Jackson, WY – For the third straight race, senior Ana Witkowski took top honors, finishing the 15K Freestyle in 43 minutes, 36.7 seconds to lead the day for the Clarkson University Nordic Ski team at the USCSA Nationals, held at the Trail Creek Nordic Center.

Both the Golden Knights' women and men ended up in second place in the team standings for the 15K Freestyle. Clarkson's women finished with 15 points, trailing by four to St. Olaf, while the men ended up with 26 points, 14 points behind first-place Castleton. The nationals will conclude on Saturday with the Freestyle Team Sprints.

Winner of both the 7.5K Classic and Freestyle Sprint earlier in the week, Witkowski concluded the individual races a perfect 3-for-3. She won the 15K Freestyle in 43:36.70, nearly 19 seconds faster than any other competitor in the 45-athlete field. Classmate Sarah Duclos took third place in 44:02.90, but St. Olaf racers took second, fourth, and fifth, respectively, to edge out the Knights. Sophomore Bridget Wangler closed out Clarkson's scoring with a 13th-place finish, closing out the race in 47:11.10. Junior Raili Utiger (51:40.50, 27th) and Melissa Brown (53:39.60, 35th) rounded out Clarkson's entrants in the event.

On the men's side, senior Charles Maitland and sophomore Michael Giraldi both finished in the top 10, with freshman Simon Zehr coming in 17th for Clarkson's 26 points. Maitland crossed the finish line in fifth place among 52 skiers with a time of 37:08.30 and Giraldi ended up in seventh place in 37:32.9. Zehr closed off the Clarkson scoring with his 17th-place showing in 40:07.70. Senior Timothy Dunn would have kept Clarkson in second had Zehr faltered, as he came in 18th in 40:16.2. Freshman Cameron Bancroft took 35th in 42:26.6.