Mushing Radio: Jr. Iditarod recap

Join hosts Robert Forto and Toni Reitter as they re-cap the Jr. Iditarod

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Seavey wins Jr. Iditarod after moose attack

Conway Seavey at the finish of the JrT in January.
Seavey just won his first Junior Iditarod title.

Conway Seavey can breathe easy now that the monkey of last year is off his back. Last year Seavey lost what many believed would be his first Jr. Iditarod win when he and another prominent Jr. Musher took the wrong trail just miles from the finish line. This year, Seavey came charging into the Willow Lake finish line with Ben Lyons on his heels in what is being called one of the closest finishes in history of the race.

It almost didn't happen, however, as both Seavey and Lyons - who were nearly neck and neck for the entire race - had a run in with a moose while on the trail this afternoon. Seavey's brother shared the information over facebook, making sure to share that they were shaken up but that teams and mushers were ok. There was concern that Seavey may be disqualified for his contacting his family and not the race marshal - Seavey wanted to let race officials know that the moose was still on the trail and to warn other teams. Mushers are to report to the race officials first, however Seavey reportedly tried to contact officials but no one answered his calls, so he called his father to try to get in touch that way.

Lyons was just twenty feet behind Seavey when the boys crossed the finishline. Lyons also runs with a team of Seavey dogs.

Junior Iditarod begins tomorrow!

Saturday's race boasts 11 junior mushers on the roster, including three veterans. Last year's surprise winner, Jesse Klejka, is back but will face some fierce competition from Conway Seavey who has some unfinished business after last year's mistake cost him a possible win. Seavey took a wrong turn with another musher last year and ended up coming in farther back in the standings than he was supposed to. Conway's bio on the Jr. Iditarod website about his goal for this year proves he's not taking this race lightly, "This year, if nothing else, I plan to finish the Race without getting lost so the jokers in my family will give me some peace!"
The boys better look out, however, because the other veteran in the mix is Jenny Gregor a musher out of Montana. Jenny came in fifth last year as a rookie, and won rookie of the year. By the looks of things she is a seasoned competitor, and could pose to be quite a challenge this year.

Here's hoping everyone has a great race this weekend! Be sure to follow along on iditarod.com, the GPS tracker is free to all for the Junior Race!

Good luck Peninsula Mushers! Ben Lyons (l), Conway Seavey (r),
and Mattie Cobb (not pictured)!! Bring home a win!