Bald Eagles set for 2023 NCAA DI Wrestling Championships
LOCK HAVEN, PA – The Lock Haven University men’s wrestling team is set to compete at the 2022-23 NCAA Division I National Championships, which are scheduled for Thursday through Saturday, March 16-18 at the BOK Center in Tulsa Oklahoma.
Anthony Noto (Lima, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima (NC State)), Gable Strickland (Benton, Pa./Benton), Ashton Eyler (Millersburg, Ohio/ Claymont High (Iowa Central CC)), and Tyler Stoltzfus (Mifflinburg, Pa./Saint Joseph’s Academy) are all set to represent The Haven and Mat-Town U.S.A. in Tulsa at the national tournament.
Noto leads the way as he’s listed as the No. 8 seed at 125 pounds. Strickland (133) is now the No. 28 seed, Eyler (157) is seeded No. 31, and Stoltzfus (174) was slotted at No. 31.
Both Noto and Eyler are set to make their second consecutive NCAA-championship appearance, as each qualified for last season’s tournament.
Noto (125) just won his second straight Mid-American Conference (MAC) individual title, and he will enter the NCAA Tournament with a 29-2 record. The Bald Eagle is riding an 18-match win streak, and Noto’s only losses came back in November and December, the last loss coming in a dual versus Ohio State on Dec. 19. Heading into the NCAA Tournament, InterMat Wrestling has Noto ranked fourth nationally at 125 pounds.
Strickland is set to make his NCAA debut and is coming off a MAC title of this own. He’s 31-9 on the season at 133 pounds.
Eyler (157) saved some of his best wrestling of the season for an impressive run to the MAC finals. He will enter the NCAA Championships with 29-12 record.
Stoltzfus, who is been ranked among the nation’s most dominant Division I pinners all season, is set to make his NCAA debut. He’s 32-12 on the season with 13 pins at 174 pounds.
All four Lock Haven national qualifiers helped power the Bald Eagles to their second straight MAC team title.
Lock Haven National Qualifiers:
125: Anthony Noto (Lima, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima (NC State)), Redshirt-Sophomore
No. 8 seed
Season Record: 29-2 (5 pins, 6 techs, 3 majors)
Career Record: 60-5
NCAA Tournament Experience: Two-time NCAA qualifier (2022) … Went 1-2 last season.
133: Gable Strickland (Benton, Pa./Benton), Sophomore
No. 28 seed
Season Record: 31-9 (8 pins, 4 techs, 6 majors)
Career Record: 48-26
NCAA Tournament Experience: This will mark Strickland’s NCAA Tournament debut.
157: Ashton Eyler (Millersburg, Ohio/ Claymont High (Iowa Central CC)), Redshirt-Senior
No. 31 seed
Season Record: 29-12 (2 pins, 3 techs, 4 majors)
Career Record: 61-23 at DI Lock Haven
NCAA Tournament Experience: Two-time NCAA qualifier (2022) … Went 0-2 last season at 165 pounds.
174: Tyler Stoltzfus (Mifflinburg, Pa./Saint Joseph’s Academy), Sophomore
No. 31 seed
Season Record: 32-12 (13 pins (No. 2 in Division I), 4 techs)
Career Record: 55-26
NCAA Tournament Experience: This will mark Stoltzfus’s NCAA Tournament debut.
Lock Haven’s First Round Bouts:
125: #8 Anthony Noto vs. #25 Joey Prata (Oklahoma)
133: #28 Gable Strickland vs. #5 Kai Orine (North Carolina State)
157: #31 Ashton Eyler vs. #2 Levi Haines (Penn State)
174: #31 Tyler Stoltzfus vs. #2 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska)
*# = NCAA Tournament Seed
**Please Note: The bracket has been updated at 133 pounds. Strickland moved from the No. 29 seed to the No. 28 seed after the original NCAA brackets were released.
This is Mat-Town U.S.A.:
Lock Haven is known as Mat-Town U.S.A for a reason, and the four Bald Eagles competing at the 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships this year will look to add their names to a long line of All-Americans before them. In all, 43 Lock Haven wrestlers have earned All-American status. Most recently, the duo of Chance Marsteller and Kyle Shoop earned All-American honors in 2019 after finishing third and eighth, respectively. In 2018, the Bald Eagles finished 16th in the team standings at the NCAA championships and marked the program’s highest finish since 2002.
Individually, The Haven has claimed nine individual Division I national championships with the last coming from Cary Kolat (current Navy head coach) at 142 pounds in 1997. The Bald Eagles most recent national finalist came by way of Ronnie Perry – current assistant coach – who became the first No. 15-seed to reach a national final during his Cinderella-run to the 149-pound title-match in 2018.
