Badalich holds off Tichotsky to become top dog at ASDRA Junior World Championships

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Arien Sanderson, 11, hooks up Bailey to the gangline before she won the 3-dog class during the Alaskan Sled Dog and Racing Association Junior World Championships at Tozier Track on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021. (Bill Roth / ADN)

Marilla Tichotsky came close but couldn’t quite catch Johanna Badalich in the final heat of the ASDRA Junior World Championships on the Tozier Track sled dog trails Sunday.

Badalich won the three-day sprint race by seven seconds. She and Tichotsky were the only drivers in the 7-dog classification, and they raced 8.2 miles each day.

Badalich opened up a big early lead by winning Friday’s heat by 46 seconds. She was the fastest on Saturday by 11 seconds, but Tichotsky made a challenge Sunday by making the run in 26 minutes, 19 seconds -- 50 seconds faster than Badalich.

Badalich won with a total time of 1 hour, 20 minutes, 14 seconds.

Mia Maruskie won the 5-dog class, Arien Sanderson won the 3-dog class and Leonie Tetzner won the 2-dog class. Tetzner set 2.3-mile track records each day, including a time of 6:48 on Sunday.