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Basketball: Washougal Girls Soar to Victory in Longview

By Dan Trujillo

A feisty pack of Panthers came out of the locker room after halftime and jumped up by 20 points in the Longview Lumberdome Monday.

Beyonce Bea led the offensive and defensive outburst with 12 points, 10 rebounds, six rebounds and four steals. Her sister, Skylar, added 11 points and six rebounds. Maggie Hungerford chipped in 10 points and five assists. This led to a satisfying, 66-48 victory for Washougal in the first league game of the season.

“We wanted to come out and start league off the right way and show that we can play and just build our confidence,” Beyonce Bea said. “The first half was definitely better than the first. We all settled down and started playing our game. We all worked as a team and it worked really well for us.”

Emilee Smart got the hot hand early for Washougal and scored five points. Hungerford fed the Panthers a few assists and delivered eight points of her own in the first half.

“It just felt good every time I released it, and so I kept shooting,” Hungerford said. “Our team was struggling a little bit, energy wise. I just wanted to come off the bench and hype us up, a little bit.”

Washougal scored 17 points in the second quarter, but so did R.A. Long. The Panthers led by only seven at halftime. Something needed to change.

“It seemed like we were more offensively focused in the first half. We just had to turn it around in the second half and focus on defense and crashing the boards,” said Washougal head coach Britney Knotts. “We had a lot of girls who were ready to step in and step up, which is what we needed.”

Ashley Gibbons jump started the attack with a 3-pointer. Beyonce Bea grabbed an offensive rebound, and nailed a turnaround jumper in front of a defender for two more points. Kiara Cross then fired crisp pass to Skylar Bea on her way to the hoop. Bea made the basket, drew a foul from the defender and netted the foul shot for a 3-point play.

Panthers

Ashley Gibbons shoots a 3-pointer for the Panthers.

Beyonce Bea scored two more points off an offensive rebound. She then drew the eyes of the defender on a fast break, kicked the ball out to Cross behind the arc and she drained a three to give the Panthers a 14-point lead heading into the third quarter.

A few minutes into the fourth, Beyonce put Washougal up by 20. She thanked her teammates for having her back when the Lumberjills keyed in on her early.

“Everyone is going to double team me. For them to get experience hitting shots benefits all of us in the long run,” Bea said. “When the defense comes to me, we have another option. It’s not just a one, or two person team. We have more threats on offense and defense, and that’s exciting.”

Washougal (5-3) won the league championship last season, took third at districts and reached the consolation semifinals of the state tournament.

The Panthers hope to build on this good feeling in Longview when they play at Ridgefield Wednesday. Tip off is at 7 pm.

“I want to see two good halves, not just one. I want to put a full game together,” Knotts said. “We do that, and we’re unstoppable.”

Panthers Image Gallery

Photos by Dan Trujillo

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CRST Swimmer Sammy Empey Ranks No. 2 in Nation in 100 Free

VANCOUVER, WA — Columbia River Swim Team’s (CRST) Sammy Empey, 12, loves to swim, even if he has to be at the pool before dawn for a 5:30 am practice.

“I tell him it’s OK to skip some of those early morning practices,” says his mom, Camille, “but, he’s always up on his own ready to be driven to the pool. He has a solid work ethic, and absolutely loves to swim. He’s very driven.”

Empey’s passion for the sport of swimming is resulting in some stellar swim times. The ever-focused, bright and happy, Empey, turned heads this year with not one, but four top 10 nationally ranked USA Swimming times for his age group. He’s No. 2 in the nation for the 100 meter Freestyle, or 100m Free as swimmers call it, with a time of 1:00.35.

He also nationally ranks No. 6 in the 50m Fly (29.94), No. 6 in the 100m Fly (1:06.65), and No. 7 in 50m Free (27.88).

“He’s very focused at every practice,” said his coach, Darlene Hill. “He listens, has fun, and encourages others to improve. He’s a delight to have on the team.”

For him, the sport is fun, but he also has some lofty goals.

