Sports...briefly

The contest will start at 12:30 p.m. (There's no cost to enter.) Boys and girls will compete in three age groups: 8-9, 10-11 and 12-13.

Each contestant will shoot 25 free throws. The top boy and girl scorer in each age group will qualify for the district hoop shoot in Longview.

Prep Gymnastics:

Columbia High's Jessica Strain began her senior season Dec. 7 with a first-place all-around finish at a four-school meet at Prairie High School in Vancouver.

Competing with gymnasts from Stevenson against athletes from Prairie, Battle Ground and Fort Vancouver, Strain posted a final score of 31.

She placed first on the uneven bars (score of 7.9) and on the balance beam (8.1), and finished second in the floor exercise (7.5).

On Dec. 10, Strain and her Stevenson teammates traveled to Hazel Dell for the WinterFest invitational hosted by Columbia River High School.

Gymnasts from nine S.W. Washington schools, from 2A to 4A, took part in the meet.

In final individual tallies, Strain stood eighth in the all-around with a score of 32.3 (8.3 vault, 8.2 floor routine, 8.2 beam, 7.6 bars).

Stevenson's next meet is its first home meet of the season. It will be held Friday, Dec. 16, at Wind River Middle School in Carson, against league opponent Columbia River.

Winter Sports:

Cooper Spur Ski Area began its 79th season of operation on Dec. 3. It was the second earliest opening on record for the only ski area on Mt. Hood's northern face.

A winter storm that dumped more than two feet of snow on the ski area's slopes left Cooper Spur a settled base of 20 inches, which was more than enough to open the 10 ski runs and two tubing areas.

Cooper Spur is open Fridays, noon to 9 p.m.; Saturdays, 9 a.m.-9 p.m., and Sundays, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., as well as during holiday periods.

Prep Football:

Six state champions hoisted trophies at the conclusion of their respective Gridiron Class games in the Tacoma Dome on Dec. 2-3. Results, by classification, were:

3A -- Ferndale 47, Prosser 12.

B-8 -- LaCrosse-Washtucna 56, Columbia-Hunters 8.

2A -- Pullman 28, Archbishop Murphy 24.

1A -- Royal 34, Tonasket 14.

B-11 -- Reardan 14, DeSales 10.

4A -- Skyline 35, Woodinville 21.