Sports

The Anchorage School District has canceled the regional basketball tournaments due to concerns about the coronavirus. District Spokesperson Lisa Miller said that all of the gyms in the Anchorage School District are closed for the next week as well.

It was late afternoon on March 12 when the second wave of sled dog teams started coming into the Iditarod’s halfway point in Cripple. Leading those coming in was Thomas Waerner. The seven teams who were already at the checkpoint taking their mandatory 24-hour break can do nothing but watch as those mushers who have already completed the required rest mush on towards Ruby and the Yukon River. 

The Kalskag Grizzlies are heading to state after beating the Akiak Thunderbolts 75-66 during the Greater Kuskokwim Conference basketball tournament. Meanwhile, the Akiachak Lady Huskies beat the Akiak Lady Thunderbolts 76-22 to clinch a spot at state as well. It’s the first time that either team has made it to state since 2009.

However, state championships for high school basketball will be postponed until further notice due to concerns over the coronavirus.

There are seven sled dog teams at the Cripple checkpoint, which is the halfway point of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. None have completed their mandatory 24-layover yet. 

There are 18 teams on the way from Ophir to Cripple, all of whom have completed their 24-hour rest. Some are camped out on the trail and resting, including Pete Kaiser from Bethel. Richie Diehl from Aniak is still on the move, though. His dogs have been running fast and well.

There are a half-dozen sled dog teams at the Cripple checkpoint, which is the halfway point of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Brent Sass was the first musher into the checkpoint last night, picking up the halfway prize. He and the other teams taking their 24-hour rest in Cripple will now have to watch as the mushers who have completed their 24-hour rest periods begin passing through later this morning.

Six teams are making their way to the Cripple checkpoint on the Iditarod Trail. Cripple is the halfway mark in the race, and the musher who arrives there first gets $3,000 in gold nuggets as a prize. So far, Brent Sass is in the lead.

As the mushers in this group try to get farther ahead before taking their required 24-hour layovers, most of the front-runners are already taking their required rest. Two are in Ophir, but most are resting in Takotna, with Pete Kaiser among them.