Adirondack native Jim Allott, now in his 19th year as coach at Clarkson, has lifted the achievements of the Golden Knights highly successful Nordic Ski program to new levels during his tenure.
He guided the Golden Knight men to their back-to-back United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboarding Association (USCSA) National titles in 2003 and 2004, and the women placed second in both those years as well. In 2012, the Golden Knights' claimed the USCSA National Championships on both the men's and women's sides, dominating every race. Allott picked up two more titles on the women's side in both 2016 and 2017, pushing that squad to four titles overall, with three coming under Allott's tutelage. As head coach of the cross country team, Allott saw his first runner reach the NCAA National Championships in the fall of 2011 as Alex Benway placed in the top 50 nationally, and Dan Fritz joined Benway as an NCAA participant in the fall of 2013, finishing in the middle of the pack.
Allott, who has raced extensively throughout the Northeastern United States and Canada in both classical and skate technique over the past 20 years, has won numerous medals and has competed in over 20 ski marathons, including the 100-mile Canadian Ski Marathon.
Allott, a Potsdam High School science instructor, possesses a great deal of coaching and training experience. He has served as a head swim coach for 24 years and as the head high school track coach for 18 seasons.
As an avid endurance athlete, he participates in canoeing, running and adventure races. Besides recently completing the NYC and Boston Marathons, he has also competed in the Iron Man Triathlon World Championship in Hawaii in 1999 and represented the United States in masters cycling in Russia. Allott, his wife Kathy and son Kevin, make their home in Potsdam.
