LANCASTER, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall men's track & field team opened its indoor schedule by hosting the Diplomat Open on Friday afternoon inside the Alumni Sports & Fitness Center. That meet was the first of three regular season home meets that the Diplomats will hold inside their home facility this winter.

In a field of 14 teams, Zach Houff had F&M's highest individual finish as he placed third in the 800 meters with a time of 1:59.91. Houff also ran the third leg of the 4x400 relay that finished in sixth place to close the meet with a time of 3:42.97. Justin Harrison, Jake Zion, and Wesley Ihezuo also competed on that top relay. Harrison earned his best individual finish with a top 10 showing in the 400 meters (54.23 seconds).

Also competing on the track were a number of cross country runners who made the quick transition to indoors. Sean Gorman place 10th in the mile (4:50.47) to lead a trio of top 20 finishers where he was joined by Aiden Cotter (4:52.16) and Tommy Tapino (4:55.12). Addison Neuen was the team's top finisher in the 5,000 meters as he crossed the finish line in a time of 17:01.52.

The throwing events had a number of high placers. Benjamin Ford led the team in both of those events as he took fifth in the shot put (13.35m) and 10th in the weight throw (13.84m). James Martin debuted with a seventh-place finish in the shot put (12.88) while Dustin Stoetzel added a 12th-place showing in the weight throw (12.93). One of the busiest athletes of the afternoon was Greg Bruno as he competed in the high jump (1.60m), pole vault (3.55m), and 200 meter dash (24.23 seconds).

Men's track & field will now break from competition as the team heads into final exams. The Diplomats are taking a winter trip to Virginia this year when they return to action at Shenandoah's Kaye & JJ Smith Invitational on Sunday, January 11.