Camas-Washougal logo tag

Sports

March 4, 2014
Erin Locke (right) shares a proud moment with coach Heather Carver (left). Locke became the first female to win Washougal High School Wrestling's Ultimate Ironman award.

A Locke of iron

Erin Locke is made of iron. Her combination of work ethic and addiction for competition is unbreakable. The cerebral assassin never missed a practice or a meet in four years of high school. She also kept her GPA above 3.5, while qualifying for the postseason four times. By meeting all of that criteria, Locke became the first female to win Washougal High School wrestling's Ultimate Ironman award.

March 4, 2014
Larry Jury, of Camas, led a "Dream Team" camp for youth at Evergreen Middle School, in Hillsboro, Ore., in June 2013. He is organizing a similar event March 15 and 16, at Liberty Middle School, in Camas.

Dream Team basketball camp to be held in Camas

A former college basketball player is coordinating a "Dream Team" camp for youth in Camas. Larry Jury, of Camas, played for George Fox University, in Newberg, Ore., and Big Bend Community College, in Moses Lake, Wash. He has also competed in the Cascade Pro-Am Summer Basketball League, in Portland, and he coached a boys basketball team in the Hillsboro, Ore., School District.

February 27, 2014
Camas High School junior Alexa Efraimson has been named the 2013-14 Gatorade National Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year. A presentation at CHS Thursday morning, involved 2012 Olympian Molly Huddle.

Alexa Efraimson earns Gatorade National cross country award

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.

February 25, 2014
Washougal freshman Abby Lees drills Tumwater's Megan Johnson's face in the mat during the first round of the girls 155-pound state championship match Saturday, at the Tacoma Dome. See more photos at www.camaspostrecord.com.

Lees gets a taste of glory

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.

February 25, 2014
Kasey Calwell clinched second place for Camas in the 200 individual medley (above) and the 100 breaststroke at the 4A boys state swimming championships Saturday, at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way.

Dreamchasers

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.

February 25, 2014
Camas freshman Emily Karkanen builds momentum on the bars before sticking her dismount during the 4A state gymnastics meet Friday, at the Tacoma Dome.

Fantastic Four aims for more

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."

February 25, 2014

Hajek grabs reins again

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.

February 18, 2014
The Camas High School gymnasts celebrate with their coaches after being announced as the district champions Wednesday, at Northpointe in Vancouver. See the photo gallery at www.camaspostrecord.com.

Gymnasts rise together

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.

February 18, 2014
CHS senior Xiaguang Yan helped the Papermakers win the district 200 freestyle relay Saturday, in Kelso. He also took third place in the 50 freestyle and the 100 breaststroke (above).

The biggest splash

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.