Following an impressive weekend at the Spike Clayton Memorial Invite in Huntington, Vermont, the Clarkson University Nordic Skiing team will make a similar trip back to the Green Mountain State, for the Middlebury Invitational at the Rikert Outdoor Center. Mild January weather is on the docket, with temperatures at the course in Ripton forecasted for low-20s on Saturday and low-30s on Sunday, with overcast skies showing for both days.
The Events: On Saturday the teams will compete in a 10km freestyle ski with the women's division slated for an 11:00 a.m. start while the men will follow at noon. Sunday will be a classic team sprint which is a relay-competition with three athletes who alternately ski 3 legs of a minimum of 1 km and a maximum 1.5km each with all competitors skiing the same loop. Starting times for Sunday are 10 a.m. for the men and 11 a.m. for the women.
The Team: The men are off to a flying start for 2025, placing first of four teams during both days of the White Mountain Classic and Jackson Jaunt, and first out of ten teams on both days at the Vermont Invitational this past weekend. Junior Joey Rouhana claimed top honors at the Vermont Invitational during the skiathlon and criterium races, placing 1st of 72 skiers and 1st of 63 skiers, respectively, over the course of the two days. After two number one finishes at the White Mountain Classic, Freshman Matthew Clarner improved on an 8th place finish (out of 72), in the skiathlon for a 2nd place finish (out of 63), during the criterium in Huntington. Silas Bartol, Torsten Brickley and Finn Payne will be hoping to build on their performances, all which placed them in the top-20 of skiers during both days.
The women will be looking to improve on a difficult start to the campaign that has provided three bottom-half finishes through the first two weekends. Sophomore Skylar Francis continued to lead the team, finishing 17th (out of 77) in the skiathlon and 21st (out of 71) in the criterium at the Vermont Invitational. Sophomores Clare Janas and Reagan Joly continue to play a big role for the team scoring and will target higher finishes from the past weekend.
