All-American Anthony Noto soars into the NCAA Semifinals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Anthony Noto (Lima, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima) continued to lead the way for the No. 24 Lock Haven men’s wrestling team at 2024 NCAA Division I Men’s Wrestling Championship as he downed No. 4 seed Matt Ramos of Purdue in sudden victory in this morning’s quarterfinal round (Day 2/Session 3) and with the win, he booked a spot in the national semifinals tonight.
With the quarterfinal victory, Noto also secured All-American status for the second straight year.
Noto became Lock Haven’s first two-time All-American since Chance Marsteller claimed All-American honors in 2018 and 2019. The quarterfinal win over Ramos, last year’s national runner-up at 125 pounds, pushed Noto into tonight’s semifinals. Noto is the Bald Eagles’ first national semifinalist since assistant coach Ronnie Perry made a Cinderella-run to the 149-pound finals in 2018.
With Noto securing All-American status, he’s guaranteed a top-six finish at this point and it serves as the 45th time a Lock Haven Bald Eagle has achieved DI All-American honors on the mats.
In today’s quarterfinals, Noto locked up with a familiar foe and he once again avenged a loss. Noto, the No. 12 seed at 125, took down fourth-seeded Ramos in sudden victory. The two were tied 0-0 after the first period and Noto led 1-0 after the second on an escape point. Ramos tied the bout at 1-1 with an escape of his own in the third. Late in sudden victory, Noto secured the wining takedown after an exciting scramble that ignited the packed crowd inside the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
This marked Noto’s second straight NCAA quarterfinal appearance.
Although, the exhibition loss didn’t impact his record on the season, Noto did drop a bout to Ramos in November at the 2023-24 National Wrestling Coaches’ Association (NWCA) All-Star Classic.
Yesterday (Thursday, March 21) on Day 1 of the championship, Noto went a perfect 2-0 to book his spot in today’s quarterfinals.
In championship second-round action, Noto picked up a dominating 9-2 victory over No. 28 Diego Sotelo of Harvard. Noto’s victory over Sotelo also avenged a loss from earlier in the season. Noto entered the national tournament with just two losses, and one came at the hands of Sotelo during a dual on January 11. Noto opened the tournament Thursday with a first-round win over Brandon Kaylor of Oregon State.
In tonight’s semifinals, Noto will meet No. 8 Richard Figueroa of Arizona State.
With today’s quarterfinal victory in hand, Noto improved to 20-2 on the season. He’s now 85-9 for his career.
Now a three-time NCAA qualifier, Noto is 9-4 lifetime at the national tournament.
Gable Strickland (Benton, Pa./Benton) also competed today, but he dropped his consolation second round bout to No. 21 Ethan Oakley (Appalachian State), 8-2. Strickland bowed out of the NCAA Tournament, his second straight national-championship appearance, with a 1-2 record. He picked up his first career NCAA Tournament victory last night in the wrestlebacks. Strickland, a two-time NCAA qualifier and two-time Mid-American Conference (MAC) champion finished the season at 33-13.
Tonight’s (Friday, March 22) semifinal round is set for 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. CDT) and will air live on ESPN.
Lock Haven Results (Day 2)
125: #12 Anthony Noto
First Round vs. #21 Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State) – W, dec., 5-3
Second Round vs. #28 Diego Sotelo (Harvard) – W, dec., 9-2
Quarterfinals vs. #4 Matt Ramos (Purdue) – W, dec., 4-1 (SV)
-3-0 at 2024 NCAA Tournament
Season Record: 20-2 | Career Record: 85-9
133: #27 Gable Strickland
First Round vs. #6 Vito Arujau (Cornell1 – L, major dec., 17-4
Consolation First Round vs. #11 Zeth Romney (Cal Poly) – W, dec. 2-1 (SV)
Consolation Second Round vs. #21 Ethan Oakley (Appalachian State) L, dec., 8-2
-1-2 at the NCAA Tournament
Season Record: 33-13 | Career Record: 81-41
# = NCAA Tournament Seed
