Welter Runner-Up in Giant Slalom at USCSA Nationals

Tom Martin

Alpine Ski | 3/11/2025 6:58:00 PM

Bend, OR – Missing out on a podium spot by less than two-tenths of a second, the Clarkson University Women's Alpine Ski team matched its best finish ever at the USCSA National Championships, placing fourth out of 27 teams in the giant slalom Tuesday at Thunderbird – Mt. Bachelor.

The Golden Knights' fourth place spot in the giant slalom was the best that the Clarkson women finished since 2015 when the team also ended up fourth in the giant slalom in Bend, OR. Clarkson's women also were fourth in the giant slalom in 2012 when the team was competing in Sunday River, ME.

The highlight of the day, outside of Clarkson's near podium placement as a team, was Ariana Welter's performance. She ended up in second place out of 136 total participants thanks to a pair of consistent runs in the event. Welter was third in the first run with a time of 1:03.61 and was four-tenths of a second faster at 1:03.21 in the second, again good enough for third. The combined times put her in the runner-up position with a total time of 2:06.82, only .18 seconds faster than the third-place finisher from Castleton.

Hannah Goetz and Elyse Donaghue closed out Clarkson's team time with two solid performances. Goetz placed 25th in the field with a time of 2:13.72, shaving more than two seconds off her first-run time to jump up the leaderboard. Donaghue came in 34th in 2:17.93, also taking more than a second off her time on her second trip down the hill.

Kyla Butler ended up in 68th place, right at the middle mark of the field, with a time of 2:29.87, and Kylie Butler took 85th in 2:37.47.

Clarkson's men will compete in the giant slalom on Wednesday.

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Players Mentioned

Kyla Butler: Sophomore

Elyse Donaghue: Sophomore

Hannah Goetz: Sophomore

Ariana Welter: Junior

Players Mentioned

Kyla Butler
: Sophomore

Elyse Donaghue
: Sophomore

Hannah Goetz
: Sophomore

Ariana Welter
: Junior