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February 19, 2013

Opportunity knocks for Washougal

Once again, the Washougal High School boys basketball team faces the consolation finals crossroad. A win tonight against their nemesis Hockinson sends the Panthers to the state tournament, but a loss ends the season. For the eight Washougal seniors who endured heartbreak after losing in a similar situation to North Thurston last season, it's now or never. The game starts at 7 p.m., at Evergreen High School, 14300 N.E. 18th St., in Vancouver. "Twenty miles away at Evergreen, the atmosphere is going to be great," said senior guard Michael McElroy. "It's going to be a battle to see who has the loudest fans and who is the better team." "We want to finish what we started last year," added senior forward Aaron Deister.

February 19, 2013
Sara Sanchez (left) lassoed a fifth place state medal from the Mat Classic Saturday, at the Tacoma Dome. The Washougal High School junior rallied back from two losses to defeat Mabton's Jazmin Mendoza 15-2 in her last match.

Emotional ending for Washougal wrestlers

Neither Sara Sanchez nor Erin Locke could have made it to the Tacoma Dome alone. "Having such a tough partner to work with every day makes you a better wrestler," Sanchez said. "One of us usually goes on before the other one. It's like tagging in your partner. Now it's your turn." Sanchez and Locke each won their first round matches in the girls state tournament Friday, but got caught on the wrong end of pin falls in the quarterfinals. Both Panthers fought through to Saturday and wrestled three more matches to get a medal.

February 12, 2013
Camas' Austin Miller turns the tables on Battle Ground's Sean Trenda during the 132-pound 4A regional championship match Saturday, at Heritage High School. Miller won the match 13-11.

Five Papermakers advance to the Mat Classic

After Tye Lommasson became a district and a regional wrestling champion for Camas, Austin Miller delivered a sensational encore performance Saturday at Heritage High School. Lommasson grounded Skyline's Joseph Dematteo 6-3 in the 126-pound 4A regional championship match. Dematteo was one of the top-ranked wrestlers in the state, but the Papermaker was able to keep the Spartan on the mat. "I had butterflies, but I just had to fight through it," Lommasson said. "This just feels awesome. It's my first time going to state. I can't wait to show everyone what I got."

February 12, 2013
Jake Yraceburu earned first place in the 100 breaststroke and helped the Papermakers win the 200 medley and the 400 freestyle relay races.

CHS swimmers clinch district championship in a new classification

After snatching four first place medals at Propstra Pool Thursday, Seth Albert helped the Camas High School boys swimmers hoist up the 4A district championship trophy. "It's a little heavy," Albert said, still catching his breath and rinsing the sting out of his arms after a perfect day in the water. The senior won both the 200- and the 100-meter freestyle races before helping the Papermakers win the 200 and the 400 freestyle relay events. "I came into the pool today saying 'I'm going to get a first place medal.' I didn't expect to get four," Albert said. "I'm competitive. I love being first in everything. I don't like to get second."

February 12, 2013
Aaron Deister ignites the offense for the Panthers. Washougal hosted its first district playoff game Saturday, but River Ridge escaped the jungle with a 54-51 victory.

Shocker in Washougal

The Washougal Panthers hosted their first district playoff game Saturday, but Brad Wallace and the River Ridge Hawks spoiled the party. Wallace delivered 25 of his 30 points in the second half to lead the Hawks to a 54-51 victory in front of a packed house at Washougal High School. He also nailed the game-winning 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left on the clock. All the Panthers had time for was a desperation shot that deflected off the glass as the final buzzer sounded. "That kid just hit an incredible shot with a hand in his face," said head coach Malcolm Estes. "We played hard. The breaks just didn't fall our way in the end."

February 10, 2013

On the sidelines: Line in the sand

The Washougal Panthers hosted their first district playoff game Saturday, but Brad Wallace and the River Ridge Hawks spoiled the party. Wallace delivered 25 of his 30 points in the second half to lead the Hawks to a 54-51 victory in front of a packed house in the Washougal High School jungle gym. Wallace's game-winning 3-point basket with 1.1 second on the clock was his fifth in the half. Washougal seniors Michael McElory and Aaron Deister each netted 15 points, and Jaden Jantzer added 10. McElory swished a buzzer beater from well behind the 3-point line to bring the Panthers within one point going into the fourth quarter. Jantzer and McElory both hit huge threes in the fourth quarter, but Washougal couldn't hold to either one of those leads.

February 8, 2013
The Camas High School boys swimmers and their coaches celebrate winning the 4A district championship meet Thursday, at Propstra Pool. The Papermakers racked up 459 points. Skyview finished in second place with 323 points.

On the sidelines: Life in the fast lane

Seth Albert, Alec Geenty, Trent Harimoto, Jeffery Lee, Nick Panebianco, Ian Walker and Jake Yraceburu have been district swimming champions all four years at Camas High School. The Papermakers racked up 459 points to capture 4A district title Thursday, at Propstra Pool in Vancouver. Skyview finished in second place with 323 points. Kasey Calwell, Yraceburu, Lucas Ulmer and John Utas got the meet started off with a bang by winning the 200-meter medley relay with a time of 1 minute, 40.57 seconds. From then on, Camas won eight of the remaining 10 events.

February 8, 2013
Roger Daniels

Daniels joins the Clark Athletic Hall of Fame Saturday

Washougal resident and historian Roger Daniels will be inducted into the Clark College Athletics Hall of Fame Saturday. The ceremony takes place from 5 to 6:30 p.m., at the Gaiser Hall Student Center, 1933 Fort Vancouver Way. The other inductees are Dracy Church (track and basketball), Ted Farnsworth (meritorious service), Jim Johnson (basketball), Erin Tharp (basketball), Darryl White (basketball), the 1947 men’s basketball team, the 1956 baseball team, the 1956 men’s basketball team and the 1956 track and field team.

February 5, 2013
Nine regional qualifiers and six other medallists helped the Panther boys wrestling team become 2A sub-region champions Saturday, at Washougal High School.

A great day to be a Panther wrestler

Four champions, nine regional qualifiers and six other medallists helped the Washougal boys wrestling team win the 2A sub-regional tournament Saturday, at Washougal High School. "I won my bracket, but there are a lot of other champions out there," said co-captain Stephen Camden. "It all starts in practice. We go out there and push each other hard every day to represent Washougal the best that we can. I'm always going to remember winning this trophy." Bursitis in his knee sidelined Camden for a month, but the senior looked like he hadn't lost a step on Saturday. Camden pinned Jacob Mather of R.A. Long in the quarterfinals and Gunnar Long of Ridgefield in the semifinals. He then beat Ridgefield's Clayton Farr 19-13 for the 160-pound championship medal.