Washougal High prep sports teams roll into 2022 season

Freshman Gracie Perry has earned a spot as Washougal’s No. 3 runner. Emily Swigert, Audrey Grice, Danica Stinchfied and Lauren Filipczak will fill the remaining positions for most meets.

“Grace is coming in really fast. It may be a little too soon to tell (how good she will be), but the potential is definitely there,” Stinchfield said. “One of the cool things about the other four girls is that they really work together and push each other. We do a lot of ‘pack’ running where they help each other. They just kind of take turns in turns of who’s really ‘feeling it’ that day and who’s going to take the lead. It’s a really great example of teamwork as they help each other out.”

On the boys’ side, junior Samuel Grice has taken a step forward and is performing at a level that indicates that he has the potential to do much better than his 11th-place state meet finish from a year ago.

“The sky’s the limit for him right now,” Tracey Stinchfield said. “He is feeling great and working hard. I would not be surprised at all to see him right there at the top of that podium if things continue to go the way they have for him. Hopefully, that will be the case.”

The rest of the Panthers’ lineup includes Carson Holmes, William Logan, Trey Keyser, Liam Churchman, Gavin Haynese and Nolan Johnson.

“Behind Samuel right now, they’re all kind of scrambling to get those spots, which is great,” Tracey Stinchfield said. “Boys get motivated by competing with one another, and so it’s been fun watching them go back and forth, and take turns to take the lead. William was real solid last year, but he got injured, so he didn’t get to compete with us at state. But he’s feeling great this year, so it’s going to be fun to see how far he can go.”

Boys golf

Michael Minnis is the new coach for the Washougal boys golf team, replacing Greg Lewis.

“I’m not a pro by any stretch of the imagination, but I know the basics and I know how to teach and I know how to inspire kids,” he said. “All of my varsity players for the most part are better players than I am, but I have a passion for golf, and I can see things in the swing and see things in their thinking and help them manage the game emotionally, and I think so far (all of that has) paid off. We’ve had a great start so far.”

Keegan Payne, a 2021 2A state meet participant, returns, as does Brayden Kassel. Newcomers Mason Acker and Mather Minnis give the Panthers a solid quartet that will keep them competitive in plenty of matches this fall.

“We really do have a solid group of kids,” Michael Minnis said. “I think every single one of my varsity guys has an opportunity to get (to the state tournament), and that’s not me being (overly optimistic). I’m convinced of that. I’ve seen them all play. I think that if they can learn how to compete and relax and enjoy the time out there, I think that not only will you see the team scores drop, but the door will also open up for them to receive that invitation.”

Volleyball

Courtney Wilkinson, the Washougal volleyball team’s fourth coach in the past five years, is hoping to bring some stability to a program that’s in desperate need of continuity and a consistent direction.

“I’ve actually coached almost all of them before, so I came into it knowing what the talent was,” said Wilkinson, who coaches the Washougal-based River Warriors cub team and previously coached at Jemtegaard Middle School for 10 years. “I think we’ve just needed a culture. I want them to love volleyball, and I know a lot of them do, but I think it starts at the foundational level and goes all the way up in the program. That’s my long-term goal, that we would start to build something. I know it’s possible here. We have a lot of good athletes. I know we can compete. There are good things happening. It’s going to be a building process. It’s not going to happen overnight. But I’m in it for the long haul.”

The team returns eight seniors, including outside hitter/middle blocker Aspen Olson, who sat out the first two weeks of the season while recovering from a foot injury but is ready to prove that she belongs in conversations about the best players in Clark County.

“She’s already getting offers to go play (in college). She’s just a powerhouse,” Wilkinson said. “I’ve been looking for Riley Harding, my senior center, to be a leader. And Allie Reyes-Cruz has been really helping the offense with her passing. But I think all the seniors coming together and really working as a team, that’s what I’m looking for. I’m super proud of them and a little sentimental, I guess, because they’ve been through so much, and I know how hard they’ve worked.”

Wilkinson is hoping the team can finish “at least where (it) did last year,” when it placed sixth in the eight-team 2A Greater St. Helens League and ended up with a 7-13 overall record.

“Makenzie has this special factor about her that I don’t think is necessarily coached — it’s just you have it or you don’t,” Beauchamp said. “She just steps up and makes the big saves when we need her to. In our first game against Battle Ground, she had nine saves, and some of those saves were very impressive — girls were right in front of the goal and somehow she blocked the shot. She just kind of has this ‘it’ factor of being clutch when we need her. She just steps up and makes those big saves. Everyone trusts her, and the backline plays with more confidence knowing that she’s back there to support them.”

The Panthers’ offense, meanwhile, will have a different look after losing Lauren Rabus, the league’s leading scorer in 2021, to graduation. But Beauchamp has confidence in several players, including senior forwards Sydnee Momakov and Olivia Buck, senior midfielder Jaden Leonard and junior midfielder Jamie Maas, to fill in the gap.

“I do see us having a more balanced offense, and I’m excited to see if anyone’s going to kind of step up into that leading goal-scoring role,” she said. “But right now, I think it’s great to have options. We have a number of different options that I think could, on any given day, step up and score a goal.”