2023-24 Schedule | 2023-24 Roster | Live Video (home duals)

LANCASTER, Pa. – The Division I Franklin & Marshall wrestling team has posted back-to-back winning dual meet records for the first time since the 1991-92 season. The Diplomats will return nine of their 10 starters from last year's EIWA Championship lineup, which includes EIWA place winners Mason Leiphart and James Conway.

Celebrating its 100th anniversary of wrestling this year, the Diplomats return all six of their wrestlers who registered at least 20 wins last winter. That group includes Mason Leiphart (27-14 at 125 lbs.) who led the NCAA in technical falls during his rookie campaign. Pat Phillips (23-13 at 133 lbs.), Josh Hilliard (20-18 at 133 & 141 lbs.), Noah Fox (23-15 at 174 lbs.), James Conway (25-15 at 184 lbs.), and John Crawford (24-13 at 197 lbs.) also bring credentialed resumes into the coming season. After breaking into the national rankings during his junior season, Crawford enters his senior campaign ranked 30th in the country by InterMat and 31st by FloWrestling.

The coaching staff will be led by Mike Rogers in his 14th season where he has guided 20 EIWA place winners and nine NCAA qualifiers, highlighted by All-American Rick Durso '16 reaching the podium in 2014. Steve Borja (11th season), Tyson Dippery (sixth season), and Rob Morrison (third season) also return to the coaching staff.

Returning 2023 EIWA Tournament Participants (last year's weight class & record listed)

• Mason Leiphart | So. | 125 lbs.* | 27-14 | Placed eighth at 2022 EIWA Championship, led Division I in technical falls
• Pat Phillips | Jr.| 133 lbs.*  | 23-14 | Entering third year as a starter
• Aidan O'Shea | So. | 141 lbs.* | 16-17 | Started as true freshman
• Bryce Kresho | So. | 149 lbs.* | 14-16 | Started as true freshman
• Nick Alvarez | So. | 157 lbs. | 14-18 | Started as true freshman
• Noah Bash | Jr. | 165 lbs. | 3-18 | Made first EIWA Championship appearance last season
• Noah Fox | Sr. | 174 lbs. | 23-15 | Entering third year as a starter
• James Conway | Jr. | 184 lbs. | 25-15 | Placed seventh at 2022 EIWA Championships
• John Crawford | Sr. | 197 lbs. | 24-13 | Ranked No. 30 by InterMat entering season

* indicates wrestler is expected to compete at a different weight class this season

A look at the newcomers

"This class brings in plenty of experience at the state and national level," said W. Roy Phillips '34 Wrestling Coach Mike Rogers. "They all love the sport of wrestling and working hard.  On top of that, they are all incredibly strong students with high academic goals. They are exactly the type of student-athletes that we are looking for at F&M."

A complete breakdown of the incoming class is available here.

Weight-by-weight breakdown

125: With Mason Leiphart starting the year at 133 lbs., that opens the door for two first-years to see immediate time in the starting lineup. Local product Eric Howe has four years of eligibility remaining of transferring from George Mason where he did not compete in any collegiate matches due to injury. Competing scholastically at Lancaster Catholic, Howe was a two-time PIAA AA state qualifier who reached the round of 12 during his final two seasons and was named the Lancaster-Lebanon League AA Wrestler of the Year as a junior. Jack Parker comes to the Diplomats after winning a Virginia State Championship as a senior to cap a career that saw him additionally earn NHSCA All-America honors.

