Welter and Goetz In Top 10, Knights on Podium for Giant Slalom at USCSA Nationals

Alyssia Bleau

Alpine Ski | 3/10/2026 3:10:00 PM

Wilmington, NY – More than a third of the field slipped in one of their two runs down Whiteface Mountain on Tuesday, but the Clarkson University Alpine Ski team had enough student-athletes keep their skis, helping the Golden Knights on to the podium with a third place finish in the women's giant slalom.

The Golden Knights placed third out of 26 teams competing in the women's giant slalom, with a collective team time of 7:01.18, roughly 17 seconds off the pace set by Rocky Mountain College and less than 10 seconds behind Babson. Tomorrow Clarkson's men will participate in the giant slalom.

2026 Women's Giant Slalom Individual Results

Through the opening run, it appeared as if the Knights might challenge for the top spot on the podium as three of its skiers were in the top 13 of the field. Ariana Welter was fifth in her first run in 1:07.69, Elyse Donaghue was 11th in 1:08.93, and Hannah Goetz sat in 13th place with a time of 1:09.64. Welter was a second faster in her return run down the hill and Goetz was nearly three seconds quicker, but unfortunately Donaghue could not stay on her feet, pushing the Knights to use Lily Rogers time. Thankfully, Rogers was also much faster in her second trip down the hill, shaving more than four seconds off her time and allowing Clarkson to stay ahead of University of Connecticut. Welter finished fourth overall in 2:13.94 and Goetz was seventh in 2:16.42 while Rogers took 45th overall in 2:30.82.

Donaghue skied out in her second run and LilyAnn Fisher did not make it down the hill in her first try. They were far from the only ones who slipped, as 25 skiers failed the first try and an additional 16 more did not make the second run. Including Donaghue, six of the top 20 times from the first run fell on the afternoon run.

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Players Mentioned

Elyse Donaghue: Senior

Hannah Goetz: Senior

Lily Rogers: Sophomore

Ariana Welter: Senior

LilyAnn Fisher: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Elyse Donaghue
: Senior

Hannah Goetz
: Senior

Lily Rogers
: Sophomore

Ariana Welter
: Senior

LilyAnn Fisher
: Freshman