by Greg Lincoln
The 44th Annual Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race begins Friday, January 27th 2023 at 6:30 pm on the river in front of Bethel. Mushers will travel up the Kuskokwim River to Aniak, Alaska and back. Below are the racers in order of registration (as of 1/22/23). We wish you all the best race and good luck!
2023 Kuskokwim 300 Mushers
Josh McNeal, age 28, of Ester, Alaska was the first musher to sign up for the 2023 Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race, registration opened on October 3rd, 2022. Josh and his wife Jobie have 28 dogs in their Crooked Creek Kennel. McNeal raced the Iditarod Gold Loop Trail in 2021 and completed the race in 28th place. He also ran the Kobuk 440 in 2019 where he finished in ninth position. This is his first K300 race.
Matthew Failor, age 40, is the 2019 Kuskokwim 300 Champion. He currently holds the fastest elapsed time record for a K300 win. In 2020 and 2022 he finished in the runners up spot and back in 2011 he was awarded the Rookie of the Year honors. He also was awarded the K300 Humanitarian Award for Best Dog Care in 2018. Matt is a 10 time Iditarod finisher and a Yukon Quest veteran. He and his wife Liz own 17th-Dog Kennel in Willow, Alaska. This will be his seventh run in the K300.
Richie Diehl, age 37, hails from Aniak, AK. He has 45 dogs in his Real Diehl Racing Kennel. Richie is the 2021 K300 and Bogus Creek 150 champion. He has finished the K300 twelve times and is a past Humanitarian Award winner (2011) and Best in the West award winner (2012, 2016). He finished the Iditarod nine times with three top ten finishes (2018, 2021, 2022).
Pete Kaiser, age 35, of Bethel will be going for his seventh K300 win. He won the K300 crown in 2015-2018, and 2020 and 2021. He has won the Best in the West awards in 2009, 2013, 2014, 2020, and 2022. He is a K300 Sportsmanship (2010) and Humanitarian (2016) Award winner and Rookie of the Year recipient (2009). Pete is also the 2019 Iditarod Race Champion. He has 35 dogs in his Kaiser Racing Kennel. This is his 15th year running the K300.
Lev Shvarts, age 43, of Willow, Alaska will be racing in his second K300 with his Team Ollie Kennel, he has 24 dogs. He finished in 13th place last year. He is also an Iditarod veteran with five finishes. Lev has been mushing for 20 years.
Jeffrey Deeter, age 34, hails from the Interior city of Fairbanks, AK. He has 34 dogs in his Black Spruce Dog Sledding Kennel where he has a dog sledding tour business. He is a five-time Iditarod finisher, his top finish was 12th in 2021. This is his first time racing in the K300.
Eddie Burke Jr., age 33, is from Anchorage, AK. Eddie trains with the Alaskan Wildstyle Racing Kennel in Nenana. He started racing dogs in 2021. He finished 3rd in the 2022 Kobuk 440 and the 200-mile Ididn’trod in 2021. Eddie is also the 2023 Knik 200 champion which took place Jan. 7-8. He will be racing in his second K300 this weekend.
Isaac Underwood, age 42, is from Aniak, AK. He has 32 dogs in his Family’s Underwood Kennels. Isaac has been mushing for twenty years. He’s competed in local races including the Akiak Dash, the Bogus Creek 150, and the K300. Isaac is a seven-time K300 finisher, his top finish was 5th in 2021.
Jessica Klejka, age 32, was born and raised in Bethel. She has 24 dogs in her Tailwind Kennel in Knik, AK. She raced her team to an eight place finish in the 2021 K300 and was also awarded the Humanitarian Award. She raced in the Iditarod as a rookie in 2019. In 2020 she raced again placing 21st. She is a Bogus Creek 150 veteran, her top finish was fifth in 2010. Jessica is also an Akiak Dash finisher (2005). Jessica is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine since 2016. She has her own practice, Knik Veterinary Clinic.
Reese Madden, age 37, is from Nome, Alaska. He has 16 dogs in his Amagupiaq Kennel. In 2021 Reece mushed in the K300 as a rookie. He also competed in the Kobuk 440, also in 2021.
John Snyder, age 37, is from Akiachak, Alaska. He has competed in many of the local races with his Snyder’s Kennel, he has 24 dogs. He ran the Bogus Creek 150 in 2021 and 2022. In 2022 he finished the K300 as a rookie. This will be his second K300 race.
Will Rhodes, age 44, is from Two Rivers, AK. He has 44 dogs in his Mackey’s Alaskan Distance Dogs Kennel with his wife Brenda Mackey and daughter Isabelle. His racing experience goes back to 2013. This will be his third K300 race. He finished in tenth in 2019 and 2020.
Brent Sass, age 42, of Eureka, AK will be running his fifth K300 with his Wild and Free Mushing team. His kennel has 60 dogs. He is a three-time Yukon Quest champion (2015, 2019, and 2020), the 2022 Iditarod Champion, and the 2022 Copper Basin 300 winner. He has finished in the runners-up spot twice in the K300 (2016 and 2017).
Cim Smyth, age 46, races out of Big Lake, AK with his Perseverance Springs Farm Kennel. Cim is a 4 time Klondike 300 champion, a 4 time Tustumena 200 champion, and a Kobuk 440 champion. He’s competed in the K300 many times with a top finish of 3rd place in 2014. He has been mushing for 40 years. He finished in sixth position in 2022.
Dave Turner, age 51, of Fairbanks is a two-time finisher of the K300. His best finish was 8th in 2020. He is winner of the 2020 Yukon Quest 300, the 2021 Two Rivers 200. He also competed in the 2022 Fur Rondy where he finished in 13th place, and the 2022 Open North American finishing in 15th position. Dave has 46 dogs in his Racing Chaos Kennel. This is his third K300 race.
Paige Drobny, age 47, of Cantwell, AK will be competing again in the K300. She has 40 dogs in her Squid Acres Kennel. In 2020, she ran the K300 and placed 14th. Paige is a two-time 7th place finisher in the Iditarod, for 2019 and 2020. She has finished the Iditarod eight times. She also placed 4th in the Yukon Quest. Her racing history goes back to 2009, this will be her second K300 race.
Jason Pavila, age 19, of Kwethluk, will be racing in his second K300. In 2022 he received the Rookie of the Year Award. He was also the fastest musher to Kalskag. Jason won the Bogus Creek 150 race in 2019 when he was only 15 years old on his first attempt. Jason also placed 4th in the Akiak Dash in 2018. He mushes with his family’s Bad River Kennel team.
Twyla Elhardt, age 31, will be racing her team from the 17-dog Old Friendly Dog Farm of Bethel. She is a Bogus Creek 150 veteran, finishing in 10th position last year. Twyla will be racing her first K300 this weekend, she is also a nurse at the hospital and one of three ladies mushing in the K300 this year.
Jacob Witkop, age 33, has 83 dogs in his Happy Feet Kennel in Salcha, AK. He has raced in the Copper Basin 300 in 2021 and 2022 placing 5th both years. He also competed in the Limited North American, the Yukon Quest 300, the Willow 300, the Two Rivers 200, and the Willow 150. This will be the first time he is racing in the K300.
Jackie Larson, age 52, races from Napaskiak, home of his family’s 13 dog Jackie’s Racing Kennel. He finished the K300 four times (2009, 2010, 2011, and 2017). Jackie is the 2007 and 2015 Bogus Creek 150 champion and the winner of the 2021 and 2022 Akiak Dash.
Nicolas Petit of Girdwood, Travis Beals of Seward, and Sarah Stokey also of Seward have withdrawn from the race.
