HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall men's cross country team placed seventh out of nine teams at the Centennial Conference Championship that was hosted by Haverford on Saturday afternoon. Only regionally-ranked teams finished ahead of the Diplomats who defeated Muhlenberg and McDaniel at the postseason championship.

Zach Houff led Franklin & Marshall to the finish line as he placed 22nd in the field with a time of 25:43.6, improving his conference finish by 16 spots from a season ago. Classmate Tommy Tapino also came in under 26 minutes as he placed 29th with a time of 25:59.3.

The Diplomats' third and fourth finishers came to the line in succession with George Williams (27:17.1) and Asher Walton (27:18.4) placing 61st and 62nd, respectively. In addition to Walton, two of the Diplomats' five scoring runners were first-years as Walter Mulroy (27:35.4) placed 70th in his conference championship debut. Mulroy's time set a new personal best during his rookie campaign.

Senior Aiden Cotter (27:44.3) and junior Addison Neuen (28:26.6) came across the line as F&M's sixth and seventh runners. Harvey Li was just off the pace of those two with a time of 28:31.8. Senior Cole Smith ran to a time of 30:24.7 in his final conference championship meet, with first-years Rowan Grant (29:56.7), Milo Burns (30:31.7), Chase Bellamy (31:21.3), and Geoffrey Beane (31:33.6) all making their postseason debuts.

Franklin & Marshall continues its postseason with the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship set for Saturday, November 14. Hosted at Lock Haven, the men's race is set for a 12 p.m. start and will decide the teams and individuals who will be advancing to the NCAA Division III Championship.