Sports...briefly

Arin Wooster scored four PRs at the meet, which was held at Barlow High School in Gresham, Ore.

Robertson, 10, noted improvements that ranged from 1.24 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle to 16.33 seconds in the 100-yard backstroke. Her time in the latter was an Oregon state `A' qualifying time.

Adam Wooster, 12, improved his times in three of five events by better than 5 seconds. Ten-year-old Arin Wooster's new PRs were more modest; they ranged from .46 to 3.76 seconds.

White Salmon's Erin Jones, 12, also recorded four PRs.

Other highlights included a first-ever state `A' time for Matthew Bergstrom, 7, of White Salmon. It came during a personal-best finish in the 50-yard backstroke.

Mariah Rawding, 7, of Husum had a PR (by 6.72 seconds) and an `A' time in the 50-yard breast stroke.

Gymnastics:

Columbia High sophomore Jessica Strain, who competes for Stevenson, placed third all-around in the Bulldogs' first meet of the season Dec. 10 against visiting Heritage of Vancouver.

Strain tallied 30.9 points with her efforts on the vault, balance beam and uneven bars, and in the floor exercise. Her best finish was third on the beam, on which she scored 8.4.

Stevenson teammate Brianna Nielsen, a senior, posted four second-place finishes on her way to second in the all-around. Her scores ranged from 9.2 in the floor exercise to 7.9 on the bars.

Cara Slusher of Heritage edged Nielsen for the all-around title, 34.8 to 34.4.

Girls Basketball:

Henkle Middle School's blended team concluded a successful 2003 season with an awards presentation ceremony last Thursday.

Following the adage that "a good defense leads to a good offense," the Grizzlies placed an emphasis on a ball-hawking defense, according to third-year coach Dennis Jablonski.

"Blocked shots and great rebounding led the way to numerous opportunities at the scoring end of the court," he said of Henkle's prescription for success.

"With their pressing defense and active offense, the team ended the season on an upswing," Jablonski noted.

This year's team featured Lisa Gardner, Rachel Connolly, Kady McCoy, Liz Reetz, Tiffany Ramsey, Ilima Caldwell, Robin Swanhuyser, Samantha Golden and LeeArron Simon in the backcourt.

"These girls did a splendid job of getting the ball down the court and setting the offense in motion," Jablonski said.

Frontcourt players for the Grizzlies included America Rangel, Erica Clevidence, Chrissy Duniphin, Kate Jaco, Kelsey Torrey, Crystal Spring, Ashley Spring, Tiffany Neils, Christina Panko, Nancy Guzman, Rocio Gonzalez and Brandi Brooks.

"These girls provided a strong frontcourt presence on the offensive end, as well as tough inside defense," Jablonski said.

Summer Camps:

Applications are now being evaluated for the Ten Star All-Star Summer Basketball Camp, which is open by invitation only.

Boys and girls ages 10-19 are eligible to apply for consideration. The nearest camp location is in Olympia.

For a free brochure, call (704) 373-0873, anytime.