30 seconds separate top mushers in Northern Lights 300

WASILLA — Less than a minute separated the top two teams, but it was enough to give Ryan Redington a win.

Redington hit the finish line at Martin Buser’s Happy Trail Kennels near Big Lake Sunday at 9:30 a.m. to win the Northern Lights 300 sled dog race. Runner-up Rick Casillo also arrived at 9:30 a.m., about Redington edged Casillo by a mere 30 seconds to win the title. Sebastien Vergnaud finished seven minutes late to take third.

Nearly two hours separated the top three with the next pack of mushers. Justin Savidis finished at 11:40 a.m. to place fourth. The next four mushers finished within the noon hour.

Thirty mushers finished the course that took teams from the Happy Trails Kennels to Yentna Station, to Finger Lake and to the Talvista Lodge, and back through Finger Lake and Yentna to the finish at Happy Trails. Mushers took a mandatory six-hour layover at their outbound stop at Yentna, and an additional 12 hours of combined layover time at the additional checkpoints.

Northern Lights 300

Final standings (Into Big Lake)

1. R. Redington, Sunday 9:30 a.m. 2. Rick Casillo, 9:30 a.m.; 3. S. Vergnaud, 9:37 a.m.; 4. J. Savidis, 11:40 a.m.; 5. J. Bailey, 12:05 p.m.; 6. C. Bejna, 12:27 p.m.; 7. J. Ulsom, 12:38 p.m.; 8. M. Troyshenski, 12:40 p.m.; 9. K. Hendrickson, 1:51 p.m.; 10. S. Stokey, 2:09 p.m.; 11. J. Lanier, 2:44 p.m.; 12. M. Porslid, 3:11 p.m.; 13. J. Stielstra, 3:39 p.m.; 14. B. Moore, 3:50 p.m.; 15. W. Suchecki, 4:06 p.m.; 16. K. Berington, 4:28 p.m.; 17. A. Pohl, 4:45 p.m.; 18. M. Maxiner, 5:56 p.m.; 19. O. Balogh, 6:06 p.m.; 20. R. Lee, 6:37 p.m.; 21. T. Rosenbloom, 6:38 p.m.; 22. M. Baker, 7:01 p.m.; 23. J. Volek, 9:10 p.m.; 24. M. Failor, 9:15 p.m.; 25. T. Schaeffer, 9:26 p.m.; 26. E. Anderson, 9:39 p.m.; 27. M. Wiljes, 10:45 p.m.; 28. J. Carson, 11:43 p.m.; 29. M. Mapes, Monday, 12:47 a.m.; 30. T. Schonberger, 9:17 a.m.; Scratched: Adam Worsell (Yentna), Ellen Halverson (Finger Lake), Brendan Jackson (Talvista).