Crossing the finish line in Bethel at 11:42 this morning, 22-year old Rohn Buser is the 2012 Kuskokwim 300 champion. Rohn Buser, son of Iditarod legend Martin Buser, won the race with a team of 10 dogs. Marking his third attempt at the K300, the young Buser said he knew he had control of the race fairly early on. “I felt pretty good at the the six hour [layover] at Kalskag,” he said at the finish, adding that his “dogs were just doing their thing and kept it up the whole way.”
Coming in second place was Kotzebue’s John Baker, the 2011 Iditarod champion and 2010 K300 winner. Baker finished at 12:13pm with his team of 12 dogs. Third place went to Kasilof musher Paul Gebhardt, last year’s K300 champ, who crossed the finish line at 12:29pm with his team of 10 dogs.
Stay tuned for more updates from the K300 as more mushers make their way into Bethel.
