A dominant showing at the USMA Invitational over the weekend opened the United States Collegiate Ski Association (USCSA) in successful fashion for the Clarkson University Nordic Ski teams. Both the Golden Knight Men and Women took top honors in two days of competition at the Ethan Allen Ski Center in Jericho, VT.

In Saturday’s Classical event, the Clarkson Men finished first out of five teams with six points, while the Golden Knight Women placed first out of six teams with 13 points. Cornell was second in both races with 39 points in the men’s race and 23 points in the women’s event.

The Knights took the top three spots in the men’s 10k individual race with graduate student Matt Delaney (Lake Placid, NY) posting the best showing among collegiate skiers with a first-place time of 28:50. Sophomore Alex Benway (Queensbury, NY) finished right behind in second (28:59), followed by freshman Dan Stevens (Glenville, NY) in third (30:12). Senior Chris Lamothe (Colchester, VT) placed fifth (30:26).

Sophomore Andrea Walsh (Underhill, VT) paced the Clarkson women on Saturday with a third-place time of 38:21. Freshman Rachel Bachman (Queensbury, NY) finished fourth (39:25). Sophomores Alyssa Dausman (Syracuse, NY) and Emily Garrant (Marcellus, NY) placed sixth (41:41) and seventh (41:50), respectively.

In Sunday’s Freestyle race, the Golden Knight Men placed first (7 points) followed by Cornell in second (31). The Clarkson Women won their event (12 points) with Cornell taking second (26).

Benway led the men with a first-place showing of 27:46 over the 11k course. Delaney finished second (28:25), Lamothe and Stevens placed fourth (29:29) and sixth (29:30), respectively.

Walsh again led the Green and Gold with a second-place time of 36:43. Bachman was fourth (37:07), with Dausman in sixth (38:52) and Garrant in seventh (40:00).

This coming weekend, Clarkson competes at Cornell's meet at Lapland Lake Nordic Center near Johnstown, NY.