When Monica Jimenez was tagged on a social media post about the KELA/KMNT Diaper Derby happening at the Southwest Washington Fair, she jumped at the chance to register her baby, Jayce Nakano.
She didn’t get the opportunity to enter her two other sons.
“I wanted to, but I never knew when it was (time to) sign up,” Jimenez said. “I felt sad that I didn't do it with my other two.”
Jayce Nakano, of Centralia, crawled his way to victory twice, in the second of five heats and in the finals, on the Community Stage to earn his family a prize package that featured diapers and a new crib on Thursday afternoon.
Currently, Jayce does not have a crib at home.
“It is nice,” Jimenez said.
A cousin in the family to star Adna High School pitcher Cameron Nakano, Jayce started crawling at 10 months old. Jimenez stated that he has a special crawl he does at home, one that involves a little bit of a scoot.
That wasn’t featured on center stage at the fair. In the heats and the finals, he crawled on all fours.
“He went for it,” Jimenez said. “For that long, he’s never crawled like that.”
Jayce didn’t comment on his win afterwards. He did give his mom a high five and took pictures with Miss Lewis County and Miss Lewis County’s Teen despite crying.
Grayson Wass nabbed second place and Serenity Maurer placed third. Ebba Aselton and Stanislava Patterson also won heat races to make the finals.
The Southwest Washington Fair began on Tuesday and runs through Sunday at the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds. Learn more about events and activities at the fair at https://southwestwashingtonfair.org/.
