TROY, N.Y. – The Union College men's outdoor track & field team recorded six conference championship qualifiers and 18 season-best performances to finish fifth out of 12 teams at the RPI Under The Lights Invitational, held on Thursday and Friday at the Ned Harkness Field and Track.
 
Union finished the event with 36 points, coming 20 points short of Plattsburgh State University in fourth and seven points clear of Vassar College in sixth place. Host RPI won the event with 324 points, more than double that of runner-up University at Albany.
 
Junior Jason Bois had one of the team's best performances in the 110-meter hurdles, qualifying for both the Liberty League and AARTFC Outdoor Championships in his first attempt this year by crossing the line in 15.30 seconds to place fourth overall.
 
The Garnet Chargers also earned a pair of top-10 and conference-qualifying finishes in the 800 meters, courtesy of senior Ben Neff and first-year Liam Fitzgibbon. Neff posted the best time of his career in the event by finishing in 1:56.33 to take sixth, while Fitzgibbon placed 10th with a time of 1:58.06. Sophomore Bretton Garrick also finished in 2:00.62 to post the best time of his career in the event.
 
Senior Sam Ahern was the first Union runner to cross the finish line in the 200-meter dash, clocking in at 22.47 seconds to take ninth place. First-year Aidan Bradley joined Ahern in the event and finished in 23.29 seconds to place 19th overall.
 
Sophomore Nate Okwaning led five Union entries in the 100-meter dash with a top-10 finish, placing 10th with a time of 11.44 seconds. Bradley (11.69 seconds) and sophomore Aaron Binion (11.71 seconds) both earned spots in the top-20 as well.

Senior Thomas Breimer and first-year Liam Dougherty placed fourth and sixth, respectively, in the unseeded portion of the 5,000 meters. Breimer finished in 16:14.80 and Dougherty finished up less than nine seconds later in 16:23.79.
 
Union took three of the top six spots in the unseeded portion of the 1,500 meters, led by junior Will Plante with a season-best time of 4:08.16 to take top honors. He was followed by sophomore Michael Fitzmaurice in second place with a season-best time of 4:11.28, and fellow sophomore Will Bonnette finished in 4:20.78 to place sixth overall with his best time of the season as well.
 
Running the 400-meter dash, juniors Drew Hill and Aidan Savitt finished right behind each other in 53.39 seconds and 53.41 seconds to place 13th and 14th, respectively. Hill's mark was a new collegiate best in the event.
 
In the 4x100-meter relay, Ahern, Binion, Bois and Bradley combined to run a lap in 43.27 seconds to place fourth overall. Bradley and Binion also joined Neff and sophomore Jackson Klehr in the 4x400-meter relay, closing the night with a time of 3:40.6 to nab second place.
 
In the field events, junior Mason Lang had the team's top finish with a third-place result in the javelin throw, thanks to a top mark of 47.22 meters on his third attempt to book a spot in the finals.
 
Lang also led four Garnet Chargers to career bests in the hammer throw, posting a top mark of 40.49 meters to place fifth. Classmate Nick Entner also finished in the top 10 with a mark of 38.75 meters to place eighth, while junior Tony Cocchiaro came one place short of the top 10 with a 37.54-meter toss. Sophomore Aramis Suarez added to the list of career bests with his top mark of 34.44 meters.
 
First-year Dylan Boyle qualified for the conference championship in the discus throw, taking seventh place with a top distance of 35.52 meters on his fourth attempt. Cocchiaro and classmate Adam Hecker both posted the best marks of their career in the event as well, with Cocchiaro taking 17th with a distance of 30.40 meters and Hecker coming in one spot later thanks to a toss of 30.34 meters.
 
Cocchiaro also had the team's best finish in the shot put, placing ninth with a career-best distance of 11.99 meters that qualified him for the conference championships.
 
Union will be back in action next Saturday at the Trinity (Conn.) Invitational in Hartford.