133: The Division I leader in technical falls last season, Mason Leiphart, begins his sophomore competing up a weight class where he placed eighth in his EIWA Championship debut. Leiphart won a team-high 27 matches last season and put up bonus points during 56 percent of his matches. Having gone 11-1 in dual meets last season, Leiphart is already tied for the school record with 13 technical falls after just one season and was one match away from qualifying to the national championships. Senior Gio Diaz and three of Leiphart's sophomore classmates make for a deep weight at F&M. Diaz competed at the EIWA Championships as a sophomore in 2021-22 after posting a 12-11 regular season record but will need to work his way back from injury. Aidan O'Shea also competed at last year's EIWA Championships where he represented the Diplomats at 141 lbs. O'Shea won 16 matches during his first-year campaign and placed at both the Wilkes Open and Shorty Hitchcock Tournaments. Brandon Sauter and Drew Currier also saw some early success in their careers with nine and five victories as true first-years, respectively.

141: Junior captain Pat Phillips headlines a young, but talented weight for the Diplomats. Up from 133 lbs. his first two seasons, Phillips has already competed at two EIWA Championships and made waves on the national scene last year when he defeated returning All-American Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) during a runner-up finish at the Southeast Open. He owns a 38-25 career record (18-12 EIWA) after posting 23 victories last season. Phillips has nine technical falls in his career to rank fifth in program history as the Diplomats possess a lot of scoring potential in the lower weights. Josh Hillard brings more bonus point potential to the lineup as he racked up 11 pins during a 20-18 redshirt campaign that saw the Manheim Township graduate post bonus points in 46 percent of his matches. Bryce Kresho moved up 149 lbs. to represent F&M at the 2023 EIWA Championships where he finished his true first-year campaign with a 14-16 record, including a third place finish at the Messiah Open. North Carolina state champion Brandt Fajerman adds to the talented weight class where he was also a NHSCA Senior Nationals All-American as a senior.

149: With Bryce Kresho competing back down at 141 lbs., that leaves an opportunity in the lineup at a weight that features two returners and two incoming first-years. Senior Hunter Hockensmith has won six matches during his career, while Avery Clarke saw time in the starting lineup on occasion last season and has 12 career wins to his resume. Both of the first-years should also be competitive for starting spots in the lineup as they were both state champions in high school. Luke Bender was a two-time Delaware state champion who missed his junior season due to injury. He later won a NHSCA Senior National Championship to cap his high school career. Billy Templeton won the 2023 New Jersey Group III State Championship after a 37-5 senior season where he was honored as his high school's athlete of the year across all sports.

157: Nick Alvarez started right away as a first-year and returns at the same weight for his sophomore season. Alvarez won 14 matches a season ago and placed fourth at the Wilkes Open as part of a season-high five-match winning streak. Senior Anthony Micci is another veteran option at the weight with nine of his 12 career victories coming last winter. Chris Arciuolo was limited to just four matches in his rookie season due to injury, but looks ready to make a full return to the mats. First-year Tyler Shea joins the Diplomats after winning a Western New England Independent School Wrestling Association state championship. Shea was ranked as high No. 14 in the prep national rankings where he was a two-time national prep qualifier.

165: Junior Noah Bash won the starting spot at 165 lbs. prior to the EIWA Championships last season and will return with that postseason appearance to his credit. All of his victories last year came by fall after he did not compete during his first-year campaign. Fellow junior Makoa Niebel posted bonus points during three of his four wins after he also did not compete during his first-year as a member of the Cal Baptist team before transferring to F&M. Underclassmen Josh Palmucci and Dominic Wheatley will also vie for the starting job at this weight. Palmucci competed in just five matches last season, but has worked hard in the offseason to prepare himself for the Division I season. Wheatley, a first-year, was a three-time state qualifier in Pennsylvania's AAA class, including a third-place finish as a senior for Nazareth High School to cap a 42-4 season record.

174: Senior captain Noah Fox has started during each of his first two competitive seasons with the Diplomats and is coming off of his strongest year to date where he went 23-15 overall. The winner of 41 career matches, Fox has already won tournament titles at the 2022 Wilkes Open and Messiah Open. Entering his second season as a team captain, he started a string of strong upper weight performances last season and had won seven straight matches last season before a 3-2 loss against Northwestern's nationally-ranked Troy Fisher at Midlands. Sophomore RJ Moore started most of last season as a true first-year at 165 lbs. Moore has put himself in line for future success by building his muscle into the 174 lb. weight class to give the Diplomats plenty of experience at the weight.

