At Camas there is an abundance of student-athletes. Look around at the display cases filled with trophies: there is a continuous history within the hallways of past champions and great athletes. From runner Alexa Efraimson to baseball player Taylor Williams, some amazing athletes are Camas graduates. The new generation of athletes has the chance to be bigger than ever. Fall sports featured some amazing young men and women, from the football field to the fairway and the cross country course to the soccer field.
Camas Boys Golf had a very successful season, having five golfers make an all-league team; including sophomore Owen Huntington who won Player of the Year. “I loved playing this year; this group was amazing to play with,” Huntington said about this past season. Huntington and the rest of the golf team will participate in the state tournament on May 21-22, 2019.
The Cross Country Team, both boys and girls, had very strong seasons, as well, putting the Papermakers near the top in the state. Both teams finished in third place at the state meets in Pasco, Washington. The boys had three top-20 finishers: Sam Geiger, Daniel Maton, and Jackson Lyne. The girls’ team had two top-five finishers: Aspen Ashcraft and Halle Jenkins. “Our whole team was outstanding, not just one or the other but everyone did well,” Lyne said about the cross country team.
Junior Emma Villauz played outstanding volleyball this season, willing the Papermakers to the state tournament and a good finish to end the season. “I love how we came together and worked together,” Villaluz said. “You could tell there was a click right away. We were all so excited to play.” Three seniors finished their careers at CHS: Madi Hanton, Kylie Loewen, and Mary Pipkin. The Girls Volleyball did very well this season finishing second in league and qualifying for state; they fell one win short of getting a trophy.
On the soccer field, senior Maddie Kemp once again led the team in scoring with an incredible 52 goals including her 100th career goal for Camas. “It felt amazing but really no different than any other goal I had scored before,” Kemp said about the amazing milestone “Then I could see the reaction from everyone that it was bigger.” She led a loaded Papermaker squad that has a lot of Division One talent on it to a second place finish this year to add on to a third-place finish the year before and a state championship in 2016. Kemp won National Player of the Week three times and National Player of the Year during her career at Camas. These accomplishments put her as one of the best athletes to ever come through Camas High School. The Girls Soccer team had another spectacular season going undefeated in league and 19-3 overall.
Seniors Andrew Boyle and Shane Jamison were the rocks of the football team in 2018. Boyle started at quarterback and handled the kicking duties while Jamison played wide receiver, running back, and linebacker. “There is nothing like football,” Jamison said of why he plays football, “It’s just the atmosphere, the whole city is going to the game.” Jamison made First-Team All-League at linebacker after only playing four games there. Boyle went down in the second to last game of the regular season with an ACL injury, being replaced by junior Blake Ascuitto and sophomore Jake Blair; Boyle made First-Team as a kicker and Second-Team as a quarterback. The Papermakers finished with a 3-1 league record and 5-5 overall, losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Bothell Cougars.
It is safe to say that Camas has trained and produced a lot of great athletic talent, but this generation of athletes might be the biggest that Camas High School has ever seen go through it. Hopefully, there will be more young talent coming through to keep the championship mentality flowing and thriving at Camas.
