TROY, N.Y. – The Union College men's outdoor track & field team finished in fifth place at the RPI Under the Lights Invitational, held on Friday and Saturday at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Ned Harkness Field and Track.
 
The Garnet Chargers held firm in the fifth spot after starting the day in fifth, ending the weekend with 34 points. UAlbany took top honors with 262 points, followed by Rensselaer with 244 points. Union was third among Division III teams at the meet, behind RPI and Plattsburgh State (53 points), thanks in part to 21 season-best performances.
 
Junior Michael Fitzmaurice earned a win for Union in the unseeded portion of the 1,500 meters, beating 22 other competitors with a time of 4:11.06. He was one of five Union runners to post season-best times in the event, including a top-six finish for junior Will Bonnette (4:18.20).
 
First-year Greg Keane picked up another win for the Garnet Chargers in the unseeded 5,000-meter run, winning by over six seconds with a time of 16:00.91. He was joined in the top-three by junior Ben Pistiner, who finished in 16:25.20.
 
Union also received a third-place finish from junior Aaron Binion in the unseeded section of the 200-meter dash, finishing his half-lap in a career-best 23.02 seconds. The junior recorded a top-10 finish in the 100-meter dash as well, taking 10th out of 47 runners by finishing in 11.44 seconds.
 
Senior Jason Bois started the day for Union by taking sixth in the prelims of the 110-meter hurdles, crossing the line in a season-best 15.44 seconds to earn a spot at the AARTFC Championships. He also finished sixth in the finals with a time of 15.83 seconds.
 
Seniors Mason Lang and Tony Cocchiaro both had the best hammer throws of their careers on Saturday, with Lang taking 10th at 40.85 meters and Cocchiaro placing 16th at 38.66 meters. Lang also earned a top-10 finish in the shot put, posting a season-best mark of 13.35 meters to place eighth.
 
Union also recorded top-five finishes in both relay events. The 4x100 relay of Binion, Bois, junior Kye Norcross and sophomore Aidan Bradley finished in 45.21 seconds to place fifth, while the quartet of Fitzmaurice, seniors Drew Hill and Aidan Savitt, and junior Jackson Klehr ran the 4x400 in 3:35.13 to take third.
 
Union will be back in action next Saturday at the Trinity (Conn.) Invitational.