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DENALI PARK -- The Schauer dynasty remains intact.

But it almost didn’t happen.

Twenty-four boaters exploded from the starting line of the annual downriver race at the 33rd Annual Denali Wildwater Festival on Saturday. The race starts at Jonesville Bridge and goes through four miles of churning river rapids to the finish line at Twin Rock rapid.

Two kayakers ran neck-in-neck in the lead the entire way: Karl Schauer, a Fairbanks native now living in Anchorage and Jeff Shelton of Denali. It wasn’t until just before the finish line that Shelton moved a little too far to the right, hit slower current, and Schauer burst into the lead and held it.

Schauer’s older brother Paul has won this race the past three years. This year, Paul Schauer came in fourth.

It soon became apparent that there had been some brotherly strategy involved.

Karl Schauer paddled the Easy Rider whitewater kayak his brother used in the previous three races. The boat actually belongs to their mother, from the early days of kayaking when boats were much longer. Longer means faster.

“From now on, it’s gonna be rock, paper, scissors to see who gets to use it,’ said Schauer, after recovering from the four-mile sprint.

And by the way, their dad, John Schauer came in sixth place at 21:57.

Winning time was 20:30. Shelton slid in just two seconds later. Tim Johnson of Anchorage came in third at 21:07, Paul Schauer 21:12 and a surprising fifth place finish by Jesse Arbuckle, of Healy, at 21:51.

Arbuckle, a Healy high schooler and a member of the Denali Water Safety Team, just returned from a week of kayak coaching from former Olympic paddlers. That newfound skill paid off at the wildwater rodeo as well when Arbuckle tied for sixth place out of a very capable field of experienced kayakers.

There was stiff competition at this event, which Jared Leon of Anchorage won handily.

Wildwater rodeo involves kayakers performing complicated maneuvers on waves, from cartwheels and surfing to full leaps into the air and of course, rolling back up when they tip over.

The competition started at Jonesville Bridge, but the final round took place at a powerful hydraulic called Rockslide Wave in Rooster Tail rapid .

The rodeo ended in a three-way tie for second place between Jeff Shelton of Denali, Brandon Gonski of Anchorage and Dan McKay of Anchorage. Karl Schauer of Anchorage came in third, Nathan Bataille, Anchorage, fourth; and Paul Schauer, Anchorage, fifth.

River Racing

33rd Annual Denali Wildwater Festival Downriver Race

Men Kayak Expert: 1. Karl Schauer, Anchorage, 20:30; 2. Jeff Shelton, Denali, 20:32; 3. Tim Johnson, Anchorage, 21:07; 4. Paul Schauer, Anchorage, 21:12; 5. Jesse Arbuckle, Healy, 21:51; 6. John Schauer, Fairbanks, 21:57; 7. Dan McKay, Anchorage, 22:01; 8. Chad Hults, Anchorage, 22:08; 9. David DeLong, Fairbanks, 22:37;  10. John Neff, Denali, 22:52; 11. Jared Leon, Anchorage, 23:04; 12. Tommy Kovatsch, Anchorage, 23:54; 13. Noah Schieber, Healy, 23:57; 14. Steve Rossberg, Anchorage, 25:25; 15. Ben Bragonur, Ester, 36:43.

Women Kayak Expert: 1. Jule Harle, Anchorage, 25:53

Men Kayak Intermediate: 1. James Castro, Willow, 23:01; 2. Adrian Beebee, Anchorage, 23:12.

Two-Person Canoe: 1. Patrick and Heather Fleming, Anchorage, 24:39.

Topo-Duo:  1. Jim and Brandon Gonski, Palmer, 38:28; 2. Nathan Bataille, Anchorage and Spencer Allen, Denali, 38:34.

Wildwater Rodeo: 1. Jared Leon, Anchorage, 25 points; 2. (tie) Jeff Shelton, Denali, and Brandon Gonski, Palmer, and Dan McKay, Anchorage, 17; 3. Karl Schauer, Anchorage, 14; 4. Nathan Bataille, Anchorage, 12; 5. Paul Schauer, Anchorage, 11; 6. (tie) Jesse Arbuckle, Healy and Chad Hults, Anchorage, 9; 7. (tie) Tim Johnson, Anchorage, and John Schauer, Fairbanks, 8; 8. Noah Schieber, Healy, 5; 9. Spencer Allen, Denali, 3; 10. (tie) David DeLong, Fairbanks and Steve Rossberg, Anchorage, 2.