UTICA, N.Y. – The Union College men's indoor track & field team finished the day with 10 season-best results and five new career-best standards as part of a successful day at the non-scoring Utica Winter Opener, held on Friday afternoon at Utica University's Todd & Jen Hutton Sports and Recreation Center.
 
Junior Ben Pistiner started off the afternoon for Union by taking nearly nine seconds off his career-best time in the 5,000 meters, cruising to a top-five finish in a time of 16:10.83, one of Union's four top-five finishes on the day.
 
Senior Jason Bois reached the finals of the 60-meter hurdles by crossing the line in 8.83 seconds in the prelims, finishing second in his heat and fifth overall. He improved a spot with a fourth-place finish in the finals, posting a time of 8.73 seconds.
 
Senior Mason Lang paced five Garnet Chargers in the top-20 of the shot put, taking third with a top distance of 13.85 meters. Classmate Nick Entner also finished in the top 10, thanks to a mark of 12.26 meters that placed him eighth overall. Lang was the top Union entry in the weight throw as well, finishing 14th overall with a mark of 12.80 meters.
 
Sophomore Liam Fitzgibbon and junior Michael Fitzmaurice gave Union a pair of top-seven finishes in the 800 meters, placing fifth and seventh, respectively. Fitzgibbon earned a top-five finish and earned a spot at the Liberty League Championships with a time of 1:59.66, followed by Fitzmaurice in seventh in 2:01.20.
 
In the 60-meter dash, junior Nate Okwaning led four Garnet Chargers with a time of 7.33 seconds, good for 11th place. Classmate Aaron Binion also earned a top-20 finish by crossing the finish line in 7.42 seconds. Okwaning also posted the team's top time in the 200-meter dash, recording another top-20 finish with a time of 24.00 seconds.
 
Sophomore Aidan Bradley and junior Jackson Klehr both earned top-10 finishes for Union in the 400-meter dash. Bradley placed seventh in 53.65 seconds, followed closely by Klehr in ninth after a 53.90-second finish.
 
Junior Bretton Garrick recorded the best mile time of his collegiate career on Friday, finishing in 4:31.46 to place 17th out of 46 runners. First-years Cole Lewek and Greg Keane also both posted big season-bests in the 3,000 meters, with Lewek placing 19th in 9:16.65 and Keane coming in a few seconds behind in 9:19.86 (21st place).
 
The Garnet Chargers will be back in action next Saturday at Springfield College's Massasoit Classic.