LANCASTER, Pa. – A young team brings plenty of optimism and the chance for continued improvement for the Franklin & Marshall men's track & field team during the 2025-26 season. The Diplomats' roster features 19 first-years and sophomores to mix with the talented veterans. F&M is set to begin the indoor season on Friday with its first of four home meets inside the Alumni Sports & Fitness Center.
Key Returners
Even with a young roster, there are still a number of experienced veterans on the squad. A lot of that returning experience comes in the throwing events where Austin Hadley is a returning All-Centennial Conference performer after concluding his football season as an All-CC selection on the defensive line. During the outdoor season, he holds the fourth-best discus mark in program history. A season ago, he just missed all-conference accolades during the indoor championships where he placed fourth overall. Benjamin Ford, Ben Ostroski, and Dustin Stoetzel each hold top 10 marks in program history for the weight throw where Ford is coming off a fifth-place finish at last year's conference championship.
On the track, Zach Hour scored in the 800 meters during both the indoor and outdoor championships as a rookie and will look to improve on those performances this year. Classmate Tommy Tapino joins Houff after the two put together strong cross country seasons. Tapino excels in the distance events where he holds the third-fastest indoor 5,000 meter time in school history. Senior Alex Olener and junior Wesley Ihezuo lead the sprinters. Olener scored in the hurdles during the outdoor championships last year, while both he and Ihezuo hold top 10 marks in school history for the 60 meter dash on the indoor surface.
In addition to a number of talented throwers, other strong returning field performers include sophomore Greg Bruno and senior Kenny Uchida. Bruno's best even a season ago was the pole vault where he placed eighth at the indoor championships. Uchida was an all-conference long jumper during the 2024 season and has the third-best mark in school history for that event indoors.
Schedule
Franklin & Marshall will host the Diplomat Invitational on Friday, December 5 before breaking for the semester. Both the Coach I Invitational (Jan. 24) and Mini Dip Invitational (Feb. 7) will be held inside the Alumni Sports & Fitness Center as well in preparation for the team hosting the 2026 Centennial Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships. A winter break trip to Virginia is another highlight of the indoor schedule which includes trips to Washington, D.C., Susquehanna, and Cornell.
Last Season
The Diplomats finished ninth at both the indoor and outdoor Centennial Conference Championships which is where the Diplomats are projected to finish again in a vote of the conference's head coaches during the preseason poll.
