High school media days are nothing new.
Other area schools have held similar events in the past.
But on Sunday afternoon, Camas High School did it in a uniquely Camas way.
Instead of holding the event in the commons or auditorium on campus, Camas cordoned off a city block in downtown Camas to introduce members of their fall sports teams.
And there are a lot of members.
Camas athletic director Stephen Baranowski said the school had more than 700 students register for fall sports this year.
“And that’s out of a student body of about 2,000,” he added. “That’s pretty amazing.”
So the school wanted to celebrate their fall students by hosting its first-ever media day in coordination with the Downtown Camas Association.
“Today is not just about celebrating the start of the sports season, but it’s also about showcasing the spirit of Camas,” Camas High principal Kelly O’Rourke said. “It’s the spirit that makes us more than just a team, more than just a school, but actually a family.”
Sunday’s event featured coaches and athletes from eight different fall sports teams, with activities coordinator and football coach Adam Mathieson serving as master of ceremonies.
Each team got their moment at the mic to field hard-hitting queries from Baranowski and others, such as “Who is your funniest teammate?”
“I’d have to say Ella (Thompson),” said Kendall Mairs, a senior on the volleyball team. “She’s supposedly from Texas. She’s likes to say ‘y’all’ all the time, even though she looks like a California girl.”
Swimmer Amy Lewis was asked what she likes most about swimming — and keep in mind the team practices very early in the morning.
“Every year, we have a glow in the dark swim practice where we turn out all the lights and swim with glow sticks,” Lewis said. “And then we get to watch the sun rise as a team.”
The football team is taking a long trip this fall to play at Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Senior Nikko Speer said he was looking forward to the trip to Idaho, but not the trip home.
“It sucks,” he said. “Everyone’s tired. Everyone’s dead.”
But teammate Beau Harlan had another take.
“I’m going to have to disagree,” Harlan said. “I think it’s the opposite. I think going up is the worse part. It’s a long drive. You’re excited, and you have to wait to play to get your energy out. But on the way back, you’re all hyped up because you just won a football game. Some of the best memories I have from football is on the bus ride back from football games after a W.”
Cross country runner Eliisa Marshall was asked if she considered herself a cross country runner who also runs track, or a track runner who runs cross country.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love them both,” she said. “But I definitely prefer track. Running 3.1 miles through mud and woods is definitely not for the weak. It’s an experience and it’s definitely fun to be with your team. But I’d have to say I belong more on the track than on the trails.”
A common theme was how coaches deal with huge turnout. The cross country programs have 120 runners. The swim team has nearly 60 participants, requiring up to eight swimmers to share a lane. The soccer program has enough players to field varsity, junior varsity and two C-squad teams.
It seems everybody at Camas wants in on the fun. That’s what drew Kennedy Brannon to turn out for the slowpitch softball team.
“I just moved here all the way from Arkansas, and I just wanted to get involved,” Brannon said. “I wanted to get into the Camas Papermakers spirit, you know?”
And Mairs reminded people that there are more ways to get into the Papermaker spirit than just going out for sport.
“We just need everyone to show up,” Mairs said. “We get everyone coming out to the football games, so why don’t we make that a priority for all sports in the fall?”
