In the waning afternoon sun on the frozen Kuskokwim River, 24-year-old Michael Larson was the first musher to cross the finish line in the 34th running of the Akiak Dash.
Larson's eight-dog team panted after their 63-mile sprint as the musher was congratulated by spectators.
The Kwethluk musher maintained a steady distance ahead of the pack for the back half of the race. Larson was the first to complete the loop outside of Akiak and follow the trail back toward Bethel. He said that this year’s trail was a goldilocks of sorts: "Not too hard and not too soft."
In 2025, Larson earned his spot among the Akiak Dash’s legacy of high-performing rookie racers by coming in second to decorated Kwethluk musher Raymond Alexie. Larson runs dogs from the Alexie kennel. This year, he said that he passed another musher to take the lead in the same spot Alexie passed him last year.
“Maybe about 8 minutes behind Raymond, probably around the same time, the second, the one that's behind me, I passed him,” Larson explained.
This year, in only his second season racing dogs, he did one better, earning a $7,000 cut of the $50,000 total race purse.
When asked about his plans for upcoming races, the 24-year-old said that he’ll have to see.
Schouviller Wassillie Jr. of Akiachak, who won the 2024 Akiak Dash, came in second this year, nabbing $5,000.
The 17-year-old said that his lead dogs — Tiffany and Flower — proved to be strong forces on the trail.
“They did pretty good, they were just commanding,” Wassillie Jr. said.
Napaskiak musher Spyridon Chaney took third, coming in just seconds ahead of fourth-place Jason Pavila and earning $4,300.
The 22-year old Pavila said that the young blood on the trails has been keeping him on his toes. “I’m getting too old,” Pavila said, smiling. "I'm only 22, but I feel really old. Yeah, Spyridon Chaney and Charlie [Chingliak] in the K300, all of these young men are good."
The race’s roster was another featuring a strong turnout of mushers from Akiachak, as well as two rookies — 26-year-old Nelson Lomack and 15-year-old Mia Pavila. The two newcomers made the top 10 leaderboard, coming in ninth and 10th, respectively.
Race results:
| 1st | Michael Larson, 4:47 p.m. finish |
| 2nd | Schouviller Wassillie Jr., 5:02 p.m. finish |
| 3rd | Spyridon Chaney, 5:08:05 p.m. finish |
| 4th | Jason Pavila, 5:08:29 p.m. finish |
| 5th | Maurice Andrews, 5:25 p.m. finish |
| 6th | Robert Charles Jr., 5:41 p.m. finish |
| 7th | Solomon Olick, 5:50 p.m. finish |
| 8th | Jim George, 5:56 p.m. finish |
| 9th | Nelson Lomack, 6:01 p.m. finish |
| 10th | Mia Pavila, 6:03 p.m. finish |
| 11th | Carl Ekamrak, 6:04 p.m. finish |
| 12th | Nathan Underwood, 6:05 p.m. finish |
| 13th | Byron Pasitnak, 6:15 p.m. finish |
| 14th | Tory Fitzpatrick, 6:16 p.m. finish |
| 15th | Sigurd Napoka, 6:15 p.m. finish |
| 16th | Eamon Frederick, 6:28 p.m. finish |
This story has been updated as of Jan. 25, 2026.
