SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Union College men's cross country team took second place out of six squads at the RPI Harvest Classic, held on Saturday at Pitney Meadows Farm.
 
Union took second place with 64 points, beating out Division I UAlbany for a spot on the top-two. Host Rensselaer took top honors with a team score of 15.
 
Running on their first full-distance course of the fall, the Garnet Chargers posted a 50-second spread between their first and fifth runners on the way to another solid performance.
 
Juniors Ben Neff and Ryan Russell battled each other for the team's top finish down the stretch, with Neff crossing the line first (15th overall) with a time of 25:14.2, beating his previous personal best by over a minute. Russell took 16th place overall, finishing a few seconds back in 25:21.4.
 
Senior Ben Trantanella was the third Union runner to cross the finish line in 25:39.2. Senior Charlie Alekson made his season debut to increase the team's top-five depth, clocking in at 26:02.4, while classmate Mark D'Alessandro rounded out Union's five with a time of 26:05.0.
 
Union will take next week off from competition before returning to the course on September 30 at the Paul Short Invitational, as the team tests its competitiveness in a large and challenging field.
 
Union Runners:
Ben Neff – 25:14.2 (15th)
Ryan Russell – 25:21.4 (16th)
Ben Trantanella – 25:39.2 (27th)
Charlie Alekson – 26:02.4 (38th)
Mark D'Alessandro – 26:05.0 (42nd)
Will Plante – 26:31.0 (47th)
Ben Pistiner – 27:13.6 (63rd)
Thomas Breimer – 27:27.8 (64th)
Aiden Rowley – 28:08.5 (75th)
Jackson Klehr – 28:19.9 (77th)
Connor Cavanaugh – 28:43.9 (81st)
Jacob Newman – 31:30.5 (98th)