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Sports

May 29, 2012
Camas senior Cali Mulholland high-fives assistant coach Ari Van Horn after her third hit of the game. The Papermakers defeated Liberty 9-5 to become one of the top eight teams in the 3A state softball tournament at the Regional Athletic Complex.

Papermakers finish as one of the top eight teams in the state

As the Camas softball players celebrated at home plate after Mikaela Searight tied the score with Liberty on a 2-run home run, they rediscovered their love for the game. "After going 0-for in the first two games, I told myself, 'I'm done failing. I'm going to help my team now,' " Searight said. "That swing felt so effortless. Every time I hit the ball well, it's when I relax. I felt great because I finally didn't let my teammates down." Somewhere between the white lines and the mounting pressure of the state tournament, the Papermakers lost their edge. Camas rallied to beat Bainbridge 2-1 on a 2-run triple by Sarah Nidick in the sixth inning, but tightened up in the first few innings against defending state champion Juanita Friday, at the Regional Athletic Complex in Lacey.

May 29, 2012
Katie Wright clears the high jump bar set at 5 feet, 3 inches for third place at the 2A state track and field championships Friday, at Mt. Tahoma High School.

WHS senior clinches third in the high jump and ninth in the long jump

Katie Wright had a lot of fun flying through the air against the best jumpers in the state Friday. The Washougal High School senior cleared the high jump bar set at 5 feet, 3 inches to get into the top three at the 2A state track and field championships, at Mt. Tahoma High School. "I wanted to make a clean 5' and then go as high as I could," Wright said. "Clearing 5-3 felt so great. I was at the height I was usually jumping and going after my PR again."

May 22, 2012
The 20-4 Camas softball team is back in the state tournament this weekend. The Papermakers play Bainbridge in the first round Friday, at the Regional Athletic Center in Lacey. First pitch is at noon.

Sliding into state

A bi-district championship was not in the cards for the Camas girls softball team Saturday. But what the Papermakers were betting their whole season on was a return engagement into the state tournament. On Friday, they cashed in on that goal by defeating Bonney Lake 9-3 at the Sprinkler Center in Tacoma. "Last year we were heart broken. After being the district champions, going two and out at bi-districts was horrible," said senior catcher Mikaela Searight. "This year, we wanted to give our all and win that first game. That was the most important one. A bi-district title would have been nice, but our goal all along was to get back to state."

May 22, 2012
Camas freshmen Esther Kwon (pictured above) and Jen Lewis led the Papermakers to the bi-district tennis championship Saturday, at Clover Park High School. Kwon captured the singles crown and Lewis took third place.

Camas tennis sends a senior and three freshmen to state

The tennis season just keeps getting more exciting for four Camas Papermakers and their coaches. On Saturday at Clover Park High School in Lakewood, freshmen Esther Kwon and Jen Lewis led Camas to first place as a team at the bi-district girls tournament. Kwon clinched the singles championship with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Maggie Henderson of Auburn Mountain View. Lewis finished off Bonney Lake's Alise McCoy 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 for third place. "These are two 15-year-olds facing high pressure situations," said head coach Jonathan Burton. "These tennis days can be long and exhausting. The mark of a good player is somebody who can stay focused for that duration of time. They both did that."

May 22, 2012

Camas and Washougal track and field athletes reach state

Twenty Camas Papermakers and six Washougal Panthers qualified for the state track and field championships Thursday, Friday and Saturday, at Mt. Tahoma High School in Tacoma. The Camas girls captured their third straight 3A bi-district championship Saturday, at Mt. Tahoma. The Papermaker boys finished in fifth. Alexa Efraimson won the 800-meter run and set a new meet record time of 2 minutes, 12.26 seconds. She has the fastest time in the state and the sixth-best time in the nation.

May 22, 2012
The Stride's youngest participants enjoyed getting to know the WHS Panther mascot.

2012 Student Stride for Education results

Kindergarten 1.5K Topher Anderson, 8:41; Dane Bachelder, 9:25; Ty Barnes, 9:36; Mark Bauer, 18:08; Holden Bea, 6:56; Bryce Condon, 8:33; Alan Cox, 8:00; Mason Darling, 7:38; Avery Davis, 8:17; Brody Davis,8:38; Kaitlyn Franke, 8:20; TJ Gilbert, 11:08; Jayden Iniquez, 8:49; Samantha Jackson, 8:01; Brayden Kassel, 8:43; Tyler Klopman, 7:05; Kiersten Lees, 7:57; Jamie Maas, 8:45; Paula Nguyen, 8:36; Alexader Oghisev, 8:05; Sara Parthemer, 10:38; Keagan Payne, 7:17; Lorelei Peck, 10:18; Jordan Perry, 8:28; Lily Sanders, 10:41; Aaron Sled, 9:54; Deja Ray Smith, 12:44; Bailey Sneer, 10:35; Nikko Speer, 8:23; Jordan Stepp, 10:43; Danica Stinchfield, 8:08; Adalei Tanner, 8:53; Laney Webb, 8:51; Claire Zakovics, 10:16.

May 15, 2012

Papermaker softball team is playing for more prizes

After becoming league and district champions in the same season for the first time in school history, the Camas softball players are determined to go the distance. On Friday at 4 p.m., the Papermakers play Capital or Bonney Lake in the quarterfinals of the bi-district tournament at the Sprinkler Center in Tacoma. And that is the only game that matters to them. "We can't look too far ahead. Just take things inning by inning and pitch by pitch," said senior pitcher and infielder Sarah Nidick. "If we take care of that first goal and win that first game we're going to state, which is the ultimate goal." Camas (17-3) was in this same position in 2011 and failed to capitalize. The opportunity to rewrite history in 2012 makes this the most important week of the season for the Papermakers.

May 15, 2012
Roldan Alcobendas wins the battle in the air for the soccer ball Saturday, at Doc Harris Stadium. The junior from Camas fired in the winning goal in the final five minutes.

Camas boys soccer reaches state for the 14th year in a row

Tradition continued for the Camas boys soccer team Saturday. Giving up the lead to Bonney Lake in the last 20 minutes put the Papermakers on the hot seat, but then Roldan Alcobendas took his coaches and teammates for a cool ride by kicking the ball into the back of the net in the final 4 minutes, 27 seconds. "I just tried to find an opening and put all I had left into that shot," Alcobendas said. "Thankfully, it went in."

May 15, 2012
The Washougal boys soccer players celebrate their first trip to the 2A state championship tournament since 2001. The Panthers play Fife today at 6 p.m., at at Sunset Chevrolet Stadium next to Sumner High School.

Washougal boys soccer gets to state for the first time in 11 seasons

Today is the day six Washougal High School seniors have been dreaming about for four years. Zach Boland, Caleb Howard, Sam O'Hara, Jeremiah Palmer and Colton Sullivan never made it to the playoffs in football, so they focused all of their attention on soccer. "We've all been working toward this moment for pretty much the whole year, and in previous years too," Boland said. "I trust my teammates with my life." "When I say these guys are my brothers, I view them as that," O'Hara added. "We grew up together in this town and we all care about this community. I just feel lucky to be around this great group of guys all through high school."