LHU Men’s Wrestling edged by Cleveland State in Friday night MAC clash
LOCK HAVEN– The Lock Haven men’s wrestling team (6-11, 3-4 MAC) and Cleveland State (6-7, 4-2 MAC) each won five bouts, but the visiting Vikings won the final match of the night and slipped by the Bald Eagles, 22-19, in a thrilling Mid-American Conference (MAC) clash Friday (Feb. 16) night in Thomas Fieldhouse.
No. 18 Anthony Noto (Lima, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima), No. 16 Wyatt Henson (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg), Nick Stonecheck (Alpharetta, Ga./Buford), Tyler Stoltzfus (Mifflinburg, Pa./Saint Joseph’s Academy) and Colin Fegley (Mahanoy, Pa./Mahanoy) all won for Lock Haven.
Prior to the start of tonight’s match, head coach Scott Moore and the Bald Eagles honored seniors – Cory Johnston (Irvona, Pa./Glendale) and Zack Zeamer (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central).
Three of The Haven’s five wins came by way of bonus points as bonus-points were a major factor all night. Stonecheck (149) recorded a tech fall, while both Henson (141) and Fegley (184) posted major decisions. Noto (125) put the Bald Eagles on the board early and Stoltzfus (174) grinded out an important victory late in the dual.
In the night’s opening bout, Noto rolled to a workmanlike 5-2 victory over the Ben Aranda. Noto scored an early first-period takedown and led 3-1 after one. The Bald Eagle nearly rode out the entire third period on the way to the victory.
Trailing 6-3 in the team score after two bouts, the back-to-back bonus-point wins by Henson and Stonecheck put the Bald Eagles in the lead at 12-6.
At 141, Henson majored Dylan Layton, 20-8, behind a six-takedown effort.
Stonecheck scored a quick takedown at 149 and went to work, scoring 12 total near-fall points on the way to the tech fall over Ethan Mitchell in just over two minutes.
At 165, Tate Geiser snuck by Eric Alderfer (Harleysville, Pa./Faith Christian Academy) in sudden victory and tied the dual at 12-12.
Stoltzfus earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over DeAndrew Nassar at 174 thanks to a third-period escape.
Fegley dominated from the start at 184 on the way to a 12-4 major. Fegley led 6-2 after the first and stretched the lead to 11-3 after two periods.
The back-to-back Lock Haven wins at 174 and 184 stretched the Bald Eagles lead to 19-12, but Cleveland State’s nationally-ranked duo at 197 and 285 posted bonus-points, which powered the Vikings to the comeback win in the tightly-contested MAC dual.
Bout-by-Bout Results
Cleveland State 22 – Lock Haven 19
125: #18 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) dec. Ben Aranda (Cleveland State), 5-2 / Lock Haven, 3-0
133: Nick Molchak (Cleveland State) pinned #32 Gable Strickland (Lock Haven), 2:02 / Cleveland State, 6-3
141: #16 Wyatt Henson (Lock Haven) major dec. Dylan Layton (Cleveland State), 20-8 / Lock Haven, 7-6
149: Nick Stonecheck (Lock Haven) tech fall Ethan Mitchell (Cleveland State), 15-0 (2:13) / Lock Haven, 12-6
157: Marcus Robinson (Cleveland State) dec. Connor Eck (Lock Haven), 8-2 / Lock Haven, 12-9
165: Tate Geiser (Cleveland State) dec. Eric Alderfer (Lock Haven), 4-1 SV / Tied, 12-12
174: Tyler Stoltzfus (Lock Haven) dec. DeAndre Nassar (Cleveland State), 1-0 / Lock Haven, 15-12
184: Colin Fegley (Lock Haven) major dec. Joey Lyons (Cleveland State), 12-4 / Lock Haven, 19-12
197: #31 Ben Smith (Cleveland State) major dec. Cael Black (Lock Haven), 15-3 / Lock Haven, 19-16
285: #21 Daniel Bucknavich (Cleveland State) pinned Ethan Miller (Lock Haven), 6:15 / FINAL, Cleveland State, 22-19
*Individual Ranking = NCAA Coaches’ Panel (Feb. 15)
Records:
Cleveland State: 6-7 overall, 4-2 Mid-American Conference
Lock Haven: 6-11 overall, 3-4 Mid-American Conference
Attendance: 706
Up Next for Lock Haven:
The Bald Eagles will be right back in action tomorrow (Saturday, Feb. 17) when they officially close the regular season vs. longtime rival Edinboro on the road at 7 p.m.
