Senior Kurt Naser (Arlington, MA) placed second in the giant slalom as the Clarkson University Alpine Ski team enjoyed an impressive first day at the USCSA Mideast Regionals Friday afternoon.

The Golden Knights' men currently rank first at the event, ahead of Syracuse University and Alfred University. The women, who struggled on the first run but recovered well, are fifth behind Alfred, the University of Buffalo, Cornell and Syracuse, but are in easy striking distance of the national championships as well. Both teams compete in the slalom to push the Knights to the national championships at Sunday River, ME. The top three teams move on to the USCSA Nationals.

Besides Naser's impressive first day, sophomore Drew Bonner (Killington, VT) came in sixth, freshman Ben Cohen (Old Forge, NY) was 13th, freshman Corey VanLare (Fairport, NY) placed 15th, and freshman Clayton Reynolds (Rome, NY) raced to 18th.

On the women's side, first-year skier Meghan Cleason (Canandaigua, NY) came in third overall to pace the Knights. Unfortunately, seniors Mallory Gilmore (Woodbury, CT) and Margot Epstein (Sodus, NY) fell below their normal standards. Gilmore didn't have a great first run, and Epstein fell on her first shot down the hill, but both recovered for good second runs to finish 16th and 31st, respectively. Sophomore Emma Masur (Wayne, NJ) came in 41st. Though the women are currently in fifth, a good performance on Saturday should put them right back in the mix for a spot at the nationals.