Warrior tough

ANCHORAGE — Shake Kris Firey’s hand, and you’ll instantly know how the Wasilla High School senior wound up as a two-time winner at this weekend’s Native Youth Olympics at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage.

Despite having shattered his right hand playing center for the WHS football team last year, Firey’s beefy paw cinches down like a vice as he looks you square in the eye. As he does so, it’s hard to imagine trying to pull anything away from this guy — much less a stick dripping with Crisco.

That’s the task Firey’s opponents faced Saturday in the Indian stick pull, an event in which competitors stand shoulder-to-shoulder facing in opposite directions and try to take control of a short, greasy, tapered piece of wood.

“It’s all about the grip,” Firey said, moments after getting the best of Nome’s Calvin Bell in the finals.

Saturday’s win completed a double for Firey, who on Friday bested the field in the Eskimo stick pull, a less messy event in which competitors use brute strength to try and rip a stick from their opponent.

The Indian stick pull isn’t the most spectator-friendly event in NYO. It’s hard to even see what’s going on until the winner slowly raises his or her arm in triumph as the stick slips free. Although it looks simple, Firey said that trying to keep hold of the greasy stick is quite a challenge.

“It’s way tough,” he said. “Right now my forearms and triceps are way tense.”

Firey wasn’t the only Wasilla athlete to display an extraordinary tolerance for pain and endurance over the weekend. On Thursday, senior Kendra Nelson — a standout WHS wrestler and cross country runner — claimed first place in the girls’ wrist carry, beating her next-closest competitor by more than 50 feet.

The two WHS seniors had the top finishes among Mat-Su athletes over the three-day Native games competition, though they were far from the only winners at an event that’s become well known for its emphasis on camaraderie and helping others rather than taking home medals.

Other top Mat-Su performers at the meet included Knik Tribal Council’s Meda Warrior (third in the girls’ toe kick) and Kristen Johnson (third in the girls’ Eskimo stick pull); Palmer’s Jeremy Griffin (fourth in the boys’ wrist carry); Houston’s Revie Tony (fourth in the girls’ one-hand reach) and Valley resident Aurora Warrior, who earned two medals (fifth in the two-foot high kick, fourth in the one-foot high kick) and won the female sportsmanship award while competing for Mt. Edgecumbe, a boarding school in Sitka.

Lucas Hickle, a seventh-grader at Colony making his first-ever appearance at the state meet, set a personal best in the one foot high kick Saturday, and the young Colony Middle School student got a rousing round of applause after he bowed out during that event’s early rounds.

“That was a really good personal best,” the diminutive Hickle said, still smiling after being eliminated from the competition. “I kicked it way over my head.”

Hickle credited older, more experienced athletes with giving him pointers that enabled him to kick a sealskin ball dangling more than five feet in the air.

“I got a lot of advice from the seniors and guys who had done it before,” he said. “They’re really helpful.”

Keeping Native sporting traditions alive is a main focus of the games, as is keeping kids in school and involved in positive pursuits. That point was driven home Saturday afternoon during a ceremony held to recognize all the graduating seniors and GED recipients participating in the games. Dozens of proud graduates stood in the middle of Sullivan Arena as U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski urged them to continue reaching toward higher goals in life.

“This is a point where you are really making those positive steps,” Murkowski said.

The senator told the seniors that, as Alaska’s future, they’ll now be tasked with using the hard work and discipline learned in NYO and transferring that to their future lives.

“We’re very, very, very proud of those of you who have pushed yourselves,” she said.

Following the ceremony, the day’s marquee event — the one foot high kick — got under way, with athletes vying to see who had the best hops.

Younger, shorter athletes are at a disadvantage in the event, which is typically dominated by tall, athletic competitors. That didn’t stop the likes of Hickle and Houston Middle School’s Irene Attungana, an eighth-grader who also set a personal best of 70 inches — a height a full seven inches above her ponytailed head.

Attungana, whose mother grew up in the village of Point Hope, said she enjoys the games because they’re an opportunity to keep the Native culture alive.

