KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Bald Eagle trio of Anthony Noto, Gable Strickland, and Wyatt Henson competed at the 2024 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships from March 21-23. Noto led the way for the Bald Eagles, finishing the tournament with a record of 5-1 to place third at 125. Noto ended the year with a 22-3 record, bringing his career record at Lock Haven to 87-10.
“He continues to improve and has confidence in his ability to win at the highest level,” Lock Haven head coach Scott Moore said. “Being a returning All-American is an honor but it’s also a lot of pressure. So, to have him carry that pressure throughout the season, then come out to this national tournament and take third place is awesome. We knew this was going to be a good tournament for him.”
Noto racked up the awards last year including a Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship, a fourth-place finish at last year’s championships, and earning himself All-American honors. Going into the season Noto had his sights set on a national title in 2024.
“My goal this year was to win another MAC title, which I accomplished,” Noto said. “I wanted to become a national champion but third and All-American status is good. All the hard work that I put in paid off. I’m proud to represent Lock Haven.”
As the No. 1 ranked wrestler, Noto started off the season undefeated before falling to then No. 24-ranked Diego Sotelo of Harvard, 11-8, at the Davidson Duals. Noto’s second loss of the year came against unranked Joey Fischer of Clarion by a close 9-6 decision on Feb. 1. After the loss, Noto did not wrestle in Lock Haven’s next two dual meets until Cleveland State on Feb. 16.
“He’s one of the best in the country,” Moore said. “In times like that you just have to move forward. Obviously not his best performances, looking back you got to build back his confidence and reassuring him that he has the ability to repeat as an All American and compete to be a national champion. He took a bit to fine tune some things mentally and made sure that he had the right plan in place and he could follow that to get back to where his goals are. I’m proud of him and the way he handled the stress this season.”
Noto avenged his loss to Sotelo in the Round of 16 with a 9-2 decision victory. In the quarterfinals, Noto defeated defending runner-up Matt Ramos (Purdue) 4-1 by sudden victory (SV). The two wrestlers traded escape points but a takedown in overtime secured the win for Noto. This win was special for the Lima, New York native who lost to Ramos by major decision (10-2) at the NWCA All-Star Classic on Nov. 21.
“[At the All-Star Classic] I knew I didn’t wrestle to the best of my ability,” Noto mentioned. “I was hype that I got that match back against Matt and whenever I lose to someone, I never lose to them again.”
Noto was ranked No. 2 in the country at 125 at the start of the season but quickly took the No. 1 away from Ramos. Noto quickly felt the pressure being ranked No. 1 and with a few tough losses on the year lost some confidence in himself.
“I thought to myself, just be yourself. Anybody is beatable. It’s just a number that’s next to your name. That showed here at nationals. I was the [number] twelve seed coming in and ended up in third so anything’s possible.”
Noto dropped a 4-3 decision to Richie Figueroa (Arizona State) in the semifinals. Two victories in the consolation rounds earned Noto a third-place finish.
Strickland, the No. 27 seed at 133, opened up his championship run with a 17-4 major decision loss to defending champion Vito Arujau of Cornell. Strickland won his first consolation match 2-1 by sudden victory over Zeth Romney of Cal Poly for his first NCAA tournament victory. Strickland was awarded a penalty point in overtime after an illegal hold. In his second consolation match, Strickland fell by a 8-2 decision to Ethan Oakley ending his NCAA tournament run.
“Last year was my first year at nationals,” Strickland noted. I wanted to do better than what I did, but I was able to get one win under my belt which felt nice. Next year, I’ll look to make it back and hopefully I can add a couple more wins.”
At 141, Henson, the No. 12 seed, fell in the first round 4-1 (SV) over Josh Edmond of Missouri. Henson earned an escape-point in the second period to take a 1-0 lead but an escape point of his own along with a takedown in overtime gave Edmond the victory. Henson dropped his first-round consolation match against Purdue’s Greyson Clark by decision (10-9). Things started to get heated on the mat during Henson’s consolation match after Henson was not awarded a takedown in the final few seconds. Lock Haven coaches Scott Moore and Ronnie Perry got into a heated discussion with the refs after the review said no takedown. Perry yelled to the officials “That is so bad.” With Henson’s two losses, he bowed out of the tournament after Day One.
