Wehseler wins Beargrease 120 for second time

FINLAND — Crowds cheered as Rita Wehseler broke through the Beargrease 120 finish line Sunday at 9:51 p.m., winning the Beargrease 120 for the

second time.

Wehseler finished the 78-mile half-marathon at the Trestle Inn in 10 hours, 21 minutes.

“I’m so proud of you two,” Wehseler joyously said to her two lead dogs, Ski and Boo, after crossing the finish line.

Fifteen mushers competed in the 120, which started in

Two Harbors on Sunday

at about 11:35 a.m. Wehseler left the chute at 12:18 p.m.

This marks the third championship race for her two lead mixed-breed husky sisters Ski and Boo.

“To take the same dogs and win three championships, it’s not me,” she said. “I have an incredible group of dogs that I’m extremely proud of.”

Overall, the performance of the team of eight dogs exceeded Wehseler’s expectations. However, out of fear of causing a long-term injury to one of her dogs’ shoulders, she had to pull a one-year-old dog that slipped, reducing her team to seven.

“So to see those dogs shine, that’s what we do it for,” she said.

Because of the warmer March weather, Wehseler described parts of the trail as “spring mushing” with bare spots and plenty of ice, but largely still good.

Wehseler narrowly edged

2023 winner Joanna Oberg,

who trailed Wehseler to the finish line by just seven minutes.

Oberg, a close friend of Wehseler, ran Wehseler’s B-team from Stoney Creek Kennel, which Wehseler has been operating for 28 years.

After winning the 120 in 2023, Oberg had to sell her dogs because her father was aging and she no longer had the support to care for them.

“It’s fun to run a good team, and it’s really helped with healing from my own heart, with having to let go of my own dogs,” she said.

For Wehseler, seeing two of her teams from the same kennel take first and second place will be one of her defining moments of Beargrease 2025.

“To come here and finish one and two. I mean that’s like the most you can ask for as a kennel owner,”  Wehseler said.

This story was updated at 12:20 a.m. on March 3 with comments from the winner and runner-up. It was originally posted at 10:18 p.m. on March 2.

Macklin Caruso is a reporter for the Cloquet Pine Journal. You can reach him at mcaruso@pinejournal.com or 218-461-8278.