HUNTINGTON, Vt. — The Castleton men's Nordic skiing team earned a pair of seventh-place finishes at the Spike Clayton Memorial Invitational this weekend.

Hosted by the University of Vermont's club team at the Sleepy Hollow Inn Ski & Bike Center, the Spartans competed in the Green Mountain State after spending the first two weekends in New York.

SATURDAY
Antonio Mannino paced the Spartans in the 1.5K Skate Criterium race with a 13th-place finish, crossing 3:37.2 behind the leader. Castleton's next skier in the field was Braydon Jourden who came in 52nd. Shawn Allen and Kristupas Merkelis rounded out the field along with Boniface Ndikumwenayo in his first collegiate event.

Aidan Ripp of Paul Smith's finished first in the 65-man field, but Clarkson placed three in the top five to edge the Bobcats in team competition by two points.

SUNDAY
In the 14K Classic event, Mannino clocked in at 15th with a 47:07.8 race. Jourden posted a top-30 worthy time of 51:27.2, just outside the first half of finishers. Coming in 48th was Allen (1:01:36.7), while Merkelis (1:05:21.4) crossed the line 53rd.

Ripp repeated as the top finisher with two more PSC teammates in the top ten. Clarkson filled out the podium with second and third places, plus a skier in fifth to help the Golden Knights take top prize on both days.

The Spartans return to action next weekend, February 11-12 for the Mansfield Divisional Championships at the Rikert Nordic Center in nearby Ripton, Vt.