Jessie Holmes crossed the finish line at the 2025 Iditarod, a little bit of Teagan Rodrigo was with the champion. The Omaha teen's art was featured on envelopes carried by each of the 33 mushers participating in the Alaska dog sled race.

Rodrigo, 13, won the annual educational art design contest promoting the 52-year-old race. Classrooms around the world participated in the contest. The first runner-up was a student from Scotland. The second runner-up was a student from Wisconsin.

With the theme "Under the Burled Arch in Nome,” Rodrigo's art piece featured the finishing line in Nome as the dominant part of the design. She added a dog sled crossing the finish line, along with bystanders cheering on the musher and his team of dogs.

The Iditarod is typically a 1,000-mile race from Anchorage to Nome. But, because of low snow levels along the planned route, organizers changed the race's path to Fairbanks-Nome, covering more than 1,100 miles, making it the longest Iditarod in history.

The Iditarod started in 1973 as a way to preserve the sled dog culture and the historical Iditarod Trail, which was threatened by the rise of snowmobiles.

It also honors the 1925 "Serum Run," when 20 mushers used sled dogs to transport diphtheria antitoxin across the Alaska Territory from Seward to Nome. Mushers covered about 700 miles in 5.5 days, saving the Nome community and surrounding area.

Holmes, a former reality television star, won his first Iditarod, finishing the trek in 10 days, 14 hours, 55 minutes, and 41 seconds. Holmes, who was featured on National Geographic's "Life Below Zero," has competed in the Iditarod eight times. The second-place musher finished about three hours behind.

With a historically low 33 mushers to start, 22 finished the race. The others either dropped out or were disqualified from competing in the remainder of the race.

Rodrigo's design caught the eyes of the contest's judges, artists Jon and Jona Van Zyle. The Concordia Lutheran Junior High School student's entry included facets missed by other submissions, said Jon Van Zyle.

"She captured the essence of the Iditarod," he said.

Van Zyle has insight into the race that others may miss, not only having captured the race on canvas but also participating as a musher. He has competed in the 1,049-mile race twice from Anchorage to Nome. He's served as the official artist for the Iditarod since 1979.

Rodrigo, who is a seventh grader, entered the contest at the behest of her fourth-grade teacher, Kristin Senechal. Her class follows the Iditarod as part of its section on states, Senechal said.

"It gives us the opportunity to talk about Alaska and the culture and that part of our country," she said. "The students also just find it really exciting. We follow along on Iditarod.com, so we can use their GPS tracker. You learn about the mushers, and what it takes to enter it. And then, you learn mapping skills. So, lots of good skills that way."

She recalled Rodrigo's talent as a student a few years earlier, so recommended she enter the competition, along with a few other artistic former students.

"I really like to paint and draw, and stuff," Rodrigo said. "I like to make a lot of sketches."

She researched photographs of previous Iditarod finishes to gain a better understanding of the finish line's scene, Rodrigo said.

Figuring she had plenty of time to create a design, she focused on other things, like homework and extracurricular activities, Rodrigo said.

Then, one night while working on homework, the Iditarod contest popped into her head, she said. Realizing the deadline was quickly approaching, she grabbed a blank sheet of paper and coloring pencils, Rodrigo said.

"I did the drawing in about five or 10 minutes," she said.

Unsure if anyone from Concordia had entered the art contest, Senechal was skimming through her e-mails when one caught her eye - winners of the Iditarod art design contest.

"So I was reading through, and I was like, 'Oh, that's a really, what a great piece of art.' And then it said, Teagan R. and I thought, Okay, that's a unique enough name."

Once she confirmed it was her former student, Senechal called her husband, Marty, who is a teacher at the junior high school, she said.

"I was so excited for her," Senechal said.

Marty Senechal pulled Rodrigo out of class and led her to the fourth-grade classroom, where Senechal informed Rodrigo she had won.

"I was really surprised," said Rodrigo after receiving the news. "I'm so grateful for it."

The envelopes, a fundraiser for the Iditarod Education Department, are a class project from teachers who purchased a spot on a sled.

Rodrigo said it seemed surreal, knowing her art was used on envelopes carried by each musher and shared with people in communities along the route. After mushers crossed the finish line in Nome, the envelopes with addresses filled out were mailed.

Senechal's fourth-grade class will be among the recipients.

"Our class has some trail mail traveling along the Iditarod," Senechal said. "It'll still a few weeks before we get them."

Winning the art design contest piqued her interest in the Iditarod, Rodrigo said.

"When I was a kid, I really loved watching," she said. "There are a lot of movies about it that I love to watch."

While she has an interest in art, Rodrigo also plays volleyball and participates in theater, having recently appeared in the school's production of "Little Mermaid."

The Iditarod was Rodrigo's first time competing in an art contest. She recommends people take a chance and enter them.

"You never know what the outcome is going be like," Rodrigo said. "The outcome can turn out really big, and it could be a big opportunity for you. It can spark new options for you in the future."

Tim Trudell is a freelance writer and online content creator. His work has appeared in Flatwater Free Press, Next Avenue, Indian Country Today, Nebraska Life, Nebraska Magazine, Council Bluffs Daily Non-Pareil and Douglas County Post Gazette, among others. He is a citizen of the Santee Dakota Nation.