Sports

Bethel fans may be happy that the Kuskokwim 300 sled-dog races are going forward as scheduled, but it’s also good news for mushers, who have been feeling the economic pinch in the wake of COVID-19. Race Manager Paul Basile said that the race purse could help. 

Mushing is still on for the Y-K Delta. On Sept. 11, the Kuskokwim 300 Race Committee announced that the K300, Bogus Creek 150, and Akiak Dash, along with the usual five local races, are all on the schedule for this winter. But there will be some changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

High schoolers Hayden Lieb of Bethel and Aedyn Concepcion of Anchorage are the first wrestlers to win the award.

Bethel’s Hayden Lieb continues to rack up wrestling honors. He is one of 96 wrestlers around the nation chosen to be a 2020 High School All-American, and the first Bethel wrestler to earn that recognition. 

A Bethel wrestler is one of three male finalists for the boys' side of the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame 2020 Pride of Alaska award, and the only athlete from rural Alaska to make the cut.

Bethel’s Jessica Klejka became the 22nd musher to cross the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race finish line in Nome on Thursday, March 19.

At a few minutes before 1 p.m. on March 18, Bethel’s Pete Kaiser crossed the finish line in Nome with nine dogs in harness. His was the 14th team to complete the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race this year.

Thomas Waerner left White Mountain at 1:35 p.m. on March 17, and is well on his way down the trail to Nome. He has all but won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race because his nearest challenger, Mitch Seavey, mushed into the White Mountain checkpoint at 10:49 a.m. Seavey has a mandatory eight-hour layover, and will have to wait until 6:49 p.m. before he can head out on the 77 miles of trail leading to the finish line in Nome.