Like Father, Like Son!
The 25th running of the Jr. Iditarod belonged to Rohn Buser! Buser, who in January had finished fourth in the Kuskokwim 300, started out in 12th position and by the time the mushers reached the Big Su checkpoint, he had passed the others and was in first place, where he stayed for the rest of the race, finishing a little more than 30 minutes ahead of second place finisher, Megan Hedgecoke or Two Rivers. Buser won a $5,000 scholarship courtesy of retired executives from Wells Fargo, National Bank of Alaska and Norwest Banks. Buser, and as did the other mushers, took home an assortment of other prizes that had been donated by various local businesses. He led the Iditarod mushers out of Anchorage on March 4 and also received a trip to Nome to be recognized at the Awards’ Banquet. An interesting side note is that like the winner of the Iditarod, Rohn was also wearing the “lucky bib #13.” Rohn plans to run the Iditarod in 2008.
Hedgecoke, a rookie running her only Jr. Iditarod because she will be too old in 2008, and Jessica Klejka, Bethel veteran musher also running her last Jr. Iditarod, jockeyed back and forth between second and third place. Hedgecoke ended up finishing second as well as being the top rookie in this year’s race Hedgecoke received a $3,000 scholarship for finishing second and a $1,000 scholarship for being selected to receive the Humanitarian Award, presented each year by the Wasilla Veterinary Clinic to the musher chosen by the veterinary staff to have taken the best care of his or her dog team during the race. For that she received a hand crafted sculpture made by Sandra May of Trapper Creek. Hedgecoke’s lead dog, Imac, was also chosen by the other mushers to be the recipient of the Lolly Medley Blue Harness Award.
Klejka finished third, her best finish in three Jr. Iditarods. She received a $1,500 scholarship.
Melissa Owens, four time Jr. Iditarod finisher from Nome and 2005 Jr. Iditarod champion, and Ellen King, two time finisher from Denali, chased each other for fourth place, with Owens ending up finishing in fourth and King in fifth. Owens’ scholarship was $1,000 and King’s was $500. Owens will be competing with Buser for rookie honors in the 2008 Iditarod.
This year’s Jr. Iditarod saw a record number of 26 mushers starting the race, 16 of whom were rookies. In addition to Hedgecoke, five other rookies finished in the top 10: Ava Lindner, Two Rivers, Quinn Iten, Kotzebue, Gerald Outwater, Kotzebue, and Jesse DeLoach, Trapper Creek. Since four of this year’s 10 Jr. Iditarod veterans will be too old to run next year, these rookies from this year will be the top competitors for the next couple of years.
Quinn Iten was selected by his fellow mushers as the winner of the Sportsmanship Award and was presented with a $1,000 scholarship. The Red Lantern Award went to Chrystiene Salesky. Every musher received either a trophy or finishers’ plaque and assorted prizes donated by local merchants.
The Board of Directors chose pilot Joe Pendergrass as the honorary musher for the 2007 Race. Joe has been a pilot for the Jr. Iditarod more years than anyone can remember and was quite thrilled with being the honorary musher.
The 2007 Jr. Iditarod departed from tradition by electing to start and finish at different locations. The start was at Knik Lake and the mushers went through checkpoints at Burma Road, the Big Su, Eagle Song Lodge and on to the halfway point at the Yentna Station Roadhouse, the home of the Dan Gabryszak family. After a 10 hour layover at Yentna, the mushers went back to Eagle Song and then to a checkpoint at Scarry Tree and finished at Willow at the Willow Community Center, where the banquet was held following the finish.
The Jr. Iditarod Sled Dog Race is for young mushers from ages 14 through 17. For the most part, these mushers have come from Alaska, but over the years mushers have participated from Montana, Minnesota, Canada and Czechoslovakia. Entries for the 2008 Jr. Iditarod will be accepted on June 30 at the Iditarod volunteer picnic. The 2008 race rules and policy and the 2008 paperwork should be on the Jr. Iditarod website, http://www.jriditarod.com/, by the middle of May. Any questions may be directed to 907-376-5155, ext 103.
A complete list of 2008 mushers and finish times follows:
1. Rohn Buser 08:26:07 – 10
2. Megan Hedgecoke (r) 09:03:15 – 10
3. Jessica Klejka 09:08:27 – 9
4. Melissa Owens 09:09:58 – 9
5. Ellen King 09:44:35 – 9
6. Ava Lindner (r) 10:02:14 – 9
7. Quinn Iten (r) 10:06:41 – 9
8. Michael Owens (r) 11:05:53 – 9
9. Gerald Outwater (r) 11:06:22 – 9
10. Jesse DeLoach (r) 11:09:56 – 10
11. Michael Miller 11:19:21 – 9
12. Patrick Mackey (r) 11:27:48 – 10
13. Cain Carter 11:27:58 – 10
14. Jeff Holt (r) 11:45:34 – 9
15. Charlie Allison 12:24:09 – 9
16. Garry McKeller 12:39:36 – 9
17. Daniel Osmar (r) 12:39:54 – 8
18. MacKenzie Davis 13:20:13 – 9
19. Amanda Olson 14:49:33 – 8
20. Matthew Durden (r) 15:16:05 – 10
21. Rebekah Ruzicka (r) 15:42:52 – 9
22. Chrystiene Salesky (r) 17:44:00 – 9
Scratched: Kristin Cain (r), Ilsa Schwarzburg (r), David May (r) and Wade Marrs (r)