It was a sunny 56 degrees Saturday afternoon, when the Camas High School baseball players stepped onto the shiny green grass to play Hudson's Bay at Propstra Park. "Look at this," said head coach Joe Hallead as he tilted his head to the sky and shielded his eyes. "Is that blue? Tell me it's not a painting." "When it's sunny, I feel like everybody is more happy and ready to play better," added senior Jace Schumacher.
Raindrops stabbed the Panthers like daggers and the wind chilled them to the bone, but the opportunity to compete brought out their fire and desire. Joe Harris and Karsten Short grabbed first place in three events to help the Washougal boys track and field team beat White Salmon and Stevenson by more than 70 points March 20, at Fishback Stadium. Kaitlyn Johnson finished first in four events to propel the Panther girls to victory by more than 40 points. "I was very impressed with our kids. I felt like they showed a lot of great character," said head coach Dave Hajek. "They rose to the occasion and competed. I didn't hear any of them complaining that it was too cold or too wet."
Amee Aarhus doesn't mind the cold weather or the mud. She just loves playing softball. After hitting a triple over the left fielder's head, the junior who transferred to Camas from Sacramento slid into a puddle at home plate and scored the final run for the Papermakers in a 10-0 victory over Evergreen Monday at Camas High School. "I wasn't expecting it to be that slushy," Aarhus said. "I just moved from California. On the second day of tryouts, it snowed and it hailed and it rained. I'm adapting to the cold. It's all part of the game. You have to make adjustments." The Papermakers pounded 10 hits on a wet and chilly Monday. Senior Mikaela Searight knocked in three runs, including a 2-run double in the fourth inning. Senior Sarah Nidick gave up just two hits in five innings pitched, and gained four strikeouts.
Camas track and field teams sweep Kelso The Papermaker girls scored just enough points on the track and in the field to defeat the Hilanders 76-74 Thursday, at Kelso High School.
Rain and snow mixed with frigid temperatures forced people indoors last weekend, but the Washougal High School girls tennis players finally got the opportunity to do what they love. The Panthers gained valuable court time during the eighth R.A. Long Tennis Invitational Friday and Saturday, at the Mint Valley Racquet at Fitness Club in Longview. "It was great for the girls to be on the courts and out of the wrestling room," said head coach Linda Balholm. "They were getting better with every match. It was a great experience for all of them." Sophomore Christina Zack took second place in the single's bracket for Washougal. After she beat Hockinson's Emily Bozart 6-3, 7-5, Zack lost to Dominika Fackovcova of Centralia in the championship match.
The Papershakers got their swagger back in 2012. On March 24, the 17 Camas High School dancers will showcase their hip-hop and jazz routines at the state dance and drill competition inside the Yakima Sun Dome. Several Papershakers will also perform in the drill down event. "We are excited to go up there and bring home some trophies for our school," said senior captain Brianna Ranck. "We've had three sets of coaches in the last three years. It's been hard, but somehow we made it through all that and became a stronger team." Ranck and fellow captains Charis Holscher and Honor Stevenson said they have learned so much from new coaches Sarah Dayley and Ranae Scott. Dayley runs the Dayley Dance Academy studios at Washougal Town Square and Downtown Vancouver.
Skyview brought rain to Doc Harris Stadium, but Camas countered with thunder, lightning and an umbrella of defense. "The only storm going on was the weather," said senior center back Wyatt Brown. "We shut them down on the field. Every portion of the game, we were in control." The Storm snuck in a goal in the final 2 minutes, 19 seconds of the game, but the Papermakers held on for a 2-1 victory. Nate Beasley thundered the ball into the net for the first goal, and Niko DeVera kicked in the second goal as fast as lightning.
Seeing the Camas High School cross country runners back on the track brought a twinkle to Mike Hickey's eye. It has been four months since the Camas girls team captured the Class 3A state championship trophy and the boys placed sixth in Pasco, but the coach still feels like it was yesterday. "When we won state by two points, it was so humbling" Hickey said. "The coolest part was seeing the looks on the kid's faces. Until we all saw we could do it on that one day, I don't think any of us thought we could do it until we did."
Mesmerized by the bright lights of Las Vegas, Nick McAfee captured two trophies at the 2012 Blackjack National Men's Gymnastics Championship on Feb. 3. The 16-year-old from Camas finished in first place on the floor exercise (13.95 points) and second on the parallel bars (13.6). He racked up 77.55 points in six events for third place in the all-around competition. "This was my second year going to Vegas," McAfee said. "It's wild. Everything you see there is just massive and larger than life." The deck was stacked against McAfee going into this meet. Since last summer, he has suffered through every kind of pain imaginable from a broken foot to a broken wrist, a pulled Achilles tendon and a pulled muscle in his back. This season, he has dealt with a sprained ankle and tendinitis in his shoulder.
On the way to the Tacoma Dome from Washougal, Stephen Camden's plans for the Mat Classic state wrestling tournament changed dramatically. On Feb. 16, the Washougal High School junior made the trip with alternates Matt Wilson and Tyler Purkeypyle. Stephen was going to spend the weekend cheering for his sister Haven and her teammate Erin Locke. "When I went up there, I didn't really have it in my head that I was going to wrestle," he said. "I knew it was like a million to one shot because someone from my league had to get hurt."
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