Top 10 sports: Camas Country

They beat The Streak.

They won in extra innings at Safeco Field.

They had a national player of the year.

They won at Qwest Field.

They opened a beautiful stadium.

They rolled through Clark County competition in the fall.

They are the Camas Papermakers, all of them.

Camas athletics. The top story? Really?

Well, yeah. Really.

Sure, this is an unorthodox decision, against the grain, if you will. It is not the typical top-story-of-the-year feature. It’s more of a compilation of a lot of big stories with a common theme.

But as we looked through the archives, as we researched the year in sports, the theme, from winter of 2010, to spring of 2010, and then the fall of 2010 was Papermaker Pride. Every season, one of the biggest stories in high school sports centered around Camas.

There were other huge stories this year, as well. Union winning the Class 3A state boys basketball championship, you will see, is high on our list, too. Kara Patterson of Vancouver destroying the American javelin record is there. You’ve got the drama of the Blazers. The return to bowl eligibility of Washington Husky football. Oh, and a football player from Hockinson is on the Oregon team trying to claim a BCS championship.

Our professional sports teams in Seattle are always a big draw, even if the teams are struggling. The Mariners, yeah, they fizzled. Again. The Seahawks? They made some noise with a big-name hire. They haven’t won many games, but still have a shot at the playoffs.

So much happened in 2010, including a whole bunch of things east of Vancouver, in Camas country.

1) Camas compilation

For Haley Smith, the scene felt like some sort of alternate reality.

“I thought, ‘Is this a dream? Did this really happen?’ ” the Camas High School senior said. “And then I saw my teammates crying, and I knew we had done it.”

What the Papermakers had done was to end one of the most epic streaks in Clark County high school sports. Camas defeated Prairie 59-46 in girls basketball, becoming the first local school in more than 10 years to do so.

— Greg Jayne, Columbian Sports editor, published Feb. 20, the day after Camas ended Prairie’s 136-game winning streak against league and district opponents.

Camas winning the Class 3A district girls basketball tournament, the victory over Prairie, clearly was the top girls sports story of the winter, and then the Camas athletic department kept making more and more headlines.

In the spring, the Camas baseball team made it to the Class 3A state championship game with an epic, 11-inning thriller against league rival Columbia River in the semifinals at Safeco Field. It was described in The Columbian as an “instant Clark County classic.” The Papermakers had more reason to celebrate that one day on that field than the Mariners had all season.

A couple of weeks later, Camas soccer sensation Nick Palodichuk was named the player of the year for Parade Magazine’s All-America High School Boys Soccer Team. “I knew I was pretty good, but to be the No. 1 guy was a big surprise,” he said.

In the fall, the new Doc Harris Stadium in Camas opened to rave reviews.

The volleyball team went 22-1, its only loss coming in the state tournament before finishing fifth.

The football team went 11-1, including a victory at Qwest Field in Seattle. The Papermakers also won their first state playoff game in program history. Logan Grindy, who scored the winning run in that baseball classic in the spring, was the all-league quarterback and offensive player of the year in the 3A Greater St. Helens League. He broke his leg before the playoffs, but he made his mark, along with his teammates, along with all of the athletes at his school this calendar year.

2) Union’s state title

The Union Titans are a family of giant killers.

Union sits atop the Class 3A Washington state boys basketball world after stunning top-ranked and unbeaten Enumclaw 51-50 Saturday night in the championship game at the Tacoma Dome.

Yes, Union, the team with nine losses this season, is Vancouver’s first state champion in boys basketball since 1995.

— Paul Valencia, Columbian reporter, published March 14, a day after Union won the state title.

A nine-loss team winning the state championship is rare enough. But the Union Titans also had to go through a who’s-who of Class 3A basketball. There were no shocking upsets that allowed Union to breeze to the championship game without any competition.

Quite the contrary.

The Titans had to beat them all.

First, there was the quarterfinal matchup against Rainier Beach, ranked second in the state by the Seattle Times. The Titans dominated in the second half and rolled to a 15-point victory. Fourth-ranked Lakes was next in the semifinals. Mitch Saylor’s basket with 10 seconds left gave Union a one-point victory. The next night was undefeated and top-ranked Enumclaw. Chris Morgan’s two free throws with 8.4 seconds left gave the Titans a 51-50 win.

