CLINTON, S.C. – The Franklin & Marshall wrestling team went 2-1 at Presbyterian's Blue Hose Quad Meet on Thursday morning. The Diplomats dropped their first dual of the year to Air Force by a 27-14 score to start the day, but rebounded with victories against Davidson (W, 25-13) and Presbyterian (W, 31-10).

Josh Palmucci (165 lbs.), James Conway (184 lbs.), and Brody Kline (285 lbs.) each went a perfect 3-0 on the day, while the 157 lb. combination of Josh Hillard (2-0) and Nick Alvarez (1-0) made it four undefeated weight classes throughout the event. The Diplomats won 17 of the 30 varsity bouts contested as 10 different wrestlers picked up at least one victory, including the extra matches that were wrestled.

Adding to his perfect 3-0 day, James Conway – the current unanimous No. 7 wrestler in the country at 184 lbs. – improved to 19-1 on the season which is the most victories of any Division I wrestler this year. Conway recorded a major decision and two technical falls as 12 of his victories have now come by bonus points. His seven technical falls this season is tied for the lead among all Division I wrestlers.

Air Force 27, Franklin & Marshall 14

The Falcons raced out to a 16-0 lead with bonus points during three of the first four matches to start the day. The Diplomats closed the gap by winning four of the final six bouts, but could not climb out of the early hole. At 157 lbs., Hillard scored three takedowns before earning four near fall late in the third period to secure a 15-6 major decision. Palmucci followed that up with takedowns during the second and third periods of his 6-5 decision. Conway used four takedowns to fuel his 14-2 major decision while Kline secured a first period takedown during his eventual 4-2 victory to highlight the four victories against the Big 12 foe.

Franklin & Marshall 25, Davidson 13

The Diplomats got off to a much stronger start against Davidson and carried that success through the remainder of the duals as they won six of 10 bouts against the Wildcats. Mason Leiphart needed just 1:25 to secure a takedown and 12 near fall points for a technical fall. Fellow captain Bryce Kresho followed up that performance with a fall in 2:09 to get the team out to a 11-3 lead. The senior class continued to come through for F&M as Hillard had takedowns during each of the last two periods for an 8-3 decision. Josh Palmucci put his team up 19-6 as he went feet to back late in the third period to make a 4-2 deficit a 9-4 decision in his favor.

Conway officially secured F&M's dual victory as he took just under five minutes to rack up four takedowns and four more near fall during his 17-1 technical fall. Kline capped the 25-13 victory with a sudden victory decision. After going into overtime tied at one, Kline was able to take his opponent right to his back in the sudden victory period. The sophomore nearly closed the dual with a fall, but eventually settled for the 8-1 decision as the Diplomats racked up a 63-25 advantage in match points, which included scoring the only 24 near fall points of the match.

Franklin & Marshall 31, Presbyterian 10

F&M kept the points coming against the hosts as it scored 99 match points to close the day with a victory. The points came early and often as Jack Parker started the dual with a 15-0 technical fall in just 67 seconds. Leiphart continued with the torrid pace and was leading 14-0 before his opponent was called for stalling a fifth time and disqualified from the match. Presbyterian cut the lead to 11-6 with decisions at the next two weight classes, but the Diplomats continued to roll in the second half of the lineup. They would close the day's action by winning five of the final six bouts to take seven of 10 total bouts against the hosts. Overall, F&M was 13-5 on the day from matches from 157 lbs. through heavyweight.

Nick Alvarez got the call at 157 lbs. during the final match of the day and responded by taking a 14-1 lead after the first period before his technical fall just 40 seconds into the second period. Palmucci continued his late heroics at 165 lbs. by scoring six points (plus riding time) during the third period of his 10-6 decision. Brandon Carr got in the win column with a takedown during each of the three periods on his way to an 11-2 major decision. Conway followed up that performance with six total takedowns in the span of 4:52 to earn his second technical fall of the day. Kline closed the dual with a 7-3 decision at heavyweight. He had the only two takedowns of that match while conceding just escape points. In an extra match, Ejiro Montoya wrestled up at 141 lbs. but showed no effects in the higher weight class as he scored seven takedowns during a 22-6 technical fall that took 4:47.

