Clark County celebrates track and field championships and tennis titles
Alexis Leone of Seton Catholic started the school year as a champion in the fall and ended the year as a two-time champion in the spring.
Tobias Merriweather is a star in the fall on the football field, and now he is a champion of the spring.
Shaela Bradley of La Center picked up a championship medal, as well, plus she earned two more top-three medals.
On the tennis courts, there were champions from Camas to Columbia River to Union.
Oh, and in the traditional team sports, the Skyview Storm took second place in softball, the Columbia River Rapids took second place in baseball, and the Rapids finished third in boys soccer.
Those were among the Clark County highlights during the final weekend of spring sports, the finale of high school sports for the 2021-22 academic year.
Leone won the Class 1A state girls cross country race in November, leading Seton Catholic to the team title. By the end of May, she was still the fastest in Class 1A, but in two distances. Leone topped the field in the 1,600-meter run and the 3,200 at Eastern Washington University.
Merriweather might be known more for his football skills — he has signed with Notre Dame after all — but the Union senior has always been a multi-sport athlete. He put that athletic talent on display in Tacoma, finishing first in the Class 4A 200-meter dash to go with a second-place finish in the 100.
Bradley found the podium three times in the 1A girls meet. She bested the rest in the 400, finished second in the long jump, and was third in 100. A gold, silver, and bronze, if you will.
It could be argued that this was the best weekend in Clark County high school tennis history. There was a singles champion, and two doubles teams won it all, as well. And two programs claimed team titles.
Camas’ Hailey Kerker is the 4A girls champion. She didn’t lose a set in the tournament. She and her Papermaker teammates combined for 19 points to win the team title.
Columbia River’s Grace Rudi and Lauren Dreves teamed up for the 2A girls doubles championship. They also did not lose a set in the tournament. Teammate Emma Lungwitz placed sixth in singles. In all, the Rapids totaled 19 points for the 2A team crown.
In 4A boys, Jacob Flentke and James Bertheau of Union teamed up for straight-set victories in their four matches to win the state doubles title.
In softball, the Skyview Storm had a comeback for the ages in the semifinals, scoring four runs in the final inning for a 4-3 victory. The Storm also rallied to tie the championship game twice before losing to Redmond 7-6.
The Class 4A Greater St. Helens League was well represented at the state tournament in Spokane. Battle Ground, after losing 2-1 to Skyview in the quarterfinals, won four in a row to take the third-place trophy.
In baseball, Columbia River’s pitching and defense, which has served the team well all season, had another dominating performance in the 2A final four in Yakima. The Rapids beat Ellensburg 1-0 Friday’s semifinal before falling to Tuwmater 1-0 in the championship game.
Columbia River boys soccer, the top seed in the tourney, lost in penalty kicks in Friday’s semifinals. The Rapids rebounded on Saturday for a victory in the third-place match. That match also went to PKs.