“It’s my tradition, so that’s really cool,” she said.

Also pretty neat, she said, was getting to compete in front of hundreds of fans at Sullivan Arena.

“I like the excitement, how everyone’s watching you,” she said.

Attungana fell well short of the winning height of 83 inches, but she said she believes that, in time, she’s got a shot to go much deeper into the competition.

“I’ll place when I’m a senior,” she said with a grin.

While some who took part in this year’s competition are just beginning their NYO careers, others were competing in their final meet Saturday. That group included Susitna Valley senior Sean Dittman, who made the finals and came up just three inches short of his personal best by kicking 100 inches in the one foot high kick. Dittman actually kicked the ball in his final attempt at 102 inches, but touched the ground with his off foot after coming back to earth.

“The point of it is to show balance and control,” he said. “I was able to hit it, but I didn’t show the control aspect of it.”

Despite the miss, Dittman’s best leap was still good enough for fifth place, his second medal of the meet.

Though he would have liked to go out with a bit higher kick (his previous personal-best was 103 inches) Dittman said he was far from disappointed in a weekend that saw him win his first-ever NYO medal Friday with a third-place finish in the two foot high kick.

“I’m stoked,” he said. “All you can do is try your hardest.”

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com

Native Youth Olympics

Thursday-Saturday

Sullivan Arena

Final Results

Top five team scores

1. LKSD, 39; 2. Nome, 32; 3. Bethel, 30; 4. Anchorage 1, 28; 5. McGrath, 21.

Individual results

Thursday

Wrist Carry

Girls — 1. Kendra Nelson, Wasilla, 390 feet, 9 1/2 inches; 2. Jorden Lisec, Dillingham, 338-8; 3. Robin Standish, McGrath, 274-6 1/2; 4. Aline Nguyen, Unalaska, 263-4; 5. Leah Chingliak, LKSD, 216-3.

Boys — 1. Michael Wassilly, Dillingham, 606-7 (new record); 2. Lonny Booshu, Nome, 551-4; 3. Justin Wolf, Kenai, 450-11; 4. Jeremy Griffin, Palmer, 443-0; 5. Jonathan Phillip, Nenana, 429-0.

Alaskan High Kick

Girls — 1. Tanya Slim, LKSD, 74 inches; 2. Jaclyn Weston, Anchorage, 70; 3. Jessica Waska, Yupiit; 4. Maria Strick, McGrath, 66 (no misses); 5. Christina McElwee, Bethel, 66 (two misses).

Boys — 1. Tim Kinegak, LKSD, 90; 2. Tim Field, Noorvik, 86; 3. Taylor Hamilton, Anchorage, 84 (no misses); 4. Will Miller, Port Graham, 84 (one miss); 5. Nick Pelta, SWRS, 78.

Kneel Jump

Girls — 1. Lauren Stieger, Nome, 46 1/2 inches; 2. Darcie Kinekuk, BSSD, 44 1/4; 3. Robin standish, McGrath, 44; 4. Cynthia Asulik, LKSD, 43 1/2; 5. Angelica Whiteley, SWRS, 41 3/4.

Boys — 1. Aaron Wilde, Anchorage, 58 1/4; 2. Alberto Cabrera, Nome, 55 1/2’ 3. Tim Kinegak, LKSD, 58 1/2; 4. Derek Nashookpuk, Bristol Bay, 58 1/4; 5. Austin Sumdum, Yakutat, 55 1/2.

Friday

Toe Kick

Girls — 1. Shelilyn Soots, Bethel, 43; 2. Jaclyn Weston, Anchorage 2, 41-3; 3. Meda Warrior, Knik, 38; 4. Samantha Keeney, Gilson, 34; 5. tie, Beverly Nakaak, Bering Staights, Kim Delk, Anchorage 1, 30.

Boys — 1. Tim Kineagak, LKSD, 78 inches; 2. Timothy Standifer, Tebughna, 76; 3. Melford Welsey, Anchorage 2, 76; 4. Lonny Booshn, Nome, 74; 5. Brandon Candall, Knik, 68.

