PAUL SMITHS, N.Y. — The Castleton men's Nordic skiing team began its season with the Castleton Invitational at the Paul Smith's College VIC Saturday morning.

Originally scheduled to be a two-day event at Prospect Mountain, lack of snow prompted a venue change.

Mayfield, N.Y. natives Antonio Mannino and Shawn Allen were the Spartans' entries in the field. Mannino placed 35th with a time of 34:55.0. Allen finished the course in 52:07.5 to place 50th. The 57-man field was made up of skiers from Castleton, Clarkson, Paul Smith's, Cornell, Middlebury, Vermont, Hamilton, and Army West Point.

Clarkson's Conner Roberts took first place, finishing in 27:57.3 while joined on the podium by Joey Rouhana in second. Using the top two slots and a 14th-place finish, the Golden Knights claimed top honors in men's team competition.

The Spartans are back in action next weekend, January 28-29, visiting Mt. Van Hoevenberg for the Clarkson Invitational.