LHU’s Noto, Strickland & Henson soar to MAC titles, qualify for NCAA Championship

KENT, OH – Anthony Noto (Lima, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima), Gable Strickland (Benton, Pa./Benton) and Wyatt Henson (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg) soared to individual titles to lead the way today on Championship Saturday (March 9) for the Lock Haven men’s wrestling team at the 2024 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship.

By way of their individual dominance, and MAC titles – Noto (125), Strickland (133) and Henson (141) all qualified for the upcoming NCAA Division I Men’s Wrestling Championship.

Noto is now a three-time MAC champion and Strickland has now claimed back-to-back individual Mid-American Conference titles.

In the 125-pound finals, Noto, the top-seed, rolled to a 13-5 major over No. 2 seed Blake West of Northern Illinois. Noto, ranked 20th nationally, was an impressive 3-0 at the MAC Tournament after a 2-0 day yesterday.

Strickland claimed the 133-pound title with a hard-fought 4-3 win over Rider’s Rich Koehler, the No. 2 seed. Strickland, the No. 1 seed, was 3-0 yesterday and finished the tournament with a perfect 4-0 mark.

Henson made it three straight individual Lock Haven titles as the Bald Eagles went 3-for-3 in the finals at 125, 133 and 141 to open the championship session.

In the 141-pound finals, Henson, the top-seed, won by tech fall (21-6) in 5:40 over Jacob Brya of Northern Illinois. Over the two-day span, Henson, ranked 16th nationally, went 3-0 with two tech falls. Today’s tech fall was his 19th this season, which is a single season Lock Haven record and keeps him ranked among the leaders in Division I.

Tyler Stoltzfus (Mifflinburg, Pa./Saint Joseph’s Academy) and Colin Fegley (Mahanoy, Pa./Mahanoy) were both in action today as the two advanced to Day 2 action.

Fegley finished fourth at 184 and Stoltzfus was sixth at 174.

Yesterday (Friday, March 8), on the first of two days of competition at the 2024 MAC Tournament, hosted on the campus of Kent State, it was the powerful front-running trio of Noto (125), Strickland (133) and Henson (141) that led the way for Lock Haven. The three combined to go a perfect 7-0 with two pins, two tech falls and a major decision Friday as each powered their way into today’s finals. A full Day 1 recap is available at GoLHU.com.

Lock Haven entered the tournament having won back-to-back MAC team titles and the Bald Eagles were looking for the three-peat. The Haven finished with another impressive team effort and placed fourth in the 13-team standings. Central Michigan took top honors with second-place Rider and George Mason rounding out the top-three teams just ahead of Lock Haven.

Lock Haven Results (Day 2):

125: #1 seed (No. 20 nationally) Anthony Noto

First Round, bye

Quarterfinals vs. JB Dragovich (George Mason) W, pin (4:00)

Semifinals vs. #5 seed Sean Spidle (Central Michigan) W, dec., 8-6

Finals vs. #2 seed Blake West (Northern Illinois) W, major dec., 13-5

3-0, Champion, National Qualifier

133: #1 seed Gable Strickland

First Round vs. Mason Brugh (Ohio) W, dec., 7-1

Quarterfinals vs. #8 seed Vincent Perez (Central Michigan) W, major dec., 11-2

Semifinals vs. #4 seed Tommy Maddox (Buffalo) W, tech fall, 18-3 (6:58)

Finals vs. #2 seed Richie Koehler (Rider) W, dec., 4-3

4-0, Champion, National Qualifier

141: #1 seed (No. 16 nationally) Wyatt Henson

First Round, bye

Quarterfinals vs. Jacob Brenneman (Edinboro) W, tech fall, 21-7 (3:22)

Semifinals vs. #4 seed Eric Almarinez (SIU Edwardsville) W, pin (6:23)

Finals vs. #2 seed Jacob Brya (Northern Illinois) W, tech fall, 21-6 (5:40)

3-0, Champion, National Qualifier

174: #4 seed Tyler Stoltzfus

First Round vs. Paul Pierce (George Mason) W, dec., 5-2 SV2

Quarterfinals #5 seed John Worthing (Clarion) L, pin (2:21)

Consolation Round 2 vs. Joseph Arnold (Edinboro) W, dec., 7-0

Consolation Quarterfinals vs. Dominic Lopez (SIU Edwardsville) W, tech fall, 17-1 (6:39)

Consolation Semifinals vs. #2 Sal Perrine (Ohio) L, major dec., 12-2

Fifth-Place Match vs. #6 seed Jay Nivison (Buffalo) L, dec., 7-3

3-3, Sixth Place

184: #8 seed Colin Fegley

First Round Kyle Snider (Kent State) W, tech fall, 16-1 (5:39)

Quarterfinals vs. #1 seed Cameron Pine (Clarion) L, major dec., 15-4

Consolation Round 2 vs. Brody Evans (Edinboro) W, major dec., 14-3

Consolation Quarterfinals #5 seed Isaac Dean (Rider) W, dec., 2-1

Consolation Semifinals vs. #7 Deron Pulliam (SIU Edwardsville) W, dec., 2-0

Third-Place Match vs. #4 seed Chase Kranitz (Buffalo) L, dec., 7-3

4-2, Fourth Place

Up Next for Lock Haven:

The 2024 NCAA Division I Men’s Wrestling Championship is set for March 21-23 (Thurs. – Sat.) at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. In the coming days, much more information regarding Lock Haven’s trip to the 2024 NCAA Tournament will be available at GoLHU.com, the official website of Lock Haven Athletics.