LEXINGTON, Va. – The Franklin & Marshall men's track & field team kicked off its outdoor season at the Washington and Lee Carnival this weekend. Multiple Diplomats had strong performances in the team's first chance to compete at an outdoor venue.

Brian Mix was an individual champion in his outdoor debut as he won the 1,500 meter race with a time of 4:21.58. Teammate Aiden Cotter (4:27.72) was fourth in that same event. Cotter and Mix also ran the first two legs of the 4x400 relay which placed ninth in a time of 3:37.23. Jake Zion and Justin Harrison completed the final two legs of that relay.

Harrison and Zion additionally competed in the 400 meter individual race with respective times of 51.97 seconds and 52.69 seconds. Harrison's finish placed him 14th for the event. Action on the track additionally included Cole Smith taking second in the steeplechase with a time of 11:40.03. Josh Excell led all Diplomats in the 100 meters with a time of 12.11 seconds, while Greg Bruno was the top finisher for F&M in the 200 meters with a time of 23.28 seconds. Bruno was also the team's top finisher in the long jump with a mark of 5.47 meters.

The field events saw third place finishes from both Austin Hadley (shot put) and Dustin Stoetzel (javelin). After winning the conference's indoor title and qualifying for regionals, Hadley had his first outdoor throws top out at 14.47 meters. Stoetzel's best javelin throw was marked at 52.81 meters. Nate DeRosa (48.59m) and Benjamin Ford (47.72m) joined him in the top 10 of the individual javelin performances at W&L. Ford led the team in the hammer throw with his best mark of 40.38 meters being the eighth-best mark in program history. Ben Ostroski added a top 10 finish in the discus with his best throw being marked at 36.75 meters.

Men's track & field will continue outdoor action at the Little Three Meet that will be hosted at Gettysburg and contested from Friday, March 27 through Saturday, March 28.