Camas High School junior Alexa Efraimson was surprised by a former Olympian this morning during her advanced marketing class. Efraimson was planning to make a speech, when professional distance runner Molly Huddle entered the classroom and presented her with the 2013-14 Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year trophy.
Egged on by her teammates and coaches, Abby Lees reluctantly climbed two flights of stairs to hang the Washougal banner on the top balcony at the Tacoma Dome. The ritual to break in the freshman turned into an impressive event of foreshadowing. During the next two days of wrestling competition, Lees scaled the Mat Classic mountain with a refusal to lose. She defeated Nooksack Valley's Kylee Dekoekkoek in overtime 6-4 in her first match Friday. Lees then pinned Kendra Maxfield, of Emerald Ridge, with five seconds left on the clock in the final round.
Kasey Calwell completed the backstroke, butterfly, breaststroke and freestyle laps in a personal best time of 1 minute, 54.23 seconds during Saturday's 4A state swimming meet, at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.
Ashley Carter, Emily Karkanen, Caleigh Lofstead and Shannon Ross are the Fantastic Four Camas gymnasts who reached the 4A state meet together Friday, at the Tacoma Dome. Ross finished in 13th place on the floor exercise, with a 9.3, and 18th place on the vault, with an 8.9. The sophomore just missed qualifying for Saturday's finals on the floor. "I hit that routine like I knew I could," Ross said. "I left everything on that floor, and I'm walking away happy."
Six years after losing his grip on the head football coaching position at Washougal High School, Dave Hajek got it back Monday. "Hajek demonstrated throughout the interview process all of the qualities that we are looking for in a coach," Athletic Director Doug Cox wrote in a press release. "He has a tremendous amount of highly successful experience as a coach and as a player. He understands, and has demonstrated that he is committed to the goals and objectives of an education based athletic program. He is clearly passionate and enthusiastic about the sport, and the personal development of our athletes. He is organized, a good communicator, a capable fundraiser, and a solid role model for our athletes." A proud Panther since graduating from the high school in 1987, Hajek played football for Eastern Washington University while earning his teaching degree. He returned to his alma mater in 1993 to teach social studies and coach.
Together, the Camas High School gymnasts made history before midnight. Shannon Ross, Ashley Carter, Caleigh Lofstead, Alexis Sabatini, Gabrielle Bird, Hannah Marquis, Riley Truitt, Emily Karkanen, Tamaki Murata and Hope Richter became the first Papermakers to clinch a district gymnastics championship trophy. Camas collected 166.65 points to win the six-team scramble at Northpointe, in Vancouver. Heritage followed in second place with 159.45.
The Papermakers rode the waves they created to win the district title by 100 points Saturday, at Kelso High School. "Once that buzzer goes off, you give it your all and come back the next day for finals and do it all over again," said junior Lucas Ulmer. "I'm glad we had so many kids push through and help us with the meet. Without them, we wouldn't have these relays and the meet records." Kasey Calwell, Tom Utas, Ulmer and John Utas kicked things off with a meet and school record time of 1 minute, 39.67 seconds in the 200-meter medley relay.
The Panthers didn't want to put their regional trophy back in the case, but it's time for these girls to wrestle for an even bigger prize. Champion Erin Locke, second-place finishers Jessica Eakins, Haven Camden and Abby Lees, and fourth-place medalists Yaneli Martinez, Emily Alder-Storm and Katelyn Purkeypyle helped Washougal beat 14 other schools for the regional title Saturday, at Hoquiam High School. "Even though I won my championship match, bringing home the team trophy was even more exciting," Locke said. "It was the cherry on top of the sundae."
The Papermakers rode the waves they created to the district championship by 100 points. Camas won the five-team district meet with 414 points Saturday, at Kelso High School. Union was way back in second place with 314 points. Skyview took third with 156 points.
Together, the Camas High School gymnasts made history before midnight. Shannon Ross, Ashley Carter, Caleigh Lofstead, Alexis Sabatini, Gabrielle Bird, Hannah Marquis, Riley Truitt, Emily Karkanen, Tamaki Murata and Hope Richter became the first Papermakers to clinch a district gymnastics championship trophy. Camas collected 166.65 points to win the six-team scramble at Northpointe, in Vancouver. Heritage followed in second place with 159.45. "We just made history in Camas. It's cool to be a part of that," Carter said.
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