184: Junior captain James Conway will also be entering his third season as a starter in the Diplomats' lineup. Right in the mix for a spot on the EIWA podium during his first two seasons, Conway broke through last winter with a seventh-place finish at the conference championships. The junior won 25 matches last winter and has 43 career wins to his resume. Looking for a breakthrough on the national stage, Conway has several close matches with some of the EIWA's top contenders at his weight and will certainly be right back in the mix for a spot at nationals this season. First-year Jake Allred was a two-time PIAA AAA state qualifier prior to joining the Diplomats and could see action at both 184 lbs. and 197 lbs. behind two of the stalwarts in the lineup.

197: Senior captain John Crawford broke into the national rankings last season when he defeated Virginia's Michael Battista during the first tournament of the season and finds himself on the national radar again after the release of the preseason national rankings. Crawford added another nationally-ranked win to his resume when he defeated North Carolina's Max Shaw on his way to the finals of the David H. Lehman '68 F&M Open. Crawford owns a 46-34 record after winning 24 matches last season (10-5 EIWA record in 2022-23). He has placed at five different tournaments throughout his collegiate career and will compete with the nation's best for a spot at the Division I National Championships.

285: The only weight with a graduated senior, it will be a new era for F&M heavyweights as the team will not have a Pelusi anchoring the lineup for the first time since the 2015-16 season. Brothers Cenzo '23 and Antonio '19 left a great legacy at the weight which will now look for a new wrestler to rise up and claim the spot. Senior Harrison Shapiro started his career at 184 lbs., but will see his first action at heavyweight after wrestling at 197 lbs. last season. Shapiro has placed in four tournaments throughout his career and will now have the chance step into the starting lineup. Junior Tyler O'Boyle made his NCAA wrestling competitive debut last year, posting a 3-7 record that included two falls and a medical forfeit. His best tournament came when he placed fifth at the 2023 Messiah Open. First-year Quincy Long will also join the room after wrapping up his fall as a member of the football team. Long was an All-Metropolitan football player and wrestler as named by the Washington Post while competing at Georgetown Prep.

A look at the schedule

Franklin & Marshall opens its schedule with the Southeast Open this Saturday where a number of Diplomats got their names of the national radar during that tournament last year. Other notable tournaments on the slate included the Journeyman Collegiate Classic (Nov. 12), Keystone Classic (Nov. 19), Midlands Championships (Dec. 29-30), and David H. Lehman '68 F&M Open (Jan. 5). The Lehman Open will be especially memorable during the upcoming season as the tournament's namesake was just recently inducted into the Franklin & Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame, along with NCAA qualifier and EIWA finalist Brendan James '98. F&M is still searching for its first individual champion at its annual home tournament which is now in its 11th season attracting some of the top Division I teams and wrestlers from around the country. The Diplomats' home opener will be a quad dual meet on Sunday, December 3 as the Diplomats battle Big Ten foe Michigan State along with VMI, Presbyterian, and Bloomsburg. Schools from the EIWA, Big Ten, MAC, and SoCon are all represented on the team's dual meet schedule with chances to compete against the ACC, Big 12, and PAC 12 at nearly all of the tournaments on the team's schedule. 

Eye on the Postseason

With plenty of work to be put in before the postseason, the 2024 EIWA Championships will be hosted by Bucknell from March 8-9. F&M has had multiple EIWA place winners during each of the past two seasons and four times overall during head coach Mike Rogers' tenure in Lancaster. The 2024 NCAA Division I National Championships will be held in Kansas City, Missouri from Thursday, March 21 through Saturday, March 23. Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the program this year, the Diplomats will also be looking for their next NCAA qualifier to be the 100th in program history.