Klejka places fourth in Junior IditarodPublished on March 4th, 2010 By VAN WILLIAMS
A second time turned out to be the charm for Bethel's Jeremiah Klejka in the Junior Iditarod. One year after finishing ninth as a rookie, the 16-year-old improved his position five spots this year after finishing fourth in a field of 13 mushers. Klejka pulled his 10-dog team into final checkpoint in Willow at 12:42 Sunday afternoon, just 16 minutes out of third place. The Junior Iditarod is a 150-mile race from Willow to Yentna Station and back. Third-generation musher Merissa Osmar of Nikiski won the title after crossing the finish line at 12:01 p.m. She is the daughter of former Junior Iditarod winner Tim Osmar and the granddaughter of 1984 Iditarod champion Dean Osmar. The Junior Iditarod is one of Alaska's oldest sled dog races, dating back to 1978. Klejka's older sister, Jessica, won the race in 2008. Now little brother is carrying on the family tradition. He's proving to be a quick study, shaving 65 minutes off last year's time. Klejka is a ninth-grade student at Bethel Regional High School, where he runs cross-country and participates in student government and the drama club. He plans to go to college after graduation. His mother works for Dr. Bob Sept, who the family said is a big supporter of their love for dogs. The entire Klejka family has volunteered at the Kuskokwim 300 in Bethel. Klejka was the only Y-K Delta musher in this year's Junior Iditarod. Van Williams can be reached at vwilliams@alaskanewspapers.com , or by phone at 907-348-2452 or 800-700-9830, ext. 452 |
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The Tundra Drums is a publication of Alaska Newspapers, Inc. This article is © 2010 and limited reproduction rights for personal use are granted for this printing only. This article, in any form, may not be further reproduced without written permission of the publisher and owner, including duplication for not-for-profit purposes. Portions of this article may belong to other agencies; those sections are reproduced here with permission and Alaska Newspapers, Inc. makes no provisions for further distribution.