FORT KENT – The final musher, Jaye Foucher of Ashland, N.H., came across the finish in the Irving Woodlands 250-mile sled dog race at 10:34 a.m. Tuesday.

Foucher, in 21st place, crossed the finish line 22 hours and 47 minutes after the winner, Rick Larson of Sand Coulee, Mont., to end the 15th annual Can-Am Crown International Sled Dog Race which started Saturday morning.

He and five other rookies, Jeffrey Baril of St. Zenon, Quebec; Lev Shvarts of Winchendon, Mass.; Sue Ellis of Rumney, N.H.; Christine Richardson of Canaan, N.H.; and Kim Darst of Blairstown, N.J.; were competing in their first-ever race of this length.

While Larson was a rookie at Fort Kent, he is a veteran musher who has competed in the famed Iditarod 1,000-mile race in Alaska.

Eighty-six sled dog teams competed in 30-, 60- and 250-mile races. The Pepsi Bottling Co. 30-mile and Willard Jalbert Memorial 60-mile Race were run Saturday. The 250-mile race started at 10 a.m. Saturday and ended Tuesday morning. Nine mushers scratched from competition in the race between Portage Lake, the first checkpoint, and Allagash, checkpoint four.

Even among the last finishers, close finishing times provided bragging rights.

Robert St. Onge of La Morandiere, Quebec, edged out Shvarts by 15 seconds for 16th place, and Richardson edged out Darst by two seconds for 19th place.

Nine teams finished on Tuesday.

This year’s race was slower than last year’s. That was attributed to a 10-inch snowfall on Friday night, just before the race started on Saturday, and warm temperatures that slowed progress, especially during daylight hours.

All that remained after Foucher crossed the finish line Tuesday morning was for mushers, organizers and volunteers to gather for the annual mushers banquet on Tuesday night. There, the top 12 mushers would receive their share of the $20,000 purse for the 250-mile race.

Larson gets $4,500 for being first. Along with place purses for the top 12 finishers, mushers would also share in $5,000 of stage money for fastest team between each of five checkpoints. Also to be divided up is a $4,000 Fair Point Finishing Touch award divided amongst mushers finishing the race.

The annual classic at Fort Kent is a qualifying race for Alaska’s Iditarod and the Yukon Territory’s 1,000-mile Yukon Quest. The Iditarod is under way now, having started the same day as the Can-Am Crown, and the Yukon Quest is held each February.

Irving Woodlands 250-mile Race

1. Rick Larson, Sand Coulee, Mont., 34 hours, 33 minutes and two seconds.

2. Rita Wehseler, Tofte, Minn., 34:49:25.

3. Don Hibbs, Millinocket, 34:50:50.

4. Normand Casavant, Val des Lacs, Quebec, 35:02:00.

5. Matt Carstens, Whitefield, N.H., 35:30:37.

6. Bruce Langmaid, Blackstock, Ontario, 37:04:20.

7. Martin Massicote, St. Tite, Quebec, 37:04:31.

8. Herve Belanger, Berry, Quebec, 37:32:36.

9. Mario Racine, St. Cecile, Quebec, 39:37:29.

10. Nathan Schroeder, Chisholm, Minn., 42:45:41.

11. Mike Ellis, Rumney, N.H., 42:38:19.

12. Amy Dugan, Shirley, 44:17:17.

13. Kevin Malikowski, Outing, Minn., 46:54:09.

14. Jeffrey Baril, St. Zenon, Quebec, 47:27:00.

15. Larry Murphy, Fort Kent, 48:26:35.

16. Robert St. Onge, La Morandiere, Quebec, 49:52:00.

17. Lev Shvarts, Wichendon, Mass., 49:52:15.

18. Sue Ellis, Rumney, N.H., 52:39:10.

19. Christine Richardson, Canaan, N.H., 55:41:40.

20. Kim Darst, Blairstown, N.J., 55:41:42.

21. Jaye Foucher, Ashland, N.H., 57:14:10.

Scratched mushers were:

Ward Wallin, Two Harbors, Minn.

Colleen Wallin, Two Harbors, Minn.

Tim Calhoun, Tomahawk, Wis.

Andre Longchamps, Pont-Rouge, Quebec.

Steve Collins, Maidstone, Vt.

Sylvain Robillard, St. Gabriel de Brandon, Quebec.

Bill Mattot, Manchester, N.H.

Robert Fredette, Plantagenet, Quebec.

Rachel Nissley, Sherman.