With more teams than ever competing, the Clarkson University Nordic Ski teams
fought hard to repeat as Eastern Regional champions of the United States Collegiate Ski Association (USCSA), and the Green and Gold’s hard work paid off with both teams claiming top honors during a competitive weekend of skiing at Waterville Valley in Waterville, NH. The Golden Knight men won the title for the sixth time over the past eight years while the Clarkson women claimed the regional championship for the sixth consecutive year.
With the Eastern Regional titles in tow, Clarkson, guided by head coach Jim Allott, will compete in the USCSA National Championships for the 23rd consecutive year when the Knights travel out to Winter Park, Colorado on March 4 - 9.
With three teams from Maine joining the region, the Eastern Championships was more competitive than ever. Perennial rival, Cornell was leading over the Clarkson men with University of Maine at Presque Isle in third after the Saturday morning freestyle race.
Freshmen Matt Delaney (Lake Placid, NY) was Clarkson’s top finisher in the 15k freestyle with a third-place time of 55:37. Senior Chad Day (Honeoye Falls, NY) followed closely behind in fourth (57:31) and freshman Drew Moskevitz (Enosburgh Falls, VT) finished ninth (1:02:06).
The Knights, however, pulled into first after tremendous efforts by Delaney, junior Justin Tetlow (Fairport, NY), freshman Chris Talbot (Falmouth, ME) and Chad Day in the Saturday afternoon sprint races. Delaney won the event with a time of 1:52. Tetlow placed fourth (1:58), Talbot was sixth (2:04) and Day took eighth (2:04).
It all came down to Sunday's 8k classic race, where Clarkson dashed the other teams’ hopes of knocking the Knights off the championship perch by finishing second, third and sixth, and two others in the top 13. Delaney finished off a strong weekend showing with a second-place time of 30:22. Chad Day placed third (30:38) and Moskevitz finished third (32:37).
Clarkson’s women’s team set the tone in the first race of the weekend by scoring second, third and fourth and never looked back as they won the team title in all three events.
In Saturday’s 15k freestyle race, junior Whitney Olson (Scotia, NY) was the Knights’ top skier with a second-place time of 1:12:26. Junior Sarah Gardner (Auburn, ME) finished fourth (1:17:04) followed by senior Janine Laskoski (Scotia, NY) in fifth (1:18:51).
Olson dominated the 1.5K freestyle event on Saturday afternoon, claiming first with a time of 2:20. Gardner was third (2:28), sophomore Chelsea Reynolds (Endicott, NY) placed ninth (2:44) and Laskoski came in 10th (2:45).
Olson again led the way in Sunday’s 8k classical race with a first-place time of 37:50. Gardner took third (41:07), followed by Laskoski in sixth (44:23) and Reynolds in seventh (44:29).
