A northern Wisconsin teen has finished second in the Junior Iditarod race held this past weekend in Alaska.
The roughly 150-mile race for teens 14 to 17 years old took place Feb. 24-25 just north of Anchorage.
Seventeen-year-old Morgan Martens of Brule placed second in what was his last Junior Iditarod. He came in 29 minutes behind 16-year-old Emily Robinson of Alaska. He finished the race in 12 hours, 23 minutes and 34 seconds.
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Martens was among 21 teens who competed in the 47th annual race.
Martens has secured a top-three finish in the race over the last several years. In 2021, he won the championship during his first-ever Junior Iditarod.
He and his sister Talia run 20 Alaskan huskies as part of Martens Mushing kennel in Brule.
Martens was mentored by Ryan Redington who won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race last year. Redington’s grandfather co-founded the 1,000-mile race in 1973.
The northern Wisconsin teen plans to get a business degree at a college close to home so that he can continue mushing, according to the race’s website.
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