TROY, N.Y. – The Union College men's outdoor track & field team had its final tune-up before the conference championships by taking fifth place at the RPI Capital District Classic, hosted by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on Friday afternoon at Ned Harkness Field and Track.
 
Union finished the day with 66 points, seven back of SUNY Oneonta in fourth and 12 ahead of Hudson Valley Community College in sixth. The Garnet Chargers boasted 20 season-best results and nine career-bests to go with four Liberty League Championship qualifiers.
 
Junior Jason Bois booked his spot in the finals of the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.43 seconds, easing his way to second place in his heat and fourth overall in the prelims. He moved up to third place in the final, crossing the line in 15.10 seconds. Bois also picked up a top-five finish in the high jump, clearing 1.76 meters to place fifth.
 
Sophomore Nate Okwaning took second in the prelims of the 100-meter dash, crossing the line in 10.95 seconds. Classmate Aaron Binion came one-hundredth of a second from joining Okwaning in the finals, finishing in a career-best 11.20 seconds. In the final, Okwaning also nabbed second place with a season-best time of 10.87 seconds.
 
Binion and senior Sam Ahern both earned top-eight finishes in the 200-meter dash as well. Ahern placed fourth by running the half-lap in 22.04 seconds, followed by Binion with a time of 22.70 seconds to place eighth.
 
First-year Aidan Bradley qualified for the conference championships in the 400-meter dash, posting a season-best time of 50.40 seconds to earn a seventh-place finish. Juniors Drew Hill and Aidan Savitt both qualified for Liberty Leagues as well, with Hill finishing in 51.58 seconds and Savitt finishing in 52 seconds flat.
 
First-year Liam Fitzgibbon nabbed a third-place finish in the 800 meters, leading four teammates in the event with a season-best time of 1:56.13. Junior Will Plante ran the best 800 of his career to earn a spot at the conference championships, clocking in at 1:58.36, while first-year Bretton Garrick (1:58.88) and sophomore Will Bonnette (2:00.25) both recorded the best times of their careers as well.
 
Senior Ben Neff, running in the seeded section of the 1500 meters, placed ninth overall with a career-best time of 3:53.13. Classmate Ryan Russell led four Union entries in the unseeded section of the event, crossing the line in 4:08.20 to take eighth.
 
The 4x400-meter relay placed fourth as well, with Bradley, Hill, Savitt and sophomore Kye Norcross finishing in a season-best 3:30.69.
 
In the field events, junior Nick Entner took top honors in the javelin throw, besting 26 other competitors with a career-best mark of 55.58 meters. He was joined by junior Mason Lang, who placed fourth with a distance of 48.53 meters to give Union a day-best 15 points in the event. In addition, Lang tossed the shot put 13.50 meters to place sixth overall.
 
Union will head to Rochester Institute of Technology next weekend for the Liberty League Outdoor Championships, beginning on Friday.