“What drives me right now is the State records,” said Sammy. “Those are really hard because I’m young, but I still try by going to practice everyday. I love that my teammates help me everyday. I hate to practice when there are no people there, when there’s no one to push me. They keep me on my feet and push me to get to the next level.”

Hill said the team rallies around each athlete to help them get to where they want to be.

“There’s a real support system here,” said Hill. “And, if a swimmer wants to reach a certain goal, we help them achieve it.”

Empey

Sammy dives in for the 100 Free event at the Salem Open.

Empey Boys Breaking Records

“When he first started swimming a few years ago,” said Camille. “He saw the individual records on the wall, and told me he would break all of them. He’s starting to do that now.”

His younger brother, Steven, is just as driven, and likes to compete with Sammy. 

The Empey brothers broke team records at the Salem Open, in November.  Steven broke the 50 Back (33.91) and Sammy broke the 50 Free (24.32), 50 Fly (27.02) and 100 Back (1:01.45) records.  Sammy also set four team records at the same meet.  

Sammy went 2:10.60 in the 200 IM, 53.18 in the 100 Free, 1:01.89 in the 100 Back, and 27.98 in the 50 Back.

“My coaches help with the swimming techniques,” said Sammy. “But they also help us just be good people.”

To learn more, visit www.crstwaveriders.org or www.usaswimming.org

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Camas Wrestlers Claim Half Team Title at Tri-State Tournament

Coeur d’ Alene, ID — Camas sent seven wrestlers to this weekend’s Tri-State Wrestling Tournament to compete against the region’s elite from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana, and won first place in the Half Team division.

The half team division is for schools that send half teams. Fourteen is considered a full team, and since Camas sent seven that was their designation. Competing against 60 other schools, the Papermakers held their own, placing ninth overall.

Five of the seven Papermakers placed in the top 10. Junior Tanner Craig competed in finals, and earned second place in his weight class. Gideon Malychewski placed third, as did Samuel Malychewski, in their respective weight classes. Rylan Thompson earned fourth, while Jack Latimer placed eighth.

“The team wrestled really well,” said Coach Cory Vom Baur. “This says a lot about the seniors and juniors at Camas. It’s spreading to other parts of the team. It was a highlight to simply be in the top 10 at such an elite tournament. This is a good year, and Samuel and Rylan have really taken charge.”

 

Tri-State

There were many awards presented at Tri-State.

The team had a lot to say about the experience.

“I thought the team did very well and we are developing more and more each match,” said Jack Latimer. “And we are developing more and more each match. We all had a lot of success and we’re all ready for Best of the West next weekend.”

“I enjoyed being able to compete at Tri-State with all my teammates,” said Samuel Malychewski. “What I got out of it was that we as a team are very tough and will compete. And, I thought that it was unique to be competing against people not only from Washington or Oregon, but also Idaho and Montana, as well.”

Tanner Craig: “I think that I had a good tournament and I’m glad that I beat everyone from my state, but I am still disappointed to lose in the finals no matter how good my opponent was.”

Gideon Malychewski faced Gunner Starren from Tahoma.

“My placing match was against a tough opponent, ” said Gideon. “He was from Tahoma High School, and I ended up getting on top of it in the end.”

Rylan Thompson: “It was a great tournament, and everyone wrestled great! I enjoying getting in some tough matches and learning from my mistakes. It was an awesome experience for me and I had fun bonding with all of my team mates!”

Issac Duncan: “I think it really pushed the team to wrestle the best we ever have. It was a great experience for sure and I can’t wait to go again next year.”

Karter Leifsen: “I thought that the tournament was a great representation of how State is, tough competition everywhere! Every match is a battle. The venue is awesome, as well!”

Tri-State Image Gallery

Photos by Kris Latimer.

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To learn more, visit www.CamasWrestling.com

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Camas Boys Swim Team Excels at Thursday’s Propstra Meet

VANCOUVER, WA — The Papermaker Boys Swim Team came out ahead at Thursday’s Propstra Aquatic Center meet against Hudson’s Bay, Columbia River, and Washougal.

