Five from Men’s Track & Field Named CSC Academic All-District

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Five members of the Union College men’s cross country and track & field teams were recognized for their achievements in competition as well as their success in the classroom with spots on the 2024-25 Academic All-District Track & Field and Cross Country Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators and announced last week.
 
Senior Ben Neff was recognized for the third straight season, while juniors Tony Cocchiaro and Mason Lang both earned the honor for the second straight year. Senior Sam Ahern and sophomore Aaron Binion picked up Academic All-District honors for the first time in their careers as well.

To be nominated for College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-District honors, student-athletes must rank in the top 50 in their region in a single individual event in cross country, indoor track or outdoor track; maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher; and reach sophomore athletic and academic standing at the school. All Academic All-District honorees are considered for advancement to the CSC Academic All-America ballot.

 

Neff capped off his collegiate career with another successful year on the cross-country trails and the track for the Garnet Chargers. During the fall, Neff earned All-Liberty League second-team honors and went on to post his best 8K time of the season at the NCAA Mideast Regionals, finishing 27th to earn All-Region honors and qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The senior ended the indoor track season 19th in the Mideast Region in the mile and also finished eighth regionally and 78th nationally in the outdoor 1500 meters. The economics major finished his career by anchoring the 4×800 relay that earned an AARTFC Championship and broke the school record, giving him a share of three program records.

 

Ahern also finished his decorated Union career on a high note this year, breaking three Union track records and earning the school’s William B. Jaffe ’26 Athletic Award. The senior reset his own program standards in the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes during the indoor season, finishing sixth and second in the region, respectively. His 200 time of 21.89 seconds earned him All-Liberty League second-team honors, ranked 22nd best in Division III and qualified him for the NCAA Indoor Championships, making him Union’s first sprinter at the national event in 20 years. The economics major also reset the program mark in the outdoor 200 meters with a time that ranked 10th in the region and just outside the top-100 nationally.

 

Lang had another solid season leading the Union throwing unit, ranking in the top-40 of the Mideast Region in four different events. His best event was the shot put, in which he ranked eighth regionally during both the indoor and outdoor seasons, including All-Liberty League second-team honors during the indoor season. The biomedical engineering and Chinese double major spread out his success to other throwing disciplines as well, ranking 15th regionally in the outdoor javelin throw as well as 36th in the indoor weight throw and 40th in the outdoor hammer throw.

 

Binion finished his sophomore season regionally ranked in four different events for Union. He posted the team’s top triple jump of the indoor season to rank 32nd in the Mideast Region and also placed top-50 in the 60-meter dash as well. His top regional finish of the year came outdoors in the 100-meter dash, ranking 30th among Mideast runners, while the electrical engineering major also ranked 37th in the 200-meter dash as well.

 

Cocchiaro was recognized for the second straight season after earning a top-50 regionally ranking in both the indoor and outdoor shot put. He finished the indoor season 31st in the Mideast Region in the event, and the mechanical engineering major also ranked inside the top-30 during the outdoor season.

 

With the five honorees, Union student-athletes have now earned 270 Academic All-District honors since 2001.