in the hearts of their opponents on Halloween night. Either Skyview or Union will creep into the Camas warehouse Wednesday to challenge Camas for the district championship trophy. The haunts begin at 7 p.m. The surviving team earns the No. 1 seed into the bi-district tournament Friday and Saturday, at Kentwood High School. From the first week of practice, head coach Julie Nidick said this Camas team had the makings of something pretty special. Seniors Brindl Langley, Abbie Younkin, Lauren Neff and Taylor Carlson brought plenty of experience and energy. Then senior transfer student Natalia Zea walked through those doors and established herself as another potent offensive force. The underclassmen have embraced the senior leadership since day one. "Before we ever faced an opponent, I knew this team had boundless potential," Nidick said. "This may be the best team I've ever coached. They still have that potential."
Depth propelled the Panther girls cross country team to the state championship meet. Five runners finished between 16th and 25th place to lead Washougal to second place as a team behind Capital at districts Saturday, at Evergreen State College in Tacoma. Karina Miller clinched 16th place (21:21), Paige Roberts grabbed 19th (21:30), Meredith Collins took 20th (21:46), Hannah Wright earned 22nd (21:56) and Yaneli Martinez notched 25th (22:21). "I knew we could do it. We showed everybody what we're made of," Roberts said. "Panthers are tough. We can handle anything."
There's no place like home for the Camas High School football team. The Papermakers are 19-1 at the new Doc Harris Stadium since it opened in 2010.
The Camas High School cross country teams reached the Greater St. Helens summit, but there are more mountains to climb. Both the boys and the girls captured the 4A district championship Thursday, at Lewisville Park in Battle Ground. The Papermakers clinched both titles for the second year in a row. "It just shows our dominance," said senior Tucker Boyd. "Whether we're in 3A or 4A, we're going to compete with you." Alexa Efraimson earned first place with a time of 18 minutes, 9 seconds. She beat Alexis Fuller of Union to the finish line by 37 seconds. Efraimson loves this quote from Olympic runner and author Hal Higdon, "Even when you have gone as far as you can, and everything hurts, and you are staring and the specter of self doubt, you can find a bit more strength deep inside if you look closely enough."
Jonathan Ho was tired of playing second fiddle. He wanted to be the best. On Saturday, the Camas High School sophomore defeated Tanner Blake 6-4, 6-4 for the 4A district singles championship at the Vancouver Tennis Center. "It feels good to finally beat somebody from Union," Ho said. "That's what every Papermaker wants." Blake had Ho on the ropes with a 4-3 advantage in the second set, but the Papermaker got right back into the fight and quickly turned the tables. Ho sent Blake into a tailspin by winning the next two games to gain a 5-4 lead. As Ho stepped back to serve during that final sequence, the look in his eyes said he was not going to give this game away.
The Washougal High School girls cross country team captured the league championship for the first time since the school joined the 2A Greater St. Helens League in 2006. "Washougal hasn't won league in a long time," said sophomore Karina Miller. "For our girls to be league champions is a big deal." "It shows that we are able to accomplish our goal," added junior Paige Roberts. "We're like one big family, all getting stronger together."
The Camas football team felt at home again at McKenzie Stadium. The Papermakers finished off Heritage 55-21 Friday, a week after shutting out Union 22-0.
