Anthony Noto’s remarkable All-American run ends with third-place finish at NCAA Championship
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Lock Haven men’s wrestling standout and two-time All-American Anthony Noto (Lima, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima) went 2-0 today (Saturday, March 23) and finished third overall at 2024 NCAA Division I Men’s Wrestling Championship, held at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
Noto is now a two-time All-American as he earned the prestigious honor for the second straight year. His third-place NCAA finish today followed up a fourth-place showing at the national tournament last season in 2023.
For Noto, his All-American finish marks the 45th Division I All-American honor in school history and he became Lock Haven’s first two-time All-American since Chance Marsteller claimed All-American honors in 2018 (4th) and 2019 (3rd). He’s the 11th Bald Eagle to earn multiple DI All-American honors.
Noto, the No. 12 seed at 125 pounds, went an impressive 5-1 over the last three days of action at the NCAA Championship.
In a clash for third place today, Noto, was too much for No. 10 Eric Barnett of Wisconsin as he powered his way to a dominating 7-3 victory.
Noto scored a first-period takedown and led 3-1 after the first period. Another takedown in the second pushed Noto’s lead to 6-3, as he rolled to victory and capped his remarkable 2024 NCAA Championship run in style, much to the delight of a large Lock Haven fanbase that traveled to Kansas City this week.
Noto opened today’s (Sat.) action in the consolation semifinals where he downed No. 15 seed Caleb Smith of Nebraska in sudden victory. The win over Smith pushed Noto into the third-place match.
In the consolation semifinals, Noto topped Nebraska’s – Smith, 4-1 in sudden victory. The two were tied 0-0 after one period and Noto led 1-0 after two, thanks to an early second-period escape. Noto put on a hard ride to start the third, but Smith tied the match on an escape just before Noto could secure riding time. With the bout tied at 1-1, they moved to sudden victory where Noto earned the winning takedown in thrilling fashion.
For Noto, Day 2 action (Fri., March 22), started yesterday in the quarterfinals. It marked the second consecutive national championship where Noto advanced to the championship quarterfinal round. In the quarters, Noto downed No. 4 seed Matt Ramos (Purdue) 4-1 (SV). With the win, the Bald Eagle secured All-American status and advanced to Friday night’s semifinals. Despite a brilliant effort in the semifinals Friday night, Noto was edged out by No. 8 Richard Figueroa (Arizona State), 4-3. The loss pushed Noto into today’s consolation semifinals.
The national semifinals appearance marked the Bald Eagles’ first national semifinalist since assistant coach Ronnie Perry made a Cinderella-run to the 149-pound finals in 2018.
Back on Thursday (March 21), Noto opened the tournament with a perfect 2-0 day and the two wins helped Noto move into the quarterfinals. In championship second-round action, Noto picked up a dominating 9-2 victory over No. 28 Diego Sotelo (Harvard). He opened the tournament Thursday with a 5-3 first-round win over Brandon Kaylor (Oregon State).
With his 5-1 mark at this year’s tournament, Noto finished the season at an impressive 22-3. He now has 87 (87-10) career wins.
The three-time Mid-American Conference (MAC) champion is also a three-time NCAA qualifier who is now 11-5 in three national championship appearances.
Noto’s remarkable All-American run highlighted Lock Haven’s postseason effort. With Session 5 at the NCAA Championship in the books, the No. 24 Lock Haven men’s wrestling team closed another successful season.
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)
Semifinals vs. #8 Richard Figueroa (Arizona State) – L, dec., 4-3
Consolation Semifinals vs. #15 Caleb Smith (Nebraska) – W, dec., 4-1 (SV)
Third-Place Match vs. #10 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) – W, dec., 7-3
– 5-1 at 2024 NCAA Tournament (Career NCAA Tourn. Record: 11-5)
Third Place // All-American
Season Record: 22-3 | Career Record: 87-10
# = NCAA Tournament Seed
*Full Day 1 (Session 1 & 2) and Day 2 (Session 3 & 4) recaps are available at GoLHU.com.
