Husky News

Just like last year, Fairbanks musher Judy Currier opened an early lead in the $25,000 Tustumena 200 Sled Dog Race on Saturday.

Currier drove out of Rocky’s Straight In Lodge checkpoint, 70 miles into the race, holding a five-minute lead over Wasilla’s Ryan Redington.

Defending Iditarod and Yukon Quest champion Lance Mackey was 23 minutes behind Redington.

Jon Little of Kasilof, a former fourth-place Iditarod finisher, was the fourth musher out of Rocky’s. He was just six minutes behind Mackey.

The Tustumena’s large field was closely packed toward the front. Within an hour of Currier’s departure from Rocky’s, 16 others had left the previous checkpoint of Caribou Lake.

In addition to Mackey and Little, the chasers included:

• Sigrid Ekran, the young Norwegian musher whose 20th-place finish in last year’s Iditarod won her rookie of the year honors. She was the sixth to leave Rocky’s.

• Mitch Seavey of Soldotna, the former Iditarod champion who claimed the soggy Kuskokwim 300 last weekend in Bethel. He was the seventh musher out Rocky’s.

• Ken Anderson of Fairbanks, the defending Tustumena champion and seventh-place finisher in last year’s Iditarod. He was the 14th into Rocky’s.

The winner is expected this afternoon. That musher will earn $7,500.

Tustumena 200 Sled Dog Race

Standings as of 11 p.m., Saturday

Out of Rocky’s Straight In Lodge — 1. Judy Currier, 6:37 p.m.; 2. Ryan Redington, 6:42; 3. Lance Mackey, 7:05; 4. Jon Little, 7:11; 5. Bill Steyer, 7:15; 6. Sigrid Ekran, 7:22; 7. Mitch Seavey, 7:27; 8. Thomas Lesatz, 7:36; 9. Zoya DeNure, 7:41; 10. Anjanette Steer, 7:43; 11. Karin Hendrickson, 8:23; 12. Jerry Sousa, 8:46; 13. Bruce Linton, 9:07.

Into Rocky’s — 14) Ken Anderson, 7:33 p.m.; 15) Debbie Moderow, 7:50; 16) Robert Bundtzen, 8:20.

Out of Caribou Lake — 17) Dries Jacobs, 4:38 p.m.; 18) Jeff Hemann, 4:51; 19) Cliff Roberson, 5:05; 20) Colleen Robertia, 5:19; 21) Robert Hickel, 5:37; 22) Sam Deltour; 23) Joe Runyan, 7:36; 24) Rachael Scdoris, 7:36.

Source: The Anchorage Daily News