Sports

Jimenez, Gumera top athletes at Native Youth Olympics

If he hadn't craved a free snack three years ago, Kaiden Jimenez might never have become a Native Youth Olympics champion.

Two years after a coach convinced him to join Mat-Su's NYO team for a free bag of popcorn, Jimenez won two events at this year's Games, including a victory in the prestigious one-foot high kick Saturday — the last day of competition at the Alaska Airlines Center.

"I was originally in middle school and I was in the stands (at a basketball game) and I wanted popcorn that day," Jimenez said. "The coach that ran the stand said that if I wanted a free bag of popcorn, I had to join NYO."

He decided to join, and he's glad he did.

Jimenez was named the top male athlete Saturday. Kaye Gumera of Unalaska earned top female honors for the second consecutive year.

In the one-foot high kick, Jimenez's main event, competitors jump off both feet and attempt to kick a suspended ball with one foot and land on the same foot without falling.

[Photos: The seal hop and one-foot high kick on the final day of NYO]

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The 5-foot-9 sophomore was all smiles as he stepped up to his first attempt at 8 feet, 10 inches in front of a raucous crowd.

He shook his dark, shaggy hair out of his eyes, ran up to the ball and tapped it with his signature sideways kick to capture his victory. He was the only athlete to complete the height.

Second-place Clevon Constantine of Bethel and third-place Arctic Ivanoff of Bering Straight were among the first people to congratulate Jimenez on his gold medal.

"There are no enemies here," Jimenez said. "Everyone is a teacher, everyone is a student learning from everyone who jumps higher, just learning new techniques."

Jimenez also won the scissor broad jump Saturday and placed third in the two-foot high kick Friday.

Gumera did most of her winning Thursday and Friday, getting a win in the kneel jump and second-place finishes in the wrist carry and scissor broad jump. She added a bronze medal in the one-foot high kick Saturday.

The girls one-foot high kick victory went to Julianne Wilson of Kenaitze Indian Tribe. The soft-spoken senior took a long wait before a successful attempt at 7 feet, 6 inches on her first try.

Last year's champ, Madi Ko, made three attempts at the height and hit the ball with her third kick, giving Wilson the gold medal based on misses. Both failed to hit 7-7.

"I've been competing with Madi for a really long time and competing with her means a lot," Wilson said.

Wilson went on to win the girls seal hop — the final event event — with a distance of 123 feet, 3.75 inches.

Wilson said competing in sports like basketball and track and field, where she is a triple jumper and long jumper, helped prepare her for NYO events.

"I don't have that much time to practice, but the other sports help a lot with my kicking and everything," she said.

Jaden Anaver of Lower Kuskokwim won the boys seal hop by traveling 156-9.5 while in a pushup position, his palms on the gym floor as he hopped to gold.

In the Indian stick pull, victories went to Laura Ekada of Mt. Edgecumbe and Elvis Reyes of Anchorage.

"Ever since eighth grade, the first time I (competed), I just wanted to be up here, and it's my last year being in NYO," said Reyes, a senior. "Practice makes perfect."

Several prominent Alaska athletes were on hand Saturday, including "Eskimo Ninja" Nick Hanson and one-foot high jump record holder Stuart Towarak. Hanson and Towarak, working as an official, often went up to athletes in between jumps or events to offer advice and encouragement.

"Really it's phenomenal to get people that are such (great) players to come down and talk to us young guys … kind of like an elder teaching his kids," Jimenez said.

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[Native Youth Olympics: Ko breaks own record, Gumera pockets multiple medals]

[Photos: Native Youth Olympics stick pull and blanket toss]

[At the Native Youth Olympics, free the mind and the body will follow]

Saturday's results 

Indian stick pull

Girls — 1) Laura Ekada, Mount Edgecumbe; 2) Tatiana Tickner, Anchorage team A; 3) Miya Page, Kotzebue; 4) Chloe Phillips, Anchorage team B; 5) Nellie Stone, Nenana.

Boys — 1) Elvis Reyes, Anchorage team A; 2) Eric Fitka, Galena ILA; 3) Faizar Cayron, Unalaska; 4) Iverson Moonin, Nanwalek; 5) Jaden Ulroan, Chevak.

One-foot high kick

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Girls — 1) Julianne Wilson, Kenaitze, 90 inches (0 misses); 2) Madi Ko, Mat Su A, 90 (2 misses); 3) Kaye Gumera, Unalaska, 88 (3 misses); 4) Kaia Beebe, LPSD, 88 (4 misses); 5) Milya Wright, Barrow, 86 (1 miss).