Pushing along in their quest to defend their State title, the boys made do at the swim meet without some key swimmers, who were traveling to a private swim club meet up north.

Their absence created a little shifting during key relay events giving underclassmen Dave Peddie, Luke Bales, and Ben Taylor the opportunity to swim a relay with State champion, Mark Kim.

“We just finished our 200 Free Relay,” said Peddie. “The Camas A team got first place, and our times are not bad for this point in the season, but we can definitely build on that, and keep improving.”

Bales, a sophomore, agreed.

“We were led by Mark Kim so that’s a really good thing,” said Bales. “And personally, I hit a PR in the event.”

Propstra Swim Meet Stats

Here’s how things turned out, by event.

200 Free Medley Relay:

  • 1st Place: Camas High School (1:51.31) – Junha Lee, Jakob Duerfeldt, Luke Bales, Austin Fogel.
  • 2nd Place: Columbia River High School (1:51.84) – Daniel Ishchuk, Ben Phelps, Elijah Parish, Simon Parish.
  • 3rd Place: Camas High School (1:57.62) – Sullivan Carrick, Jacob Fenley, James Hatch

200 Free

  • 1st Place:  Junha Lee (2:01.74), of Camas.
  • 2nd Place: Ben Taylor (2:08.4), of Camas.
  • 3rd Place: Colin Helt (2:27.3), of Columbia River.
Swim

Luke Bales starts his relay event.

200 Individual Medley (IM)

  • 1st Place: Austin Fogel (2:08.92), of Camas.
  • 2nd Place: Dave Peddie (2:17.15), of Camas.
  • 3rd Place: Simon Parish (2:17.45), of Columbia River.

50 Free

  • 1st Place: Mark Kim (23.46 seconds), of Camas.
  • 2nd Place: Isaiah Ross (23.85 seconds), of Washougal.
  • 3rd Place: Ben Phelps (24.30 seconds), of Columbia River.

100 Butterfly

  • 1st Place: Jaden Kim (56.33 seconds), of Camas.
  • 2nd Place: Austin Fogel (58.02 seconds), of Camas.
  • 3rd Place: Daniel Brown (58.82 seconds), of Camas.

100 Free

  • 1st Place: Isaiah Ross (51.23 seconds), of Washougal.
  • 2nd Place: Daniel Ishchuk (55.86 seconds), of Columbia River.
  • 3rd Place: Jack Harris (57.29 seconds), of Camas.

500 Free

  • 1st Place: Jaden Kim (5:23.53), of Camas.
  • 2nd Place: Simon Parish (5:23.53), of Columbia River.
  • 3rd Place: Victor Wu (6:14.81), of Camas.

200 Free Relay

  • 1st Place: Camas High School (1:36.52) – Mark Kim, Luke Bales, Dave Peddie, Ben Taylor.
  • 2nd Place: Columbia River High School (1:39.39) – Elijah Parish, Daniel Ishchuk, Ben Phelps, Simon Parish.
  • 3rd Place: Camas High School (1:44.90) – Timchenko Timofey, Victor Wu, Jakob Duerfeldt, Jack Harris.

100 Backstroke

  • 1st Place: Mark Kim (58.84), of Camas.
  • 2nd Place: Daniel Ishchuk (1:01.35), of Columbia River.
  • 3rd Place: Daniel Brown (1:02.10), of Washougal.

100 Breaststroke

  • 1st Place: Danilo Kamenko (1:12.05), of Camas.
  • 2nd Place: Jakob Duerfeldt (1:12.95), of Camas.
  • 3rd Place: Elijah Parish (1:14.20), of Columbia River.

400 Free Relay

  • 1st Place: Camas High School (3:36.25) – Jaden Kim, Austin Fogel, Mark Kim.
  • 2nd Place: Camas High School (3:54.85) – Dave Peddie, Ben Taylor, Luke Bales, Timchenko Timofey.
  • 3rd Place: Camas High School (4:03.56) – Josef Kiesenhofer, Jack Harris, Danilo Kamenko, Victor Wu.