Eskimo Stick Pull

Girls — 1. Brittany Efrid, Anchorage; 2. Crissy Elliot, Bethel; 3. Kristen Johnson, Knik; 4. Lara Olsen, Kenai; 5. Sage Lewis, Unalaska.

Boys — 1. Kris Firey, Wasilla; 2. Morgan Fox, King Salmon; 3. Charles Dushkin, King Cove; 4. Silas Moses, LKSD; 5. Jerry Johnson, Bethel.

One-Hand Reach

Girls — 1. Alice Strick, McGrath, 59 inches; 2. Stephanie Lupie, Bethel, 56; 3. Krisin Smeaton, Dillingham, 55; 4. Revie Tony, Houston, 55; 5. Danielle Malchoff, Anchorage 2, 55.

Boys — 1. Ryan White, LKSD, 65; 2. Yako Howard, Yupiit, 64; 3. Andrew Yatchmenoff, Anchorage 1, 64; 4. John Herman, Bethel, 62; 5. Derek Bodfish, Alak, 62.

Two-foot high kick

Girls — 1. Angelica Whiteley, SWRSD, 72 (four misses); 2. Danielle Malchogg, Anchorage, 70 (five misses); 3. Alice Strick, McGrath, 66; 4. Tanya Slim, LKSD, 64; 5. Aurora Warrior Mt. Edgecumbe, 63 (one miss).

1. Evan Petla, SWRSD, 88 (two misses); 2. Loren Handler, LYSD, 88 (three misses); 3. Sean Dittman, Susitna Valley, 86 (two misses); 4. Andrew Yatchmenoff, Anchorage, 86 (three misses); 5. Lonny Booshu, Nome, 84 (one miss).

Saturday

Indian Stick Pull

Girls — 1. Olivia Shields, Bethel; 2. Alessa Poe, Mt. Edgecumbe; 3. Jesslyn Peters, SWRSD; 4. Chelsea Wassillie, Bristol Bay; 5. Brittaney Efrid, Anchorage.

Boys — 1. Kris Firey, Wasilla; 2. Calvin Bell, Nome; 3. Aaron Wilde, Anchorage; 4. Tim Field, NWABSD; 5. John Herman, Bethel

Seal Hop

Girls — 1. Kayla Booshu, Nome, 116 feet, 10 1/4 inches; 2. Mary Dyment, Bethel, 115-8 3/4; 3. Cheri Alstrom, Mt. Edgecumbe, 107-5 3/4; 4. Tasha Mockta, Anchorage, 94-7; 5. (tie) Amanda McGrill, Dillingham, Lucinda Ivanoff, BSSD and Wendy Roland, Nenana, 94.

Boys — 1. Calvin Bell, Nome, 151-8 3/4; 2. Tim Kinegak, LKSD, 134-7 3/4; 3. Brandon Reich, NWABSD, 103-2 1/4; 4. Steven Aikins, Dillingham, 101-2; 5. Johnathan Phillip, Nenana, 99-1 3/4.

One-foot High Kick

Girls — 1. (tie) Tanya Slim, LKSD and Alice Strick, McGrath, 83 (four misses); 3. Acacia Walton, Dillingham, 80 (one miss); 4. Aurora Warrior, Mt. Edgecumbe, 80 (two misses); 5. Brittany Efrid, Anchorage.

Boys — 1. Tim Field, NWABSD, 111; 2. Andrew Yatchmenoff, Anchorage, 106; 3. John Herman, Bethel, 102 (two missees); 4. Jeremy Head, Nome, 102 (three misses); 5. Sean Dittman, Susitna Valley, 100 (one miss).

Top overall male — Tim Kinegak, LKSD

Top overall female — Alice Strick, McGrath

Male sportsmanship — Chris Anderson, Kenaitze

Female sportsmanship — Aurora Warrior, Mt. Edgecumbe

Team sportsmanship — Valdez

Best Banner — Susitna Valley