Alaska News

Chezik's blazing 2nd run gives him victory in ExxonMobil Open

A blazing run in the second heat carried Ken Chezik to victory Sunday in the 40th running of the ExxonMobil Open sled dog race at Tozier Track.

Chezik, who was tied for second place after Saturday's first heat, covered the 16.8-mile course in 55 minutes, 45 seconds. It was the fastest run over two days and it gave him a two-day total time of 1:52:48.

Chezik raced a team of 10 dogs, two fewer than Saturday.

Egil Ellis, who was deadlocked with Chezik going into Sunday's competition, clocked 56:20 for a two-run total of 1:53:22. He drove a team of 12 dogs.

Jason Dunlap, the leader on Saturday, had Sunday's fourth-fastest time, 55:57 with just eight dogs in harness. He finished third overall, five second behind Ellis.

In other races, Dawn Brown took the 8-dog victory, Jennifer Sterling topped the 6-dog class and Beverly Stevens set the pace in the 4-dog class.

Open-class mushers were racing for a purse of $24,000 in the Alaskan Sled Dog & Racing Association event.

Anchorage

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