Boys — 1) Kaiden Jimenez, Mat Su A, 106 (0 misses); 2) Clevon Constantine, Bethel, 104 (0 misses); 3) Arctic Ivanoff, BSSD, 104 (2 misses)/100; 4) Isaiah Charles, Lower Kuskokwim, 100/101 (1 miss); 5) Carter Price, Unalaska, 100/101 (2 misses).

Seal hop

Girls — 1) Julianne Wilson, Kenaitze, 123-3.75; 2) Adeline Dyment, Mt. Edgecombe, 121-3.75; 3) Britney Dray, Dillingham, 120-2; 4) Denise Uttereyuk, Lower Yukon, 118-3; Jenny Klebesedal, Mat-Su A, 116-9.

Boys — 1) Jaden Anaver, Lower Kuskokwim, 156-9.5; 2) Brandon Asicksik, Anchorage A, 117-6.75; 3) Sean Martin, Anchorage B, 116-10; 4) Edward Atcherian, Chevak, 99-8; 5) Shelby Samuel, Mt. Edgecombe, 97-3.5

Friday's results

Alaskan high kick

Girls — 1) Tara Agwiak, LYSD, 77 inches; 2) Ashley Mute, Bethel, 73; 3) Jerilyn Alexie, Mount Edgecumbe, 72; 4) Terry Johnson, Anchorage A, 69; 5) Kimberly Clark, Nome, 68.

Boys — 1) Calvin Egoak, LKSD, 86 inches; 2) Judah Eason, Ninilchik, 84; 3) Lucas Aningayu, Bering Straits, 84; 4, Axel Tretkkokkof, Anchorage A, 81; 5) Virgil Kapotak, Anchorage B, 80.

Eskimo stick pull

Girls — 1) Ashley Hoglund, Mat-Su A; 2) Monica Ishnook, SWRS; 3) Autumn Randazzo, Anchorage A; 4) Madison Ortega, Mat-Su B; 5) Miya Page, Kotzebue.

Boys — 1) Oneahi Talaiasi, Barrow; 2) Haley Osborne, Mount Edgecumbe; 3) Matt Faoasua, Unalaska; 4) Jamal Alstrom, LYSD; 5) Matt Grothe, Mat-Su A.

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Scissor broad jump

Girls — 1) Madeline Ko, Mat-Su A, 30 feet, 1 inch (NYO and world record; previous record, Ko, 29-6.25, 2016 NYO); 2) Kaye Gumera, Unalaska, 29-4; 3) Crystalynn Tula'i, Barrow, 27-6; 4) Emily Pomaranke, Nome, 27-4; 5) Catherine Sunny, Mount Edgecumbe, 26-10.25.

Boys — 1) Kaiden Jimenez, Mat-Su A, 35-4.75; 2) Arctic Ivanoff, Bering Straits, 35-2.25; 3) Jon Villena, Unalaska, 35-2; 4) Orlin Gologergen, Mount Edgecumbe, 34-10.25; 5) Merlin White, LKSD, 33-6.

One-hand reach

Girls — 1) Joeli Carlson, Bethel, 58 inches; 2) Chantal Snyder, LKSD, 58; 3) June Tuluk, Chevak, 54; 4) Tara Agwiak, LYSD, 54; 5) Kaye Gumera, 54.

Boys — 1) Braden Dallman, Aniak, 65; 2) Brian Conwell, Unalaska, 64; 3) Virgil Kapotak, Anchorage A, 64; 4) Brandon VanLandingham, West Valley, 64; 5) Jake Smith, Mat-Su A, 62.

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Two-foot high kick

Girls — 1) Madeline Ko, Mat-Su A, 76 inches; 2) Julianne Wilson, Kenaitze, 76; 3) Terry Johnson, Anchorage A, 72; 4) Kaye Gumera, Unalaska, 70; 5) Tara Agwiak, LYSD, 66.

Boys — 1) Noah Brown, Mat-Su A, 92; 2) Trevor Wilson, Unalaska, 90; 3) Kaden Jimenez, Mat-Su B, 90; 4) Isaiah Charles, LKSD, 86; 5) Brandon VanLandingham, West Valley, 86.

Overall athlete
Male: Kaiden Jimenez, Mat Su Team B
Female: Kaye Gumera, Unalaska

Sportsmanship awards
Male: Isaiah Charles, Lower Kuskokwim
Female: Madi Ko, Mat-Su

Healthy Coach Award
Nick Hanson

Teams scores — 1) Mat-Su A team; 2) Unalaska; 3rd) Anchorage A team; 4) Lower Kuskokwim; 5) Mount Edgecumbe.

Stephan Wiebe

Stephan Wiebe writes about all things Alaska sports.

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