Biography
Melissa, 17, finished first in her second Jr. Iditarod. She says her she has been mushing all her life and started because her dad has always had dogs around. She raises and trains her own dogs and loves it. Melissa says, “I have a kennel of about 30 dogs and have raised most of them from puppies. I am planning on runnng Iditarod next year. This will be my last Jr. Iditarod.” Her mom and dad help when they run two teams. Melissa attends the IDEA Distance Ed program with the Galena School District. She says other than mushing, she enjoys photography, gymnastics and hiking with the team. She plans to run Iditarod once before she begins college and says “positively, yes,” she will continue mushing.
Sponsors
Bernie & Jeanette Willis | Michelle Mucha |
2004 Standings
| Checkpoint | Time In | Dogs In | Time Out | Dogs Out | Rest Time | Previous | Layover | Status | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enroute Time | Speed (mph) | 10hr | ||||||||
| Su Landing - Start | 02/28/2004 10:00:00 | 10 | 02/28/2004 10:26:00 | 10 | 0h 26m | 0 | ||||
| Deshka River Lodge - Out | 02/28/2004 12:22:00 | 10 | 02/28/2004 12:22:00 | 10 | 0h 0m | 1h 56m | 11.38 | 22 | ||
| Big Susitna River - Out | 02/28/2004 14:40:00 | 10 | 02/28/2004 14:40:00 | 10 | 0h 0m | 2h 18m | 8.70 | 20 | ||
| Eagle Song Trail Lake - Out | 02/28/2004 16:45:00 | 10 | 02/28/2004 16:45:00 | 9 | 0h 0m | 2h 5m | 6.72 | 14 | ||
| Yentna Station Roadhouse | 02/28/2004 18:50:00 | 9 | 02/29/2004 05:03:00 | 9 | 10h 13m | 2h 5m | 7.20 | 15 | ||
| Eagle Song Trail Lake - In | 02/29/2004 06:47:00 | 9 | 02/29/2004 06:47:00 | 9 | 0h 0m | 1h 44m | 8.65 | 15 | ||
| Big Susitna River - In | 02/29/2004 08:29:00 | 9 | 02/29/2004 08:29:00 | 9 | 0h 0m | 1h 42m | 8.24 | 14 | ||
| Deshka River Lodge - In | 02/29/2004 11:01:00 | 9 | 02/29/2004 11:01:00 | 8 | 0h 0m | 2h 32m | 7.89 | 20 | ||
| Su Landing - Finish | 02/29/2004 13:55:38 | 8 | 2h 54m | 7.59 | 22 | |||||