Dock helps lead LKSD to NYO state championship

Sigfurd Dock of Kipnuk is the new Seal Hop record holder for state Native Youth Olympics. Above his dad Andrew congratulates him after his record winning performance. photo by Tommy Bayayok

by Tommy Wells

Forget the 1927 New York Yankees. Write off the Boston Celtics and Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. The most dominant team in the history of sports may well be a lot closer to Bethel.

The Lower Yukon Kuskokwim School District’s Native Youth Olympics squad proved itself one of the top teams in the sports’ long history this past weekend by cruising to yet another NYO state championship. The LKSD team, backed by a record-breaking performance from Kipnuk’s Sigfurd Dock, the LKSD all-stars edged out Mat-Su, Dillingham and Anchorage A for the top spot in the final team standings at the 2015 NYO State Championships on Saturday in the University Alaska-Anchorage’s new Alaska Airlines Center.

As a team, LKSD won five individual gold medals in the three-day tournament.

Dock highlighted the Lower Kuskokwim’s title run with a stellar effort in the boys’ Seal Hop competition. He shattered the NYO state record in the event by posting a hop of 188 feet.

Dock’s effort broke the old record of 171 feet, 5 inches set in 2009 by Nome’s Calvin Bell by more than 16 inches.

Galena’s Derrick Black finished a distant second in the final standings with a hop of 162-7. Yupiit School District’s Jerry Phillips was third at 137-10.

Dillingham’s Britney Dray won the girls’ Seal Hop title with a distance of 123 feet.

Rodney Dock, Joseph Panruk and Isaiah Charles added gold medal efforts to the LKSD push, too.

Dock of Kongiganak, won the boys’ Indian Stick Pull championship. He edged out Pilot Station’s Dominic Greene and Southwest Region School District’s Rhemus Bavilla, respectively, for the top spot.

Panruk, a Chefornak standout, garnered a gold medal in the boys’ One-Hand Reach. He notched a height of 64 inches in the event and edged out Anchorage’s Alec Bonn by two inches. Makiyan Ivanoff of BSSD was 4th at 62” followed by Galena’s John Angaiak who finished 5th at a height of also 62”.

Jocelyn Snyder of Kwigillingok gave LKSD a third-place finish in the girls’ One-Arm Reach standings. She tied Mt. Edgecumbe’s Brittany Woods-Orrison and Anchorage’s Izzy Maillelle for the winning height of 56, but fell to third overall on the number of misses.

Bethel’s Sophie Swope was fourth in the One-Arm Reach standings with a height of 56. She fell to fourth courtesy of a miss at 50 inches. Swope is more than capable of reaching the dizzying height of 58” as she had proven so at the Bethel NYO meet two weekends ago.

Charles who is from Newtok won the boys’ Toe Kick easily. He hit a height of 84 inches and edged out Bering Strait School District’s Cameron Okbaok by two inches. Lower Yukon School District’s Vincent Friday, originally from Toksook Bay, was fifth at 78.

Kipnuk star Alecia Egoak gave LKSD a fifth-place mark in the girls’ Toe Kick standings with a kick of 62. Bethel’s Haley O’Brien was third.

Newtok’s Evan George and Kipnuk’s Ann Marie Paul also collected gold medals for LKSD.

George won the boys’ Kneel Jump competition. He notched a jump of 60 ¾ inches and edged out Yupiit’s Trevor Felix who is also originally from Toksook Bay by 1.25 inches. Felix took runner-up honors with a mark of 58 inches.

Scammon Bay’s Shandon Rivers added a third-place mark to the LYSD totals in the Kneel Jump event. He finished with a jump of 51.

Paul, a standout at Kipnuk, won the girls’ Alaskan High Kick title with a height of 76 inches.

In the Two-foot high kick event, Clara Post of Tununak reaching 70” placed 5th as did her teammate Ray Egoak of Kipnuk in the boys event. Egoak kicked 88”.

Newtok’s Jordan Kashatok and LYSD’s Archie Andrews from Emmonak narrowly missed gold medals at the state meet. Kashatok placed second in the girls’ Kneel Jump standings with a jump of 51 inches. Andrews was second to Unalaska’s Kim Gumera in the Alaskan High Kick. Both hit 89 in the event, but Gumera managed to take the top spot with fewer misses. Kyle Kanuk of Kipnuk was third at 88.

Bethel’s Ashley Mute of Mt. Edgecumbe High School finished 5th at 70”.

Clinton Paul, also of Kipnuk added a fifth-place effort in the boys’ Wrist Carry with a distance of 413-3. Yupiit’s Jaylen Moses was third at 455-2.

2015 Native Youth Olympics Results

KNEEL JUMP

Girls – 1) Apaay Campbell, Bering Strait A, 55.25 inches; 2) Jordan Kashatok, Lower Kuskokwim, 51; Sydney Dray, Dillingham, 44.5; 4) Stephanie Egnaty, Mat-Su B, 43.75; 5) Masha Hart Quekcak, Native Tribe, 42.75

Boys – 1) Evan George, Lower Kuskokwim, 60.75; 2) Trevor Felix, Yupiit, 58; 3) Shandon Rivers, Lower Yukon, 51 (49 second try); 4) Tim Meyer, Mat-Su A, 51 (48.5 second try); 5) Kristopher Kompkoff, Tatitlek, 50