Up Next

Wrestling officially closes the 2025 calendar year with a small contingent traveling to the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships at Northwestern from December 29-30. The full team will return to action on Friday, January 9 when the Diplomats welcome numerous Division I teams to the David H. Lehman '68 F&M Open inside the Alumni Sports & Fitness Center. Now in its 13th season, the Lehman Open constantly brings some of the top Division I teams and individuals to Lancaster for a day full of thrilling action on the mats.

Franklin & Marshall Full Results

Air Force 27, Franklin & Marshall 14
125: Tucker Owens (AF) TF Jack Parker (F&M); 3:00 (17-0) (Air Force 5-0)
133: Gavin Caprella (AF) maj. Mason Leiphart (F&M); 14-3 (Air Force 9-0)
141: Carter Nogle (AF) maj. Bryce Kresho (F&M); 16-6 (Air Force 13-0)
149: Bryce Shelton (AF) dec. Pat Phillips (F&M); 7-5 (Air Force 16-0)
157: Josh Hillard (F&M) maj. Jake Doone (AF); 15-6 (Air Force 16-4)
165: Josh Palmucci (F&M) dec. Logan Fowler (AF); 6-5 (Air Force 16-7)
174: Gunner Cramblett (AF) TF Brandon Carr (F&M); 4:19 (17-2) (Air Force 21-7)
184: #7 James Conway (F&M) maj. Brian Burburjia (AF); 14-2 (Air Force 21-11)
197: #32 Karson Tompkins (AF) WBF RJ Moore (F&M); 2:55 (Air Force 27-11)
285: Brody Kline (F&M) dec. Rylan Kuhn (AF); 4-2
157 Extra: John Jurkovic (Air Force) dec. Aidan O`Shea (Franklin & Marshall); 10-4
197 Extra: Owen Heiser (Air Force) TF Jake Allred (Franklin & Marshall); 1:02 (15-0)

Franklin & Marshall 25, Davidson 13
125: Brady Joling (DAV) dec. Jack Parker (F&M); 4-0 (Davidson 3-0)
133: Mason Leiphart (F&M) TF Luke Passarelli (DAV); 1:25 (15-0) (F&M 5-3)
141: Bryce Kresho (F&M) WBF Marley Washington (DAV); 2:09 (F&M 11-3)
149: Anderson Heap (DAV) dec. Pat Phillips (F&M); 2-1 (TB-1) (F&M 11-6)
157: Josh Hillard (F&M) dec. Anwar Alli (DAV); 8-3 (F&M 14-6)
165: Josh Palmucci (F&M) dec. Bryce Griffin (DAV); 9-4 (F&M 17-6)
174: Marc Koch (DAV) dec. Dominic Wheatley (F&M); 1-0 (F&M 17-9)
184: #7 James Conway (F&M) TF Josh Lange (DAV); 5:59 (17-1) (F&M 22-9)
197: Dylan Smith (DAV) maj. RJ Moore (F&M); 9-1 (F&M 22-13)
285: Brody Kline (F&M) dec. DJ Spring (DAV); 8-1 (SV) (F&M 25-13)

Franklin & Marshall 31, Presbyterian 10
125: Jack Parker (F&M) TF Dallas Canoyer(PRES); 1:07 (15-0) (F&M 5-0)
133: Mason Leiphart (F&M) DEF. Brayden Adams (PRES); Stalling DQ (F&M 11-0)
141: Ryan Luna (PRES) dec. Bryce Kresho (F&M); 5-1 (F&M 11-3)
149: Matt Rodriguez (PRES) dec. Aidan O`Shea (F&M); 9-2 (F&M 11-6)
157: Nick Alvarez (F&M) TF Niko Valenzuela (PRES); 3:40 (16-1) (F&M 16-6)
165: Josh Palmucci (F&M) dec. Yanik Simon (PRES); 10-6 (F&M 19-6)
174: Brandon Carr (F&M) maj. Kyser Kostoff (PRES); 11-2 (F&M 23-6)
184: #7 James Conway (F&M) over Joshua Henderson (PRES); 4:52 (19-4) (F&M 28-6)
197: Reed Douglass (PRES) maj. Jake Allred (F&M); 15-4 (F&M 28-10)
285: Brody Kline (F&M) dec. Morvens Saint-Jean (PRES); 7-3 (F&M 31-10)
141 Extra: Ejiro Montoya (F&M) TF Alex Schweitzer (PRES); 4:47 (22-6)