Inner strength: NYO newcomers find out just how tough they are

ANCHORAGE — Jacob McAnulty runs his fingers across his wrist on the inside of his right arm.

It’s like leather.

A sensation was radiating from that right wrist Friday afternoon after McAnulty used it to pull himself off the floor and hold steady from a long pole as a pair of teammates made two complete laps in an oval across a large gym floor.

But if there was any pain, it was dulled by what the Wasilla High freshman had just accomplished in the boys’ wrist carry event of the Native Youth Olympics state games at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage. McAnulty held on for more than 488 feet and used his mark to finish second in the championship event.

“I was nervous. It’s my first time at state,” McAnulty said.

McAnulty has participated in sports such as football and wrestling in the past, but this is his first full season on an NYO team. He’d tried the wrist carry in the sixth grade and lasted more than 200 feet. But it wasn’t until his freshman year that McAnulty decided to give it another try.

“I was like, I might as well give it a shot,” McAnulty said.

McAnulty qualified for the state meet with a distance of 486-6.5 in the district championships at Houston High earlier in the month. On Friday, he topped his personal best by about two inches.

McAnulty tucked himself into a ball and held on for two full laps. As his carriers worked their way into his third lap, McAnulty dropped to the floor.

By the time the event was completed, only Dillingham’s Daniel Miller had gone farther. Miller finished with a distance of just more than 593 feet.

McAnulty said the keys are in the mind and the wrist.

“You have to build up a lot of wrist strength. I’ve been working on my wrist, trying to toughen the skin up,” McAnulty said.

The right mental approach is also needed.

“I clear my mind of everything,” McAnulty said.

McAnulty said he hopes to broaden himself in NYO in the future and participate in more events in the games that are centered around Native Alaskan culture.

It’s a sport that’s rapidly gaining interest in the Valley. Wasilla High has been the home to record-breakers and has won team titles in recent years.

Houston head coach Jared Barrett said the participation reflects the interest. Barrett had 32 athletes on his NYO team this year. That number rivals the total participation of the Houston football team in some seasons.

He’s had as many as 50 on his squad.

NYO has also helped athletes from a variety of backgrounds learn about Native culture. The Warriors even have a foreign exchange student from Germany on the squad.

Friederike Schaefer is from Bavaria, in southeast Germany. She is spending her junior year on exchange at Wasilla High and is completely new to the sport.

“A friend asked me if I wanted to join. I needed something to get a little bit more involved,” Schaefer said.

Schaefer has a sports background. She was involved in gymnastics in Germany, but now she’s having newfound success with her new sport.

Schaefer placed third in the two foot high kick on Saturday. Schaefer also participates in the kneel jump and Indian stick pull, but the two foot high kick is her favorite, she said.

Schaefer said she enjoyed the chance to be involved with the championship games.

“Alaska is so big, it’s interesting to talk to the other people that compete,” Schaefer said.

A number of athletes from the Palmer, Wasilla, Houston and Susitna Valley areas competed in the championships, which conclude today at the Dena’ina Center. In addition to McAnulty and Schaefer, a handful of other Valley athletes placed during the first two days.

Amanda Burke finished third in the girls’ wrist carry. Daniel Adams finished third in the Alaskan high kick. Kevin Horton and Forrest Strick finished fourth and fifth respectively in the toe kick. Chelsea Morrow finished fifth in the girls’ one hand reach, while Vance Gregory finished fifth in the boys’ one hand reach.

Dalton Beatie won the Eskimo stick pull on Saturday.

Competition begins today with the Indian stick pull at 11 a.m. The one foot high kick is scheduled for 12:30 p.m., and the seal hop is at 3 p.m.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com and follow him at twitter.com/matsu_sports.