To learn more, visit www.chs.camas.wednet.edu

Swim Meet Gallery

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Wrestling: Camas Boys Make Improvements at Rose City Tournament

Portland, OR — The Camas Boys Wrestling team made significant improvements at this year’s Rose City Wrestling Tournament at Westview High School. Four boys made it to Finals, with two winning their weight classes — Rylan Thompson, and Tanner Craig. Samuel Malychewski and Isaac Duncan placed second in their weight classes.

The Papermaker wrestlers placed fourth overall at Rose. Jack Latimer placed fourth, and Gideon Malychewski placed fifth in their respective weight classes.

“Rose City is a major tournament,” said Head Wrestling Coach, Cory Vom Baur. “We had a record finish of fourth place, and last year we took eleventh, so that’s a major improvement.  We had four finalists this year, and last year we had one, and the year before that we had one. Three years ago, no one reached the finals.”

Thompson (5-0) won by decision over Sawyer Myers, of West Albany, and Tanner Craig beat a returning state finalist (Gavin Stockwell) that beat him three times last year in the semi-finals.

“The team did really outstanding the past two days and learned a lot from wins and losses,” said Thompson, a Senior who’s been wrestling since third grade. “They battled great, it was a tough tournament, and they all wrestled well.”

The tournament brings in over 50 schools from across four states.

Thompson said the boys put in the time at school practice, club practice, weight lifting and closely monitoring their diets.

“I like when all the work I put in pays off,” Thompson said. “I also like the extreme highs and lows of the sport.”

He said wrestling’s biggest challenge is learning how to keep your mind set right.

Rose

Tanner Craig during day 1 of the Rose City Wrestling Tournament.

“I feel really good about the win,” said Craig, a Junior, who is undefeated this season. “I feel great about the win. I beat some kids I wasn’t supposed to beat who had beaten me in the past, and it felt really good to come out on top today. I feel there was some well earned wins, but some close losses that our guys should have won. I have confidence  in our team’s heart and I know that next time it’s close that Camas will be on top.”

The boys practice several hours a day, and their next wrestling match is this Wednesday at Skyview. Next weekend, they travel to Coeur d’Alene for another major tournament.

“I felt that we showed up big as a team by placing fourth as a team and showed that our team is one that is going to do well this season,” said Samuel Malychewski, a Senior.

And, the team keeps plugging away.

“Overall, I thought we did really well,” said Vom Baur. “The guys responded well, and they wrestled a really great tournament.”

To learn more, visit www.CamasWrestling.com

Rose City Tournament Gallery

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Camas Boys Swim Team Wins First Meet of the Season

LONGVIEW, WA — The Camas High Boys Swim team (the 2017 4A State swimming champions) handily defeated RA Long and Mark Morris in their first meet of the season. The fast-moving meet got off to a good start with a win by the Camas 200 Medley Relay team, which included Finn McClone, Jaden Kim, Austin Fogel, and Mark Kim.

Meet Results:

  • Washougal’s Isaiah Ross won the 200 Free, and was followed by Papermaker Freshmen Jack Harris, and Dave Peddie.
  • State Champion and Camas co-captain, Mark Kim, won the 200 IM, and was followed by Papermaker’s Finn McClone and Junha Lee.
  • Jaden Kim won the 50 Free event, and Luke Bales placed second.
  • Jaden Kim also won the 100 Fly, and Fogel placed second.
  • Mark Kim won the 100 Free event, and Zachary Macia placed second.
  • Ross won the 500 Free event, while Peddie placed second.
  • Mark Morris won the 200 Free Relay.
  • McClone won the 100 Back event, and Macia placed second. Fogel won the 100 Breast, while Aaron Lee placed second.
  • And, in the 400 Free Relay, the team of Jaden Kim, Fogel, McClone, and Mark Kim won.

“This was a small dual meet so we just pushed through,” said Mark Kim. “We’re definitely working our hardest at every practice and improving our time, but we are focusing on the bigger meets.”

What’s next?

The boys head to Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA this Saturday for a tougher, more competitive meet.

