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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2013
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OUTDOORS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mitch Seavey holds one of his lead dogs, Taurus, as he poses for photographers at the finish line of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race in Nome, Alaska, Tuesday, March 12, 2013. Seavey became the oldest winner and a two-time Iditarod champion.
53-year-old is oldest winner of Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NOME, Alaska — A 53-year-old former champion won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race to become the oldest winner of Alaska's grueling test of endurance.
Mitch Seavey and 10 dogs crossed the Nome finish line to cheering crowds at 10:39 p.m. Alaska time Tuesday.
"This is for all of the gentlemen of a certain age," he said on a live stream posted to the iditarod website after completing the race in temperatures just above zero. His race time in the 1,000-mile race was nine days, 7 hours and 39 minutes.
"You did a good job," Seavey told Zirkle as a camera crew filmed them. "You're going to win this thing, probably more than once."
Seavey's victory came after dueling sprint against Ally Zirkle, last year's runner up, along the frozen, wind-whipped Bering Sea coast. Zirkle crossed the finish line 24 minutes after her rival, who later greeted her.
At a news conference after the race, Zirkle gave credit to her rival's strategy.
"Mitch has this ability to sit on the sidelines and refuel because he knows he needs to refuel, while everyone else is zooming by," she said. "It's smart, and that's probably why you won."
For reaching Nome first, Seavey wins $50,400 and a 2013 pickup truck. The rest of the $600,000 purse will be split among the next 29 mushers to cross the finish line under the famed burled arch on Front Street, a block from the sea.
At the finish, both mushers rushed to pet their dogs, with Seavey singling out his main leader, 6-year-old Tanner. He posed for photos with the dog and another leader, Taurus, wearing yellow garlands.
Zirkle's dogs wagged their tails as she praised them.
"My dog team is my heart," she said.
The pair jostled for the lead, with Zirkle never more than a few miles behind in the final stretch.
"I just now stopped looking over my shoulder," Seavey said after crossing the finish line.
"I just never stopped looking over my shoulder"
MITCH SEAVEY
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race winner
Also trailing by a dozen or so miles was four-time champion Jeff King, who was followed by a cluster of contenders, including Seavey's son, Dallas. Last year at age 25, he became the youngest Iditarod winner, beating Zirkle to the finish line by one hour.
Mitch Seavey first won the Iditarod in 2004. Before Seavey's win on Tuesday, King had been the oldest Iditarod champion, winning his fourth race at 50 in 2006.
The oldies were still stellar performers in a race that ended last year with a top field featuring many
"Last year, we saw a lot of those youngsters in the top 10," McLarnon said. "Some of those 45-plussers are taking back the lead this year. They are showing the young 'uns what they can really do out there on that trail."
finishers in their 30s, said Iditarod race spokeswoman Erin McLarnon.
Zirkle, 43, had hoped to be only the third woman to win the race and the first since Susan Butcher won her fourth Iditarod in 1990. Before this year's race, Zirkle noted the long time since a woman won.
"This is my 13th year, and I've wanted to win every year," she said before the race, which began March 2 with 66 teams at a ceremonial start in Anchorage.
The competitive part of the race began the following day in Willow 50 miles to the north. Then the race changed leaders several times. Those at the front of the field included four-time champions Lance Mackey and Martin Buser, who later fell behind.
En route to Nome, the race turned into an aggressively contested run among veterans along an often punishing trail.
Conditions on the Yukon River required dogs to go through deep snow and navigate glare ice. Above-freezing temperatures also led to overflow along the trail, a potentially dangerous situation where water has pushed up through the ice and refrozen, creating a weak top layer of ice that teams and mushers can break through.
Jayhawks prepare for Ridge Cardinal Invite this weekend in Tenn.
ROWING
will compete in two varsity eight races, three varsity four races, a novice eight race and a novice four race.
The Kansas rowing team will compete at the Oak. Kansas is joining host team Louisville with 10 others for the Ridge Cardinal Invite in Oak Ridge, Tenn., this weekend on March 16 and 1/
The event is split into three sessions: Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. Most races will feature three boats. Saturday morning, Kansas faces Notre Dame and Duke starting at 11:04 a.m. The team
in single races.
Kansas competes against Buffalo and Alabama on Saturday afternoon. The team will then compete in the same races as it did in the morning, except there will be two novice eight races and only two varsity four races.
The Oak Ridge Cardinal Invite starts Saturday on Melton Lake in Oak Ridge. The other teams competing are Alabama, Buffalo, Dayton, Duke, Eastern Michigan, Georgetown, Louisville, Miami, Notre Dame, Virginia and West Virginia.
The team will stay in Oak Ridge to train over spring break. The Conference USA championship, which Kansas will compete in later this year, will also be held in Oak Ridge.
The Jayhawks conclude the regatta Sunday morning against Eastern Michigan and Dayton. The team will send out two varsity eight boats, a varsity four boat and a novice eight boat. Throughout the weekend, the team will also send out various boats to compete
Stella Liang
DIVING
Kansas senior qualifies for finals at Zone D Diving Championship
Senior Christy Cash earned 12th place in the platform event at the Zone D Diving Championship to finish her diving career as a Jayhawk. The top 12 divers out of the 31 who competed in the five-dive preliminary rounds qualified for the finals. Cash earned the last
points. Cash advanced with a total of 232.30 points.
In the finals, Cash was in ninth place after her second dive, before eventually settling into 12th place. Cash scored 442.10 points in total.
qualification spot with her 12th place standing.
Stella Liang
Junior Alyssa Golden and freshman Meredith Brownell finished in 28th place and 30th place respectively in the preliminary rounds.
With three divers left in the fifth round of the preliminaries, Cash stood in 12th place. The only diver left with a chance to knock Cash out of a qualifying position was University of Houston senior Julia Lonnereg. Lonnereg stood in 13th place and needed at least 47.95 points in her last dive to overtake Cash, but came up short with 45.9