The Unalaska Native Youth Olympics team took third place at the state games in Anchorage this weekend, and one student athlete made NYO history with his gold medal.
Senior Anatoly Fomin broke the state record in the one-hand reach that had been held for 13 years, according to an NYO Games Facebook post. Fomin’s 70” mark broke the record on the second day of the games.
A few other Raider athletes took home gold medals as well, and a total of 10 students placed in the top five of their respective events.
KUCB’s student intern Lucy Bagley — who also placed at the games — sat down with Fomin and their fellow freshman teammate Deklan Nettleton to talk more about this year’s competition.
Here’s part of their conversation.
BAGLEY: Hi. My name is Lucy Bagley. I'm KUCB student intern, and I'm here in the studio with Unalaska senior Anatoly Fomin and freshman Deklan Nettleton. We just got back from the Native Youth Olympic State Games in Anchorage, and one of our teammates, Anatoly, broke a record. Anatoly, how did it feel to break the one-hand reach record and take home a gold medal in the event?
ANATOLY FOMIN: Yeah, it felt really nice. I mean, I had that in mind to break the record since like sophomore year, and I never really pursued that until earlier this year, when I was thinking, ‘you know, it's my senior year. I really need to step up what I'm doing.
BAGLEY: That's awesome. And what was your height?
FOMIN: 70.
BAGLEY: Was that a new PR for you?
FOMIN: Yeah.
BAGLEY: That is so exciting. Do you know how long the record had been held for?
FOMIN: Yeah, I think the state record was held by Bernard Clark for like, 13 years about.
BAGLEY: Wow, that's a long time. And Deklan, you also took home a first place medal too. What events did you compete in and how did they go?
DEKLAN NETTLETON: I just competed in the wrist carry, and I got the gold medal, getting carried 442 feet.
BAGLEY: Awesome. And what did you guys do to prepare for this year's events?
FOMIN: I really just went into it the same as every year, except I knew that I needed to work harder. And I would watch videos of people who were a lot more experienced than I was to see what they really did. And that helped a lot. It started like bouncing on my fist more.
BAGLEY: And how long have you been doing NYO? And how did you get into it?
FOMIN: I've been doing it for about three years, but I started in like seventh grade, but we couldn't do it then, because of COVID.
NETTLETON: I’ve been doing NYO since the seventh grade, but I really got good at what I was doing this year for the wrist carry, once I figured out how it really works.
BAGLEY: That's awesome. And how did it feel to take third as a team this year?
FOMIN: It felt alright. I mean, I'm happy we got there. We were really hoping to go for gold, but I think we all did really great. So I'm happy with third, yeah.
NETTLETON: I was happy with how our team competed together, and I like how all the teams were super supportive of every team. And I was proud of my teammates for keeping the support with everyone.
BAGLEY: Did you have lots of friends and family to come support?
FOMIN: Oh, yeah, of course, my mom came, my stepdad came. So, you know, as well as my teammates were obviously there. So it felt like I got all the support I needed.
BAGLEY: And what do you think made the team so successful this year?
FOMIN: Hard work. I think we all really specialize in our events really well. And you know, it's like focus — all we would do is focus on our one event for that day and put in the work necessary to win.
NETTLETON: I think what made the team very successful is that at practice, everyone was very competitive and everyone was getting pushed to their max. And once they were doing that, everyone realized that what they were doing at practice — all the [personal records] they were getting — could compete in last year's state finalists and all of the people that placed. And I think it gave a lot of people hope and passion.
BAGLEY: And of course, are there any highlights from this season beyond taking home gold medals?
NETTLETON: A highlight was, after Anatoly won gold, we gave him Saratoga water, and during his interview, we had him drink it and hold it up to his chest.
BAGLEY: That's pretty funny. And is there anything you want to share with the community about your wins or about this year's competition?
FOMIN: I mean, we just do what we do. You know, it's like we're Unlaskans.
NETTLETON: I’d just like to say that we had a lot of people get a gold medal, and a lot of people place. And I think everyone should be supportive of those people, even the people that didn't place, they all did really good.
BAGLEY: Well, thanks for coming in and congratulations.
Below is a list of all of the Unalaska team’s 2025 NYO Senior Games awards.
First Place Boys Toe Kick: Rafael Hernandez, 80”
First Place Boys Wrist Carry: Deklan Nettleton, 444’ 7”
First Place Boys Alaskan High Kick: Kaidon Parker, 90” (2 misses)
Fourth Place Girls Scissor Broad Jump: Lucy Bagley, 26’ 10.5"
Fifth Place Boys Inuit/Eskimo Stick Pull: Khoi (Sunny) Nguyen
First Place Boys One-Hand Reach: Anatoly Fomin, 70” (2 misses) New state record
Fifth Place Boys Dene/Indian Stick Pull: Aaron San Luis
Fifth Place Girls One-Foot High Kick: Lucy Bagley 82”
Second Place Girls Seal Hop: Kristal Tacata 100’ 3”
Third Place Boys Seal Hop: Matt Gian Bcalaso, 106.75’
Third Place Overall: Unalaska Team
