SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Union College men's indoor track & field team recorded 17 season-bests on the way to a third-place finish at the Springfield College Massasoit Classic, held on Saturday at the Springfield Field House.
 
Despite not sending the full squad to Springfield, the Garnet Chargers still managed to finish third with 116 points, behind first-place Springfield (240 points) and Westfield State University (134 points).
 
Junior Mason Lang had the best result of the day for Union, earning a first-place finish in the shot put. Lang posted a winning distance on his second attempt and improved on that mark on both his third and seventh tries, eventually finishing with a top mark of 13.88 meters to win by nearly two feet.
 
Junior Jason Bois finished second in the prelims of the 60-meter hurdles with a finish of 8.63 seconds, and he was joined in the finals by senior Liam Beck after his 9.39-second finish in the prelims. Bois ran the finals in 8.67 seconds to remain second, while Beck finished in 9.28 seconds to take fourth.
 
The Garnet Chargers took five of the top-seven spots in the mile, including four runners achieving new career-best times. Sophomore Michael Fitzmaurice was the first Union runner to cross the line, taking second in a career-best 4:35.49. Classmate Bretton Garrick (4:36.12) was less than a second behind in third place, while fellow sophomore Ben Pistiner also posted a career-best time by finishing in 4:46.03 to place fifth. Junior Will Plante placed sixth in 4:50.79 and sophomore Thomas Lapham ended up seventh in a career-best 4:53.62.
 
Senior Kyle Collins added another second-place finish in the 800 meters, clocking in at 2:05.32, while sophomore Jackson Klehr placed fourth in the same event in 2:08.47. The Garnet Chargers also had a pair of top-three finishes in the 3000 meters, with senior Thomas Breimer finishing second in 9:33.84 and first-year Liam Dougherty taking third in a season-best 9:39.41.
 
Union had two runners qualify for the finals of the 60-meter dash. Sophomore Aaron Binion led the way with a time of 7.31 seconds to place fourth in the prelims, and improved both his time and place in the finals, finishing in 7.29 seconds to place third. First-year Aidan Bradley registered season-best times in both the prelims and finals, following up a 7.37-second prelim with a time of 7.34 seconds in the finals to place fifth and earn a spot at the Liberty League Championships.
 
Binion also earned top-five finishes in the 200-meter dash and the triple jump, running the 200 in 23.54 seconds (fifth place) and leaping 11.85 meters (fourth place).
 
In addition to his win in the shot put, Lang placed second in the weight throw with a career-best mark of 13.63 meters on his fourth attempt. Lang was one of three Garnet Chargers to boast new career bests in the event, along with first-years Dylan Boyle (10.59 meters) and Aaron Al-Marayati (9.55 meters).
 
Bois matched his season- and career-best in the high jump by clearing 1.70 meters on his first attempt, taking sixth place.
 
The men's team finished the day by winning the 4x400 relay, with the quartet of Bradley, Collins, Klehr and junior Aidan Savitt finishing in 3:40.37.
 
Union will be back in Massachusetts next weekend, taking part in the John Thomas Terrier Classic at Boston University on Saturday.