Finish Line Fun at the Copper Basin 300

Brent Sass receiving his trophy shortly after winning the 2022 Copper Basin 300 race. Photo by Mackenzie Dysinger. 

By Bella Ranck and Mackenzie Dysinger

The parking lot of Old Paths Church was full on Monday afternoon as spectators came to watch Brent Sass and his team cross the finish line. A pile of kids played king of the hill on a fresh snow mound while adults continued to refresh their phones following Brent’s tracker.  

Old Paths Church doubled as race central for the Copper Basin 300. Hosting the race is no easy task, and despite the small number of teams who finished, plenty of work is put into providing food and rest for the exhausted mushers. 

Emma Hoffmeister, who has lived in Alaska for 6 years now, has volunteered at the Copper Basin 300 finish for 3 years along with other members of Old Paths Baptist Church. Some of her many tasks included retrieving trackers and noting times, the number of dogs, and bib numbers. Knowing the first mushers would arrive in the early to late afternoon, Emma was at the church around 10 am on Monday and stayed for another 24 hours. 

At the finish line, there can be plenty of downtime for volunteers while waiting on the dog teams. Many volunteers use this time to hang out, talk, play games, sleep, or watch the progress of mushers via trackers. While this can be fun, Emma mentioned that volunteering can often become tedious as the hours lengthen. Volunteers stay overnight at the church and they often end up sleeping on the floor. The good food, the fun memories, and knowing she is a part of helping others achieve their dreams make up for the difficult part of volunteering. 

As Brent Sass and his dogs came into view, spectators crowded the finish line, and even the kids paused their fierce snowball fight to cheer Brent on. The dog team crossed with ease and Brent immediately hopped off his sled to love on each of his dogs before accepting the winner’s trophy. Behind Brent in second place was Joar Ulsom, followed by Matt Hall.  

This year the Vet’s Choice award went to Misha Wiljes while the Rookie of the Year was given to Dylan Robins who placed seventh overall. The red lantern went to Giordano Tarara and his team of Siberian huskies who finished on Tuesday evening. Videos and photos of this year’s event can be found on the Copper Basin 300 Facebook page.