ELY- Matthew Schmidt and Brian Bergen were the top finishers in this year’s running of the WolfTrack Classic sled dog race held here on Sunday, bringing home cash prizes of $1,500 and $1,300 respectively for their efforts.
Schmidt completed the 44-mile eight-dog course in 4:08.04, while Bergen topped the field in the 30-mile six-dog course, hitting the finish line in 2:37.59.
The annual competition had to be canceled last year due to the lack of snow, but that wasn’t an issue this year, although the mushers would have preferred the colder temperatures of earlier in the week. But with partly cloudy skies and temperatures warming into the 30s, spectators had no reason to complain.
A total of 12 eight-dog teams started and finished the race, while the six-dog competition fielded 26 teams, only one of which dropped before the finish. Because of trail conditions, the eight-dog race route was modified to avoid the Cub Lake Trail and Bear Head Lake. The revised race route was 44 miles instead of the original 50-mile loop.
Racers competed for a 2025 purse totaling $9,000. In the eight-dog competition, Lauren Stukenborg won $1,100 for her second-place finish, while Kendra Anderson claimed $650 for third.
In the six-dog race, Eric Nyren took second, winning $900, while third-place finisher Mickey Knettel took home $550.