A fab fifth for Streeper

"It means everything to me," said Streeper, of Fort Nelson, British Columbia, as he fed his winning team treats. "This is our world championships."

With a three-day time of 4 hours, 35 minutes and 49 seconds, Streeper finished about 90 seconds ahead of Salcha's Arleigh Reynolds (4:37:18). Jason Dunlap, also of Salcha, was third in 4:42:55.

Streeper is the first to win four consecutive Fur Rondy titles. His five total championships -- he won his first title in 2004 -- trail only race legends Roland Lombard (eight titles) and George Attla (10).

"I was kind of deadlocked with some others at four. Now I've put myself in a situation where I'm only behind Lombard and Attla," said Streeper, 28, who is taking aim at the record. "As long we stay happy and healthy, I'll certainly try to get there."

Entering the final day of competition with a 33-second lead over Reynolds, Streeper opted to run 16 dogs while Reynolds chose his 10 fastest and healthiest animals.

"I want as many happy, healthy dogs as I can," said Streeper, who was one of two mushers to run 20 dogs on Friday. "I know many take their 10 best, but if I can have my top 16 I feel pretty good, and if I do have problems, I still have enough power."

Reynolds ended up racing with 10, dropping a handful of dogs that were worn out after two 25-mile dashes through Anchorage. Each day, Reynolds ran at least four fewer dogs than Streeper (16 vs. 20 on Day 1, 14 vs. 18 on Day 2 and 10 vs. 16 on Day 3).

"I didn't want to carry anybody," said Reynolds of the fact that mushers must stop and zip up dropped dogs in their sled bags. "My 10 dogs ran really good. They gave me everything they had. I have no complaints."

The winning team was led by half-sisters 4-year-old Heidi and 3-year-old Oats. Troja, a first-day leader who was replaced for the second and third runs, also has the same mother. All three were birthed by Mimi, who wasn't part of this year's team.

The Streeper kennel, run jointly by Blayne and his father Terry with the help of the rest of the family, showed its depth Sunday when four-time Iditarod champion Jeff King ran the kennel's B team to a fourth-place finish.

The first two days of racing saw Reynolds reach the early checkpoints quicker than Streeper, but each time Streeper eliminated the deficit with strong finishes.

Sunday followed the same script. Reynolds had a 44-second lead on Streeper through the first two checkpoints -- giving him the overall race lead by 12 seconds -- but Streeper steadily cut into the lead in the middle of the race and won by 89 seconds.

"It went just as planned," Streeper said. "We went out at a slower place and they found their rhythm early. Right away the team was strong and it seemed to keep getting stronger and stronger. The dogs still had a lot of gas left in the tank."

Despite finishing second, Reynolds hopes to slow down Streeper's chase of the all-time leaders.

"I have a world of respect for him, but they are beatable," Reynolds said. "At some point we will get him."

As he drove his team up the Cordova hill on his way to the finish line Sunday, Streeper got more good news. A fan yelled to him that Canada had defeated the United States in overtime in the Olympic gold-medal hockey game.

It was a good day for Canada -- on the ice and on the snow.

Find Richard Larson online at adn.com/contact/rlarson or call 257-4335.