Anaver, Paul help Falcons soar to District NYO championship

LKSD District NYO Meet in Chefornak: Jesse Paul of the Kipnuk Falcons is focused on making sure he is aligned with the ball right before he settles into reach position in the high school boys 1-Arm Reach event.

by Tommy Wells

Jaden Anaver shattered a long-standing state record and Katelyn Paul placed in the top five in six events on Saturday and helped spur the Kipnuk Falcons to the District NYO Championship in Chefornak.

The Falcons, back by Anaver’s record-setting effort and Paul’s four medals, rolled up 142 points in the meet and easily outdistanced second-place Kwigillingok, which tallied 118. The Newtok Jaegers placed third.

Anaver highlighted the meet by eclipsing the state record in the Seal Hop competition. His mark of  190 feet and 7 7/8 inches broke the previous state best of 188 feet set by former Kipnuk standout Sigfurd Dock.

Dock established his record two years ago.

Anaver’s win in the Seal Hop was one of two events he won in the boys’ division. He also captured the Wrist Carry title with a mark of 41.13 seconds. Kipnuk teammate Jesse Paul also collected a gold medal in the meet. He won the boys’ 1-Arm Reach honors.

Newtok’s Isaiah Charles was the top scoring male competitor at the meet. He rolled up 42 of Newtok’s 98 points by placing in the top five in five events, including first in the Kneel Jump, 2-Foot and 1-Foot high kick competitions. He also finished second in the Alaskan High Kick and fourth in the Scissors Broad Jump.

Toksook Bay’s Johnny Bosco and Newtok’s Byron George also collected wins. Bosco won the boys’ Scissors title, while George claimed the Eskimo Stick Pull.

Other gold medal winners included Calvin Egoak of Kipnuk in the Alaskan High Kick and Cody Nicholai of Kongiganak in the Indian Stick Pull.

Katelyn Paul tied Tununak’s Amanda Kanrilak as the highest-scoring competitor in the girls’ division. Both tallied 40 points.

In addition to winning the 2-Foot High Kick, Paul finished second in the 1-Foot High Kick, and third in the Scissors and 1-Arm Reach. She also placed fourth in the Kneel Jump and fifth in the Seal Hop.

Kanrilak, who finished second to Paul in the 2-Foot High Kick, won the girls’ Alaskan High Kick and Seal Hop events. She edged out Newtok’s Marilyn Fairbanks for the top spot in the Seal Hop with a mark of 126’ 7 7/8”.

Kanrilak also finished second – to Toksook Bay’s Lisa Evans – in the Scissors, and fourth in the 1-Foot High Kick.

Evans also won the 1-Foot High Kick title with a final kick of 82”.

Chantal Snyder also turned in an outstanding effort in the meet. She won the Kneel Jump and 1-Arm Reach competitions, and finished fifth in the Wrist Carry. She was also third in the 2-Foot High Kick and fifth in the 1-Foot High Kick.

Precious Tuluk and June Tuluk gave Chevak a 1-2 finish in the Wrist Carry. Precious Tuluk won the event with a mark of 24.6 seconds. June Tuluk was second. She finished just ahead of Schenia Wassilie representing the Yupiit School District.

Kwigillingok’s Jaylon John and Nunapitchuk’s Miriam Enoch also netted golds. John won the district title in the Eskimo Stick Pull and Enoch won the Indian Stick Pull.

The Alaska State NYO Championships will be held on April 27-29 in Anchorage. The LKSD All Star Team will be competing along with other teams from around the state at this event.

District NYO Championships Final Standings

(Top 3 teams only)

1. Kipnuk, 142pts

2. Kwigillingok, 118pts

3. Newtok, 98pts

Overall Boy: Isaiah Charles, Newtok 42pts

Overall Girls: Amanda Kanrilak, Tununak, and Katelyn Paul, Kipnuk 40pts

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