Our favorite note from that week: Union trailed in the last 15 seconds of the semifinals and championship game. Back-to-back, late rallies in the regular season are memorable. To do it at the state tournament, to win the state championship?

Well, in a word: Wow.

3) America’s best javelin

Maybe it was simply the fact that she’s an elite athlete nearing the peak of her powers.

But something clicked Friday for Kara Patterson as she shattered the American record in the women’s javelin at the USA Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

— Greg Jayne, Columbia Sports editor, published June 26, the day after Patterson broke the record.

Patterson, a Skyview High School graduate who went on the shine at Purdue University, was not done.

In the next month, she had two more amazing throws, giving her the three best throws in U.S. history. She also won the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene.

The 2008 Olympian was ranked as high as fifth in the world this summer.

4) Trail Blazers

You don’t have to look at Greg Oden’s gait anymore to know he has knee problems. These days, you just have to look at his face.

It has become a joyless countenance, one weighed down by frustration.

— Matt Calkins, Columbian reporter, published Nov. 26, a week after it was announced Greg Oden would undergo a second microfracture knee surgery and would miss the entire 2010-11 season.

Oden’s knee issues were just one of many problems plaguing the 2010 Trail Blazers. Brandon Roy has a bad knee, too. Joel Przybilla hurt a knee, first on the court and again while slipping in the shower.

The Blazers suffered through several injuries last season but still made the playoffs. That was just about the only highlight. The Blazers lost in the first round to the Phoenix Suns, and most of the rest of the calendar year just brought more dread.

There was Oden and a cell phone photo. There was the strange exit of Kevin Pritchard, still never fully explained. Then this current season began. Maurice Lucas died after a long battle with cancer.

Roy, for possibly the first time in his career, got some negative press for comments regarding his role and the role of some of his teammates. Surely frustrated with his own knee issue, but who would have thought a year ago at this time that some would be wondering if Roy’s career was in jeopardy?

Interestingly, Rudy Fernandez is having a strong end to the calendar year, even though he previously said that he no longer wants to play for the Blazers.

See? Even when something positive happens, there is always something negative close by.

Ladies and gentleman, your 2010-11 Portland Trail Blazers.

5) College football

Will you root for the Ducks in the national championship game against Auburn?

Yes, I’m talking to you, Huskies, Cougars and Beavers fans. Do you feel any sense of Northwest loyalty?

— Greg Jayne, Columbian Sports editor, published Dec. 5, the day after Oregon beat Oregon State in the Civil War, completing a 12-0 regular season.

In case you hadn’t heard, the Oregon Ducks — along with lineman Nick Cody from Hockinson — are preparing to play for some mythical college football championship. But the big news is that the Washington Huskies are back! (Well, back to .500 anyway, and back to a bowl game.)

Chris Polk rushed for 284 yards against Washington State in the Apple Cup. Jake Locker, who said no to the NFL for a chance to lead the Huskies to a bowl, did just that. Washington will take on Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl on Thursday. (Yeah, we don’t need to mention that Nebraska already crushed the Huskies this year. That’s really not important right now.)

And then, there’s that other story of Northwest college football. Eastern Washington University, with some Clark County athletes on its roster, is playing for a real national championship. The Eagles won in the semifinals this month and will play in the championship game in 2011.

And then there is that little story from Eugene.

(Just kidding, Duck fans. Just wanted to remind you that this is a Washington newspaper.)

Oregon is the story of Northwest football this calendar year. The Ducks lost in the Rose Bowl to begin 2010, but haven’t lost since. Heck, they’ve only come close to losing once. The Ducks are the first Northwest Pac-10 team to earn a spot in the BCS title game. We know the Hockinson Hawks are rooting for Cody and the Ducks.

6) Seahawks

“I can’t tell you how fired up I am to be here,” Pete Carroll began.

He concluded about 40 minutes later by saying, “It’s a blast to be a Seahawk.”

— Danny O’Neil, Seattle Times, published Jan. 13 after former USC coach Pete Carroll was introduced as the new Seahawks coach.

Jim Mora, we hardly knew ye.

Fired after one season, the Seahawks jumped on the big name out of Southern California, hiring Pete Carroll. So far, the results have been mixed. The Seahawks are still losing — 6-8 as of this writing — but they have a chance to make the playoffs.

Hey, that’s life in the NFC West.