“It’ll be a 15-hour day,” said McClone. “We leave Camas at 5:30 am this Saturday. It’ll be good to see the competition from that part of the state.”

To learn more, visit www.chs.camas.wednet.edu

Swim Image Gallery

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Camas Wrestling Team Wins Tyrone S. Woods Memorial Tournament

Oregon City, OR — Four individual weight class wins propelled the Camas High School Wrestling team to victory at the Tyrone S. Woods Memorial Tournament Saturday — but that wasn’t the whole story.

Sam Malychweski, Gideon Malychewski, Jack Latimer, and Tanner Craig each beat their opponents to win finals with 250 points overall.

Sam was a dominate force, beating every opponent handily. He’s bigger and stronger this year and won his final match by 15 points.

“My personal goal for the season is to win the 195 4A State title,” said Sam. “I felt that we as a team had a good turnout. And, I thought it was awesome that Jack Latimer, Tanner Craig, Gideon and I won our finals matches.”

Craig pinned his way throughout the tournament, and Latimer went up a weight class at 132. Craig’s opponent was Benjamin Ziegler in the 138 pound weight class.

“I feel like it as a good victory,” said Craig, a junior. “But I also know that there is more work to be put in so that I can still win with tougher opponents at tougher tournaments.”

Latimer wrestled outstanding, as well, beating 2-time State champion, Gavin Jolley.

“Jack dominated the match all around,” said Camas Head Coach, Cory Vom Baur.

“I’m really excited about my win,” said Latimer. “I’ve been working really hard for something like this to happen. This was all part of my plan, and I’m really excited to compete next weekend, as well.”

Gideon entered the tournament unseeded, and he had a close match in semi-finals against the No. 1 seed. He competed in the 170 weight class against Vinnie Chestnut from Lake Oswego with a final score of 8-1 in three rounds.

“I felt really good about it because it was the first tournament of the season,” said Gideon. “And knowing that last year I was in the finals just one time I really wanted to come to this tournament and dominate it.”

He did.

Wrestling

Gideon Malychewski won first place in the 170 weight class.

“Gideon is so good at wrestling, he has so much talent,” said Vom Baur. “He has something inside him that can’t be coached. With 30 seconds left Gideon powered his way through tiredness.”

Gideon feels good about the season.

“I was watching our JV wrestlers wrestle in the tourney that we just competed in and I was very impressed with them in the way they wrestled,” Gideon said.

“I didn’t expect us to win the tournament,” said Vom Baur. “We had a good lineup, and we were prepared, but we didn’t have all of our guys there. We told the team that your job is to battle that person in front of you. And they did. Overall, they wrestled well. We haven’t focused as much on conditioning and being mentally tough, but the guys were mentally tough Saturday.”

Vom Baur said it was a team effort to clinch first place. He said that Karter Liefsen placed third, and that Freshman Caleb Ashworth’s efforts stunned people. Ashworth was the rest of the story.

“Caleb pinned three kids!” said Vom Baur. “And he went to semi-finals. He’s a Freshman. Without him we wouldn’t have won.”

The boys compete next at Westview High School this Friday.

To learn more, visit www.camaswrestling.com

Wrestling

Sam Malychewski won his weight class at Saturday’s tournament.

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Camas Basketball: Boys Win Season Opener Against Prairie

Camas, WA — Fans cheered on the Camas Boys Varsity basketball team during their first game of the season Thursday night to a victory over Prairie, 69-61.

Papermaker Senior Isaiah Sampson had 16 points and 12 rebounds, overcoming the 28 points Prairie’s Kam Osborne scored at the intense game. Junior Carson Bonine scored three first half 3s to put the Papermakers up by eight points at halftime. Prairie did their best to cut the Camas lead, but the Papermakers opened the gap even further during the fourth quarter.

“We played very well as a team and I loved our energy both on and off the court,” said Tre Carlisle, the Camas team captain.

The boys play at Wilson, Oregon tonight at 7. Their next home game is December 6 vs. Black Hills at 7 pm.

Camas JV also won their game against Prairie, 57-42.

