JACKSON - A "sprint dog" racer from British Columbia took advantage of an early first day lead to win the ninth annual International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race in Teton Village on Friday.

Under snowy skies and heavy winds, Blaine "Buddy" Streeper, 21, scorched the final 15-mile leg of the race at speeds over 30 mph, to finish with a total time of 18:46:44. He beat second-place Melanie Shirilla - 2002 IPSSSDR champion - by just under 30 minutes.

"I ran a very good race," said Streeper, who wore only a baseball hat and glasses in the blizzard-like conditions. "I gained every day and ran a conservative race. I ran 12 dogs each day."

Making the right decisions and having the right dogs in the lead also helped put Streeper over the top in his first time competing in the IPSSSDR.

Race Director and co-founder Frank Teasley said this year's race was the most competitive of any in the nine-year history.

"Not once did the Streepers have the yellow bib," Teasley said, referring to the coveted bib worn by the previous day's winner. "Winners switched places every day. The Streepers were more consistent than anybody else. The never (outright) won a leg. It is incredible. To not sweep the event is huge."

Streeper tied for first on the first day. Although Shirilla beat Streeper days two through five, Streeper beat Shirilla's team by 30 minutes the first day, and she was never able to make up that time.

Terry Streeper, Buddy's father, said the first day's 30-minute jump allowed them to "back off" a bit.

"The third day she beat us by nine minutes and that had us a little scared," Streeper said.

The winner's father, himself a four-time world champion, said the key was doing "all the little things right."

"The training, feeding, disciplining, picking the right dogs," he said. "We picked the best dogs this year. I don't know if that was necessary."

The Streepers own a sprint dog kennel, and the dogs are trained to run 20 mph for distances of up to 30 miles. With the IPSSSDR having legs of 60 miles, it was unclear if the sprint dogs were going to be able to handle the length.

"We realized that the dogs could take care of themselves," Terry Streeper said. "We learned a lot by being down here."

All racers agreed the first day, with a 53-mile leg in Kemmerer, was the most treacherous.

"It was like 100 times worse that first day," Terry Streeper said, comparing it to Friday's Teton Village blizzard conditions. "I was on a snowmachine freezing my face off. … (Buddy) just kept his mouth shut and hoped he stayed on the trail. Part of it was luck."

John Wood of Willow, Alaska, said the first day you couldn't see 20 feet in front of you.

"We got off the trail constantly," he said.

Wood, who finished 16th, said he had wrist and shoulder injuries affect three of his lead dogs. He said he would likely not compete in the IPSSSDR next year because the altitude hurt him physically.

"I wanted to see if I could do it this year," the 57-year-old said. "The altitude killed me and I wasn't able to help the dogs."

Dan Carter of Jackson, who placed fifth last year, wound up in eighth this year.

He had hoped to place in the top three, but said the level of competition this year meant he would have to have six flawless days, and his dogs would have to be at the peak of their game.

"The Streepers coming in were the big question mark if they were going to be able to do this kind of run," Carter said. "With the contenders here this year (including former Iditerod champion Doug Swingley, who took 10th) … if my name is right behind theirs then I feel OK."

After Teton Village's 15-miler, mushers took turns riding a three-mile loop with junior mushers from various communities in Wyoming.

The Streepers take home $10,000 for their win, Shirilla nets $8,300 and third-place finisher Sam Perrino wins $6,650.