The season has ended for the Lock Haven men’s wrestling team. Despite a 7-11 dual record on the year, the Bald Eagles still had some memorable moments from the season with three wrestlers winning MAC Championships and competing at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Here are my top 5 moments from this past season.
Honorable mention: Strickland wins first career NCAA tournament match
133-pound wrestler Gable Strickland punched his ticket to nationals for the second straight year after winning back-to-back MAC Championships. Strickland went 0-2 in 2023 but grabbed his first tournament victory in the consolation round this year. Strickland faced off against Zeth Romney of Cal Poly. Both wrestlers earned escape points making the score 1-1 heading to overtime. An illegal hold on Romney gave Strickland a penalty point for the victory.
5. Stonecheck pins Schickel
The Bald Eagles powered their way past longtime rival Clarion in a MAC East dual. Lock Haven had a 19-13 lead with two matches remaining. The 149-bout featured Nick Stonecheck against Kyle Schickel. Schickel immediately scored a takedown to take a 3-0 lead before Stonecheck responded with an escape point. Schickel remained in control until a reversal by Stonecheck led to a victory by pin in 1:34 to clinch the dual victory for Lock Haven.
4. Henson sets tech fall record
In his first year at Lock Haven, Wyatt Henson made his mark. Henson broke the single-season tech fall record with 19 breaking the previous record held by Brad Lloyd (16) back in 1988-89. In addition, 16 of Henson’s 19 tech falls came against Division I opponents. Henson is good on his feet which allows him to secure a takedown. He’ll take his opponent down and let him back up, giving up neutral points to ultimately secure a tech fall.
3. Noto, Strickland, and Henson win MAC titles
A fourth-place finish for Lock Haven does not show the success they had at the 2024 MAC Championships. Anthony Noto, Strickland, and Henson all won MAC titles at 125, 133, and 141, respectively. Noto started with a pin in 4:00 over JB Dragovich. An 8-6 decision victory pushed Noto into the finals where he recorded a 13-5 major decision victory over Blake West of Northern Illinois.
Strickland started his MAC run with back-to-back decision victories to make his way to the semifinals. In his semifinal match, Strickland earned an 18-3 tech fall victory in 6:58 over Buffalo’s Tommy Maddox. A 4-3 victory earned Strickland a MAC title over Richie Koehler, whom he lost to 4-1 by sudden victory (SV) earlier in the year.
In his first year in the MAC, Henson ran away with the title, starting with a 21-6 tech fall in 3:22 over Jacob Brenneman followed by a pin over Eric Almarinez in 6:23. In the final bout, Henson recorded another 21-6 tech fall victory over Jacob Brya in 5:40.
2. Noto places third at NCAA Championships
Noto placed fourth at last year’s national tournament and made his presence known with a third-place finish this past year. Noto won his first two matches in a 5-3 decision over Brandon Kaylor and a 9-2 decision over Diego Sotelo. Noto continued his winning ways by defeating Matt Ramos of Purdue in the quarterfinals before dropping his match over eventual champion Richie Figueroa 4-3. The Lima, New York native fought his way back in the consolation rounds with a 4-1 overtime victory over Caleb Smith of Nebraska. In the third-place bout, Noto defeated Eric Barnett of Wisconsin by a 7-3 decision.
1. Noto takes out Ramos at NCAA Championships
125 was a whirlwind this year with multiple wrestlers having a shot at being the national champion. Ramos was ranked No. 1 at the start of the season with Noto being ranked No. 2. One week in the season saw Noto overtake Ramos for the No. 1 spot. The two wrestlers faced off on Nov. 21 at the NWCA All-Star Classic held at Penn State University. Ramos came out on top majoring Noto 10-2 to reclaim his No. 1 spot. At the NCAA tournament, Noto and Ramos met in the quarterfinal round. Noto took a 1-0 lead thanks to an escape in the second period. Ramos responded with a third-period escape point to send the match to overtime. Noto scored the winning takedown avenging his loss to Ramos 4-1 in SV.
Lock Haven’s Anthony Noto’s sudden victory takedown in the NCAA quarterfinals secured his second career trip to the medal round and clinched the seventh All-American honor during the tenure of Bald Eagle head coach Scott Moore. pic.twitter.com/gtni04wdpS
— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) March 29, 2024