Basketball Game Stats

PRAIRIE:  Nate Milspaugh 3, Kaleb Locke 3, AJ Dixson 2, Logan Reed 3,Dante Heitschmidt 8, Kam Osborn 28, Braiden Broadbent 13, Zeke Dixson 1. Totals 15 (6) 10-13 61.

CAMAS:  Isaiah Sampson 16, Carson Bonine 10, Ben Cooke 3, Gabe Mukobi 9,  Connor Shira 3,  Kyle Allen 5, Shane Jamison 4,Fox Bessinger 3, Zachary Chillian 4, Trey Carlisle 12. Totals 16 (8) 13-18 69.

Prairie 13 16 19 16–61

Camas 17 20 10 29–69

To learn more, visit www.chs.camas.wednet.edu

Basketball Game Image Gallery

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Camas Boys Swim Team Rebuilds on Experience, Strength

It’s one week into the new school swim season, and the reigning 4A state champion Camas boys swim team is working hard to find a way back to the state awards podium.

“We’re trying to find 2-4 kids to fill the void of two seniors we lost last year,” said Head Coach, Mike Bemis, who himself was honored as Coach of the Year. “We’re trying to fill Jeff’s (Fadlovich) spot and Tom’s (Utas) spot and I’m not sure how many juniors, sophomores, and freshmen we have to do that. Right now, we have the six returning from State, and now we need some others to step up.”

He added it’s very early in the season, with the first regular season meet several weeks away. The boys swim team has had a string of District Championships, and since 2012 they’ve been getting closer each year to clinching the State title, which they finally did in February 2017. They had the right mix of winning individual and relay performances to propel them over the top.

Team Co-captain Mark Kim, who is the reigning 4A State champion in the 200 Free and 500 Free events, looks forward to the journey this season. Senior Finn McClone is the other team captain. He was preparing for the Salem Open meet during interview time.

“The team’s accomplishments last year were really big,” said Kim. “It’s a really big legacy we have to live up to this year, and this being my senior year, it makes me want that State title even more. We have some talented underclassmen that will help us get there.”

This year’s squad is 30 athletes strong, with six seniors, 10 juniors, six sophomores, and eight freshmen. The team is comprised of swimmers from local swim clubs — Columbia River Swim Team (CRST), Lacamas Athletic Club, and Portland Athletic Club (PAC), as well as athletes from Washougal.

“We swim about four miles each day,” said freshman, Dave Peddie, with a big smile. “Morning, night, lunch time.”

To learn more, visit www.chs.camas.wednet.edu

Swim

State Champion swimmer, Mark Kim, help lead the Camas Boys Swim team win the State title earlier this year.

Swim Team Image Gallery

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CHS Girls Soccer Team Heads to WIAA Final 4 Tournament

The Camas High School Girls Varsity soccer team qualified for the WIAA Final Four Tournament for the third consecutive year by defeating Skyline of Sammamish by a score of 4-1 last weekend. They will next compete against Issaquah at Puyallup’s Sparks Stadium in the semi-final on Friday in their drive to defend their state title. This is the third time this team has been down this road.

The girls made it to the state semifinals by averaging 4.2 goals per game, led offensively by junior Maddie Kemp (who’s scored 40 goals this season). Defensively, Perrin Belzer is the team’s defensive anchor, which has been an essential ingredient to the team’s success this season, and throughout Belzer’s high school soccer career.

Camas has only allowed nine goals this entire season. In 2015, Issaquah beat Camas in a shootout following two overtimes. The match was scoreless until the shootout.

This weekend’s state games will be broadcast on www.nfhsnetwork.com

The games begin at 8 pm Friday.

Last Saturday’s Soccer Match

Here are some of the statistics from last weekend’s Skyline match at Doc Harris:

Goals (assists):

Carla Jooste (Jazzi Paulson)

Maddie Kemp (Paulson)

Kemp (Liz Parker)

Kemp

Saves in Goal: Falissitie DePasquale 6

Soccer Image Gallery

Photos by Kris Cavin

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