Washougal rallied from 10 points down to take the lead twice in the third and fourth quarters, but the Camas High School girls basketball team held on for a 48-41 victory.
Washougalites were rocking around the Christmas tree Wednesday night, watching the Panther girls basketball team beat Stevenson by 30 points. The Panthers pounced the Bulldogs 59-29 on 23 points by Kendall Utter. She racked up 16 of those points in a phenomenal third quarter that saw Washougal outscore Stevenson 25-3. "That was probably the most fun I've ever had," Utter said. "It was awesome." Head coach Charlie Boyce elaborated on Utter's unforgettable performance. "I love seeing Kendall smile on the floor. She is a tremendously hard worker who is so hard on herself," he said. "Whether it's basketball, riding horses, or going to state in cross country or track; whatever she tries, she gives 110 percent. It's nice to see her enjoy her success."
The Camas High School girls basketball team appeared to be on its way to another Battle Ground Tournament championship after the first quarter, but the next eight minutes changed everything. Shredding the Papermakers with steal after steal, the host Tigers grabbed the momentum on a 14-0 scoring drive in the second quarter. Just when all hope for a Camas repeat seemed lost, Kendra Preuninger brought the Papermakers back in the game with three 3-pointers in the third quarter. Sydney Allen, Lauren Neff and Melissa Williams made several acrobatic rebounds to create second and third chances, but Battle Ground pulled away for a 53-46 victory by scoring 19 points from the foul line. "It's a long game. We wanted to keep our composure and fight back, and we did that," said Camas head coach Chuck Knight. "We should feel good that we came back from being down by double digits, tied it up, and gave ourselves a chance to win the game."
Alexa Efraimson and Alissa Pudlitzke are in good company. Efraimson is a Skyridge Skyhawk and Pudlitzke is a Liberty Lion. Both eighth-graders are excited about attending Camas High School next fall, and running together on the cross country team. In the meantime, they are building lifelong friendships on the trails with their Evergreen Storm Track Club teammates. On Dec. 11 at Veterans Park in Hoover, Ala., Efraimson, Pudlitzke, Alexis Fuller, Lexa Howell and Cassie McKinney led the Storm to eighth place at the USA Track and Field Junior Olympic Cross Country Championships.
The Camas and Washougal girls basketball rivalry returns Tuesday.
The Camas and North County boys swimming connection knocked off Columbia River and Hudson's Bay Thursday, at Propstra Pool in Vancouver. The Papermakers sailed over Columbia River 116-54, and manhandled Hudson's Bay 130-37. Hockinson also defeated Hudson's Bay 94-72. Nick Kabel finished first for Camas in the 50- and the 100-meter freestyle races with times of 23.87 seconds and 54.9 seconds. He also helped the Papermakers place first in the 200 medley relay and second in the 200 freestyle relay.
The tooth Miguel Salamanca swallowed did not taste as good as becoming the first Camas High School wrestler to bring home a medal from the prestigious Tri-State tournament Saturday, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. The 54-team extravaganza featured wrestlers from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. Although Salamanca suffered a severely bruised jaw, lost one tooth and chipped three others, the Papermaker senior still placed sixth in the 145-pound weight class. "Before he hurt his jaw, he was like dynamite. I had never seen a Camas wrestler look that good," said assistant coach Brody Faler. After a first round bye, Salamanca earned a 17-2 technical fall over Waylen Anderson of Reardan, Wash. In his next match against Jordan Nolan of Kuna, Idaho, Salamanca went for a double-leg takedown. Both wrestlers crashed into the mat, and Nolan's knee jammed right into Salamanca's jaw. "He looked dazed, like a boxer who got hit in the jaw," Faler said. "The first thing he asked was how much time, and we said 'two rounds.'" The match was tied, and Salamanca still felt he could go. He ended up beating Nolan 10-4, and then defeated Jeremiah Gaiser of Flat Head, Mont., 3-1 to reach the semifinals. Although he tried to fight through the pain and the swelling, Salamanca lost his next two matches. He would have loved to wrestle Gaiser again for fifth place, but Faler said it was not worth risking a further injury. "Without question, Tri-State is the toughest tournament in the Northwest," Faler said. "For Miguel to be the first wrestler from Camas to bring home a medal from this event, that's a huge accomplishment." You cannot get the full scope of this accomplishment until you look at the 145-pound bracket, which can be downloaded at www.washingtonwrestlingreport.com. When Salamanca finished fourth in the state tournament last February, he wrestled five matches in a 16-man bracket. He also competed in five matches at Tri-State, but it was in a 64-man bracket. If not for a bye in the first round and pulling out in the finals due to injury, Salamanca would have wrestled seven matches to earn a medal. Faler appluded the efforts of Gabe Wells, Tyler Weiss, Lucas Nicacio, Austin Miller, Dakota Safford and Tye Lommasson at Tri-State. Wells defeated Jamison Rice of Orting, Wash., 6-2 and Zach Lane of Springdale, Wash., 4-3. Weiss topped David Munding of Spokane, 7-6. Nicacio beat Tyler Osborne of Springdale, Wash., 6-2. Safford pinned Casey Ourada of Spokane. Miller bested Byrce Wetherell of Auburn, 12-6. Camas also had some wrestlers competing at the tournament in Tumwater, Saturday. Brandon Lauer earned third at 103 pounds, and Marcus Hartman took third at 119. Tyler Marham finished fourth at 103 and Vince Huber notched fourth at 160. The Papermakers conquered Mountain View 38-30 Dec. 14, at Camas High School. Huber pinned his opponent in the third round of the 171-pound match to give the Papermakers a seven-point lead. Mountain View made a late charge, but could not knock Camas off its perch. Salamanca, Wells and Lommasson also pinned their opponents. Other Papermaker victories went to Hartman (13-3), Safford (2-0), Nicacio (7-3) and Philip Barlas (12-2). The Pacific Coast Championships are up next for Camas Dec. 29 and 30, at Hudson's Bay High School in Vancouver.
Ashley Gjserwold stepped on to the runway and faced her fear. It has been a long year of rehab since the Camas High School senior gymnast broke her left femur on the vault during the league jamboree, on Dec. 5, 2009. Since that painful day, Gjserwold never wanted to compete in the vault again. On Saturday, the Camas gymnastics family she loves being a part of gave her the courage to get back on the runway.
Red and black were the colors of choice Wednesday night in Camas, when the Papermakers and the Titans collided on the basketball court at Union High School. Since Union moved up to the 4A Greater St. Helens League before the fall season, these two schools did not have the opportunity to face each other in football or soccer.
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