Winner follows in family’s path

WILLOW — Apparently, it runs in the family.

Cain Carter, stepson of two-time defending Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race champion Lance Mackey, won the 2009 Junior Iditarod on Sunday.

Following his team of nine dogs, Carter hit the finish line at the Willow Community Center at 12:33 p.m., nearly an hour ahead of second-place Travis Beals, of Seward.

Carter — a Lathrop High School junior who trains his dogs alongside his famous stepfather at Mackey’s Comeback Kennels outside of Fairbanks — arrived at Yentna Station, the halfway point of the race, at 7:17 p.m. on Saturday.

“Cain Carter did really well,” Junior Iditarod race director Michelle Mucha said.

Following the mandatory 10-hour layover in Yentna, Carter hit the trail again at 5:53 a.m. Sunday.

The 21 mushers who left the starting line on Saturday morning were greeted by heavy snowfall during the first day of the race.

“There was a lot of snow, definitely a lot more snow that some kids were used to,” Mucha said. “But they all did a great job.”

Eighteen mushers finished the 150-mile race, two others scratched and once was forced to withdraw at Burma Road.

While Carter had nearly an hour lead going into the finish, Beals edged third-place Anitra Winkler by just six minutes.

Beals, Winkler, fourth-place Rebekah Ruzticka, fifth-place Merissa Osmar and sixth-place Michael Owens were separated by 1 hour and 16 minutes.

Four Mat-Su Valley mushers finished the race. Wasilla’s Meredith Mapes was eighth, Talkeetna’s Charlie Allison finished 12th, Willow’s Garry McKellar placed 16th and Wasilla’s MacKenzie Davis finished 17th.

Carter won the Junior Iditarod title in the fourth run of the young musher’s career. Last season, he was second, finishing just two-tenths of a second behind champion Jessica Klejka, of Bethel. In 2007 he was 13th and he finished 14th during his Junior Iditarod rookie run in 2006.

Mushers in the Junior Iditarod field started on Knik Lake and passed through checkpoints at Burma Road, along the Susitna River and Eagle Song before arriving in Yentna. Following the layover, mushers headed through Eagle Song and down the Susitna River to the finish line in Willow.

2009 Junior Iditarod

Final results

Into finish (Sunday, Willow Lake):

1. Cain Carter 12:33 p.m., 2. Travis Beals 1:31 p.m., 3. Anitra Walker 1:37 p.m., 4. Rebekah Ruzicka 1:56 p.m., 5. Merissa Osmar 2:33 p.m., 6. Michael Owens 2:47 p.m., 7. Ava Lindner 3:03 p.m., 8. Meredith Mapes 3:14 p.m., 9. Charlotte Mathels 3:24 p.m., 10. Jeremiah Klejka 3:24 p.m., 11. Patrick Mackey 3:46 p.m., 12. Charlie Allison 3:54 p.m., 13. Shameka Nelson 3:57 p.m., 14. Lacey Hart 5:16 p.m., 15. Carole Keller 5:52 p.m., 16. Garry McKeller 6:38 p.m., 17. MacKenzie Davis 6:49 p.m., 18. Jeff Holt n/a.

Scratched:

Ilsa Schwarzburgh (Susitna River), Taylar Hold (Susitna River).

Withdrawn:

Kristen Crain (Burma Road).