ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall men's track & field team competed at Elizabethtown's Blue Jay Tune-Up this weekend in the team's final preparations for the upcoming Centennial Conference Outdoor Championships. The Diplomats scored 93 team points to come away with a third-place finish, headlined by three event victories.

Zach Houff won the 800 meter race in an event where he took second at the indoor conference championships and competed at the national meet. Houff finished his 800 meter race on Saturday with a time of 1:57.15. Houff capped his meet by running the opening leg of the 4x400 meter relay which also took first with a time of 3:31.80. That relay additionally featured Tom Dowd, Justin Harrison, and Jake Zion who carried the baton of the finish. Each of those final three legs were the team's top finishers in the 400 meter race.

Franklin & Marshall got a third individual title from James Martin in the shot put with his best throw of 13.33 meters. Reigning conference indoor champion Austin Hadley was second in that same event (13.28m).

The throwers overall had a strong meet, with three top 10 marks in program history for hammer providing another highlight on the weekend. Dustin Stoetzel posted the second-best hammer throw (47.64m) in program history, with Benjamin Ford (46.66m) providing the sixth-best distance in school history. Ben Ostroski also had a personal best of 39.26 meters and now ranks ninth in school history for the hammer throw. Ford led the javelin throwers with a second-place individual finish (50.17), with Stoetzel (48.07m) in third, and Nate DeRosa (42.85m) in sixth. In the discus, both Hadley (39.70m) and Ostroski (39.08m) took home top five finishes despite tough conditions.

Greg Bruno scored in both track and field events as he was the runner-up in the pole vault by clearing 3.10 meters. He also took fourth in the 200 meter dash (23.76). Cole Smith added a fourth-place finish to the team's score in the steeplechase with a time of 11:04.67. Makonnen Martin was F&M's top finisher in the 100 meter dash (12.07 seconds), while Aiden Cotter led the team's efforts in the 1,500 meters (4:29.21).

Up next will be championship week as the Diplomats head to Gettysburg for the 2026 Centennial Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships. That meet will start on Friday, May 1 and continue through Sunday, May 3.

Franklin & Marshall Scoring Performances

200 meters
4. Greg Bruno (23.76)

800 meters
1. Zach Houff (1:57.15)

Steeplechase
4. Cole Smith (11:04.67)

Discus
4. Austin Hadley (39.70m)
5. Ben Ostroski (39.08m)

Hammer
3. Dustin Stoetzel (47.64m) – second in school history
4. Benjamin Ford (46.66m) – sixth in school history
10. Ben Ostroski (39.26m) – ninth in school history

Javelin
2. Benjamin Ford (50.17m)
3. Dustin Stoetzel (48.07m)
6. Nate DeRosa (42.85m)

Shot Put
1. James Martin (13.33m)
2. Austin Hadley (13.28m)

Pole Vault
2. Greg Bruno (3.10m)

4x400 Relay
1. Zach Houff, Tom Dowd, Justin Harrison, Jake Zion (3:31.80)