As 2010 comes to an end, there are questions around the future of Matt Hasselbeck, the only quarterback in franchise history to lead Seattle to a Super Bowl appearance.

There were bright spots — wide receiver Mike Williams had a strong start to the season, and the team stunned the Bears with a win in Chicago — but it’s difficult to get excited by a team that has had losses of 17, 17, 30, 34, 15, 18, 19, and 16 points.

7) Mariners

So it was Wednesday as Griffey — the greatest player in Mariners history and one of the greatest in the history of the game — said goodbye to baseball.

— Bob Condotta, Seattle Times, published June 3 after Ken Griffey Jr. retired.

That was the biggest news during the season for the Seattle Mariners. It was always expected that 2010 would be his last season, but most fans expected Griffey to last the season. Of course, people can only take so much.

There were so many expectations this season after the Mariners won 85 games in 2009. The M’s got Cliff Lee to go with Felix Hernandez. But as soon as the losses piled up, the M’s traded Lee.

Yep, another wasted year for the Mariners, who lost 101 games.

Let’s put that in perspective: As bad as the Mariners were in their first 14 seasons — no winning seasons — the franchise has had only five 100-loss seasons. Two have come in the past three seasons.

The best news after the season came with the award voting. Hernandez, who went 13-12, won the Cy Young Award. Voters noticed that the win-loss record was more a reflection of how bad the team was and not Hernandez, who led the league in ERA and innings pitched, and was second in strikeouts.

The saddest news of all for the Mariners came in the fall, when they lost their voice. Dave Niehaus, the longtime announcer who called the franchise’s first pitch, died of a heart attack.

8) Salmon fishing

The catches on Tuesday and Wednesday were thought to be approaching a fish per every other rod, an exceptional rate.

“The bite was really good (Tuesday),” said guide Jack Glass of Troutdale, Ore. “The boat traffic tripled, and with so much boat activity it was more work on Wednesday.”

— Allen Thomas, Columbian outdoors reporter, published April 8.

Spring chinook are the most popular species in the Columbia River and a mega-run of 470,000 was forecast to return in 2010. That would have topped the old high of 437,900 in 2001.

But state and tribal biologists were leery of the huge forecast, and their caution in managing fishing turned out wise.

The actual return was a good 315,000 spring salmon and the sport-fishing season lasted until April 18.

There were 184,976 angler trips downstream of Bonneville Dam with 29,247 chinook kept and 5,355 released.

Fishing effort was the highest since 2002 and the number of kept chinook was a record high, topping 25,700 in 2001.

9) Washougal MX

Washougal Motocross is going retro.

When the 2010 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship returns to Washougal this week, racing fans will be encouraged to go back in time to celebrate.

— Paul Valencia, Columbian reporter, published July 21 in advance of the Washougal MX National.

Washougal, Washington. Home to one of the biggest motorcycle races in the country.

Some 30 years ago, organizers could only dream that it would become as big as it has become. This year, the Washougal Motocross Park celebrated 30 years of being part of the AMA national tour.

Ryan Dungey and Trey Canard were the big winners in 2010, but so, too, were the fans of Washougal racing.

The national annually attracts more than 20,000 fans to the picturesque course about seven miles northeast of Washougal.

The riders love climbing the mountain, going into the woods, then taking the ski jump down back into view of most of the spectators.

The original extreme sport celebrated 30 years of racing to Clark County.

And the crowds keep showing up, too.

10) Racing tragedy

The U.S. Grand Prix Racers Union is promising a review of its motorcycle racing safety rules, conceding it will never be able to eliminate the dangers in a high-speed sport in which teenage competitors are the norm.

— Michael Marot, Associated Press, published Aug. 31, a couple of days after the death of Vancouver 13-year-old Peter Lenz at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Peter Lenz, a 13-year-old student at St. Joseph Catholic School in Vancouver, was killed at the famed raceway in a crash prior to the start of the U.S. Grand Prix Riders Union race.

The USGPRU is for riders ages 12-18 who hope to eventually compete at higher levels.

Lenz’s death became a national news story, shined a spotlight on the issue youths involved in dangerous sports.

This month, it was announced that a program to honor his legacy will provide safety equipment for two young riders in 2011. Lenz would bring extra safety gear to the track or pay for other riders to get proper equipment.