Student-athletes place at state events

If tennis players around Washington state didn't know who Hailey Kerker was and what she was capable of before the 2022 4A girls tennis state tournament, they certainly do now. The Camas High School freshman won the singles championship at the 4A girls tennis state tournament, held May 27-28, in Kennewick, Washington, and led the Papermakers to a team title. Kerker didn't drop a set in her four matches, defeating Hadley Manista of Olympia (6-0, 6-0), Grace Tan of Redmond (7-5, 6-0), Chloe Andrewjeski of Wenatchee (6-1, 6-1) and Matilde Veras of Eastlake (6-3, 6-1) on her way to first-place honors. "She just has this drive to compete and do well," Camas assistant coach Annie Sumpter told The Columbian, the Post-Record's sister paper. "She doesn't give up." Taryn Kerker and Jace Moriki also helped the Papermakers finish on top by placing fourth in the doubles competition. Camas boys tennis Camas High's Tommy James took sixth place at the 4A boys tennis state tournament, held May 27-28, in Kennewick, Washington. James won his first two matches to advance to the semifinals, where he lost to Phillip Deaton of Bellarmine Prep 6-0, 6-0. He then lost to Issaquah's Luke Sarausad in the third/sixth-place match. The Papermakers' Aiden Braiser took eighth place in the singles competition. He lost to Sarausad in a first-round match, won two consolation matches, then fell to Ben Lee of Jackson in a fifth/eighth-place match. Washougal boys tennis Washougal's Gavin Kestner and Tucker Kneipp rebounded after a first-round loss to record a victory in the consolation bracket, but couldn't advance any further at the 2A boys tennis state tournament, held May 27-28, at the Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle. The Panthers' duo lost in three sets to Jack Wang and Jordan Wang of Sammamish in the first round, beat Chase Addink and Jobe VanHeusden of Ephrata in a consolation match, then saw their season end with a loss to 2A Greater St. Helens League rivals Mikey Nester and Ryan Gruber of Ridgefield. Camas track and field Camas' boys and girls track and field teams brought home nine medals from the 4A state meet, held May 26-28, at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma, Washington. Aiden Montigny finished as the Papermakers' top performer, placing third in the 200-meter run (22.18 seconds), fourth in the 400-meter run (50.41) and fifth in the long jump (21 feet, 01.50 inches). Jared Williams took fourth place in the javelin (156-09) and Hunter Greene placed eighth in the shot put (49-05) for Camas. On the girls side, the Papermakers were aided by Maddison Hubbard, who placed third in the 100-meter run (12.16) and fourth in the 200-meter run (25.82); Dorothy Franklin, who took fourth place in the discus with a personal-best throw of 124-08; and Karina Cooper, who finished eighth in the pole vault with a leap of 10-06. Washougal track and field Washougla tied for sixth in the girls team standings at the 2A track and field meet, held May 26-28, at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma, Washington. The Panthers were led by Jamie Maas, who ran a personal-best 2:15.01 to finish second in the 800 and placed fifth in the 400 (1:00.12). Washougal also received strong distance running performances from Sydnee Boothby, who finished fifth in the 800 (2:19.51), and Elle Thomas, who placed seventh in the 1,600 (5:10.49) and fifth in the 3,200 (11:28.64). Savea Mansfield took second place in the shot put with a personal-best throw of 37 feet, 03.75 inches, while Iris Hancock finished eighth in the discus (104-08). On the boys' side, William Cooper took seventh in the triple jump with a leap of 39-11.5, and Tanner Hardley finished eighth in the pole vault (12-0) for the Panthers. Camas boys golf Camas' Eli Huntington tied for fifth at the 4A boys golf state tournament, held at Indian Summer Country Club in Olympia Washington. Huntington shot 71 on May 25, and 75 on May 26, for a total score of 146, five shots behind the winner, Akshay Anand of Remond. Four of Huntington's teammates also finished ahead of the cut line to advance to the second day of the tournament. Evan Chen tied for 26th place, carding rounds of 76 and 83; Leo Cassel tied for 58th with a 170 (88-82); Easton Rheaume fired an 88 and an 86 (174) to finish in 63rd place; and Drew Scott placed 71st after rounds of 97 and 87 (184). The Papermakers finished in seventh place in the team standings with a score of 649, 57 strokes behind state champion Bellarmine Prep. Camas girls golf Camas fell three strokes short of a team championship, finishing in second place, three shots behind Newport (Bellevue), at the 4A state tournament, held at Hawks Prairie Golf Course in Lacey, Washington. The Papermakers finished with a team score of 632, behind the Wolverines (629) and two shots ahead of Issaquah. Camas teammates Jasmine Chen and Jacinda Lee tied for fifth place, both finishing with final scores of 148. Chen shot a pair of 74s, while Lee carded a 71 on May 25, and followed up with a 77 on May 26. They finished seven shots behind state champion Jade Gruher of Union. The Papermakers' Susannah Gillespie tied for 23rd place with rounds of 86 and 81 (167). Not far behind was teammate Callie Wengler at 169 (87-82) and 27th place. Ella Kim rounded out Camas' lineup by shooting a pair of 88s (176) and placing 38th. Washougal boys golf Washougal's Keegan Payne shot an 86 during the first round of the 2A state tournament, held May 25, at Capitol City Golf Club in Olympia, Washington. Payne missed the cut for the second day of the tournament by three strokes. Zach Miller of White River emerged victorious on the first playoff hole against Ben Sweet of Sequim to win the state championship. Miller and Sweet both shot a pair of 71s (142) to tie for first place. Washougal girls golf Washougal's Katie Zillman advanced to the second round of the 2A state tournament, held May 25-26, at Tumwater Valley Golf Club in Tumwater, Washington. Zillman made the cut by shooting a first-round 93 on May 25, then shot 99 in the second round for a two-day total of 192 and a 32nd-place standing. Brooke Gelinas of White River won the state title with a final score of 141 (69-72).

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