WRIST CARRY

Girls – 1) Erin Sivits, Anchorage A, 344 feet; 2) Sadie Tuckwood, Dillingham, 288-1/2; 3) Makayla George-Johnson, Yupiit, 284-4; 4) Alma Smith, Lower Yukon, 190-4; 5) Kaye Gumera, Unalaska, 153-1/2

Boys – 1) Joshua Hughes, Mat-Su A, 532-1; 2) Connor McCracken, Unalaska, 465-4 ½; 3) Jaylen Moses, Yupiit, 455-2; 4) Justin Dye, Dillingham, 416; 5) Clinton Paul, Lower Kuskokwim, 413-3

ALASKAN HIGH KICK

Girls – 1) Ann Marie Paul (Lower Kuskokwim) 76 (0 misses); 2) Tara Agwiak, Nenana, 76 (2 misses); 3) Teyah Clark, Mat-Su, 72; 4) Madi Ko, West Valley, 70 (1 miss); 5) Ashley Mute, Mt. Edgecumbe, 70 (3 misses)

Boys – 1) Kim Gumera, Unalaska, 89 inches (0 misses); 2) Archie Andrews, Lower Yukon, 89 (2 misses); 3) Kyle Kanuk, Lower Kuskokwim,
88; 4) Makiyan Ivanoff, Bering Strait, 87; 5) Jesse Kurtz, Mat-Su, 86

ESKIMO STICK PULL

Girls – 1) Sara Schroeder, Dillingham; 2) Penny Savea, Anchorage A; 3) Ashely Hoglund, Mat-Su A; 4) Aizah Sullivan, West Valley; 5) Lanette Adams, Northwest Arctic

Boys – 1) Tracey Winn, Anchorage A; 2) Frank Kelly, Mat-Su A; 3) John Koeneman, Mat-Su B; 4) Malaki Barrett, Knik Tribal Council; 5) Peter Christensen, Lake and Peninsula School District

TOE KICK

Girls – 1) Johnna Boucher, Mount Edgecumbe, 68 inches; 2) Sydney Dray, Dillingham, 66; 3) Haley O’Brien, Bethel, 62; 4) Alecia Egoak, Lower Kuskokwim, 62 (3 misses); 5) Terry Johnson, Anchorage A, 62 (4 misses)

Boys – 1) Isaiah Charles, Lower Kuskokwim, 84; 2) Cameron Okbaok, Bering Straits, 80 (3 misses); 3) Neil Bucaneg, Unalaska, 80; 4) Derrick Black, Galena, 78 (3 misses/60); 5) Vincent Friday, Lower Yukon, 78 (4 misses/74)

ONE-HAND REACH

Girls – 1) Brittany Woods-Orrison, Mount Edgecumbe, 56 inches (1 m/56); 2) Izzy Maillelle, Anchorage B, 56 (1m/56); 3) Jocelyn Snyder, Lower Kuskokwim, 56 (1m/54); 4) Sophie Swope, Bethel, 56 (1m/50); 5) Teyah Clark, Mat-Su A, 56 (1m/50)

Boys – 1) Joseph Panruk, Lower Kuskokwim, 64; 2) Alec Bonn, Anchorage A, 62 (0m); 3) Brian Conwell, Unalaska, 62 (1m); 4) Makiyan Ivanoff, Bering Straits A, 62 (1m); 5) John Angaiak, Galena, 62 (1m)

INDIAN STICK PULL

Girls – 1) Kayla Olhausen, Mat-Su; 2) Laura Ekada, Mt. Edgecumbe; 3) Alyssa Roxas, Unalaska; 4) Miquela Wilson, Bristol Bay School District; 5) Chloe Phillips, Anchorage.

Boys – 1) Rodney Dock, Lower Kuskokwim School District; 2) Dominic Greene, Pilot Station; 3) Rhemus Bavilla, SWRSD; 4) Brandon Vanlandingham, West Valley; 5) Eric Fitka, Bering Strait School District.

ONE-FOOT HIGH KICK

Girls – 1) Madi Ko, West Valley, 91 inches; 2)  Julianne Wilson, Kenaitze, 88; 3) Kaye Gumera, Unalaska, 86; 4) Johnna Bouker, Mt. Edgecumbe, 84; 5) Sydney Dray, Dillingham, 82.

Boys – 1) Makiyan Ivanoff, Bering Strait, 110; 2) Kim Gumera, Unalaska, 108; 3) Cameron Okbaok, Bering Strait, 106 (1 miss); 4) Zachery Martin, Seward, 106 (2 misses); 5) John Bouker, Dillingham, 104.

SEAL HOP

Girls — 1) Britney Dray, Dillingham, 123 feet; 2) Cheyenne Terwillinger, Mat-Su, 112-3.5; 3) Julianne Wilson, Kenaitze, 109-3; 4) Lacy Holmes, Mat-Su, 102-8.75; 5) Erin Sivitz, Anchorage, 100-6.

Boys – 1) Sigfurd Dock, Lower Kuskokwim, 188-0 (NYO record); 2) Derrick Black, Galena, 162-7.5; 3) Jerry Phillip, Yupiit, 137-10; 4) Eric Larionoff, Anchorage, 112-11; 5) Andrew Kashevarof, Anchorage, 112-9.

ATHLETES OF THE MEET

Kim Gumera, Unalaska (boys); Madi Ko, West Valley (girls)

SPORTSMANSHIP AWARDS

Makiyan Ivanoff, Bering Strait; Masha Hart, Seward.

TEAM STANDINGS

1) Lower Kuskokwim School District; 2) Mat-Su A; 3) tie, Dillingham and Anchorage A.