Camas swimmers earn first place at Kelso Invitational

After taking care of business against Skyview and Fort Vancouver Wednesday, the Camas girls swimmers rose above 15 other schools to win the Kelso Invitational Saturday.

“We had a great effort,” said head coach Mike Bemis. “Our mid-level girls really came through for us, and I was proud of that.”

The foursome of Juliann Reed, Anna Panebianco, Corinne Bintz and Sierra Colletto earned second place in the 200-meter medley relay (1:57.53) and the 200 freestyle relay (1:45.60). Camas had three top 10 finishes in the 400 freestyle relay. Nicole Lobkov, Sabrina McVicker, Brittany Worley and Siobhan Choong grabbed second place (4:12.14); Nicole Buckley, Alexandra Hall, Celine Guess and Rachel Fadlovich followed in fourth place (4:26.71); Beth Abbay, Katie Keller, Emily Hows and Alyssa Lobkov notched ninth place (4:48.80).The Papermakers won a few races, but Bemis said depth was their biggest asset. Panebianco placed first in the 200 freestyle (2:02.93) and the 100 backstroke (1:01.96). Reed earned first in the 50 free (25.97) and second in the 100 free (55.63). Bintz finished second in the 100 butterfly (1:05.90) and fourth in the 100 backstroke (1:07.54). Colletto clinched third in the 200 individual medley (2:31.51) and fifth in the 100 butterfly (1:11.31).Hall claimed fifth in the 500 freestyle (6:16.63) and McVicker took seventh (6:21.59). Choong notched seventh in the 100 free (1:00.57) and McVicker snagged seventh in the 50 free (27.58). Hall (1:13.82) and Buckley (1:14.50) earned ninth and 10th place in the 100 backstroke. Worley earned 12th place in the 200 freestyle (2:27.86), Alyssa Lobkov took 12th in the 200 individual medley (2:47.06), Nicole Lobkov notched 14th in the 100 free (1:04.70) and Hows finished 14th in the 500 free (7:16.48).The Papermakers generated 545.5 points to win the meet. Union followed in second place with 480.5 points and Mountain View took third with 394 points.

Bemis said Camas clinched another 18 district qualifying times and added six new swimmers to the postseason team.

“It just allows the team a greater range of chances to score points,” he said.

Reed and Bintz each won four events to help the Papermakers beat Skyview 168-63 and Fort Vancouver 189-66 Wednesday, at the Grass Valley Aquatics Center in Camas.

Reed earned first place in the 50 free (28.58) and the 100 free (1:02.66). She also helped Camas win the 200 medley (2:16.44) and the 400 freestyle (4:37.17) relay races. Bintz grabbed first place in the 200 free (2:24.96) and the 100 breaststroke (1:21.76). She also helped the Papermakers win the 200 medley and the 200 freestyle (2:02.50) relay races.

Panebianco placed first in the 100 backstroke (1:10.25) and second in the 100 butterfly (1:15.58). She also helped Camas win two relay races. Colletto claimed first in the 400 free (5:14.98) and third in the 200 free (2:30.23). She also helped the Papermakers win two relay races.

Before the final race of the day, Camas team captains Abbay, McVicker and Reed led the swimmers in a dance off. It turned out to be the highlight of the meet.

“We were just having fun. I didn’t expect the whole line to start dancing with us,” Reed said. “It was a really nice end to a really fun year.”

Camas clashes with Union, Mountain View, Evergreen and Heritage Thursday, at the Cascade Fitness Center. Racing starts at 3:30 p.m.

Both Camas and Union are loaded from top to bottom. Bemis said it could go down to the last relay. The Papermakers know how important this meet is.

“Being a part of Camas means beating Union,” Reed said. “I don’t have to say much more.”