Noto & Henson cement comeback; Men’s Wrestling tops George Mason in MAC thriller
LOCK HAVEN– Anthony Noto and Wyatt Henson recorded back-to-back tech falls in the final two bouts of the dual, and the late heroics from the nationally-ranked Bald Eagle pair helped the Lock Haven men’s wrestling team secure a 19-17 comeback-win on the road at George Mason in a Mid-American Conference (MAC) thriller.
The meet started at 149 pounds and Lock Haven trailed host GMU 17-9 with two bouts to go, but Noto (133 lbs.) and Henson (141 lbs.) stepped up in a huge way.
For Noto – a two-time All-American – the win will go down in history as it served as his 100th career victory at The Haven.
With the team victory in hand, Lock Haven capped a perfect 2-0 weekend with both wins coming in MAC action. Friday, the Bald Eagles downed Kent State 42-6. The victory also helped The Haven extend its win streak to five matches and Lock Haven improved to 9-5 on the season.
Lock Haven also remained perfect in Mid-American Conference duals at 3-0. For George Mason, it marked the Patriots first MAC loss of the season (5-1) and the hosts moved to 11-4 overall on the year.
Avery Bassett, Colin Fegley and Gavin Hoffman joined Noto and Henson in the winner’s circle today.
George Mason started fast and won the first three bouts of the meet after starting at 149 pounds. The Patriots’ lineup featured nationally-ranked wrestlers at those first three weights (149, 157 and 165 lbs.).
Each team won five bouts in the dual, but the Bald Eagles’ bonus points late proved to be the difference.
Bassett and Fegley posted back-to-back wins at 174 and 184 pounds, respectively, and Hoffman won at 285.
Bassett, ranked No. 31, downed Logan Messer, 7-3, and Fegley, ranked No. 23 took down No. 25 Malachi DuVall, 7-3 to get Lock Haven on the board. Hoffman, ranked 17th, edged out James Blackman, 4-1.
George Mason’s Ben Monn posted victory at 125 pounds, the eighth bout of the dual, and extended the Patriots’ lead to 17-9.
Both Noto (133 lbs.) and Henson (141 lbs.) put on clinics – start to finish. Noto, ranked 16th in the nation, needed just 4:04 to tech Geoffrey Whelan, 21-5. Henson, ranked 17th, dropped Dominic Hargrove 21-6 in 5:33. The Bald Eagles never led until Henson’s win in the final bout, but that’s all the mattered as Lock Haven picked up the hard-fought road win behind a rally, and extended the win streak.
Noto became the 23rd member of Lock Haven’s 100-win club.
Bout-by-Bout Results / Team Score by Bout
Final: Lock Haven 19 – George Mason 17
149: #30 Kaden Cassidy (George Mason) tech fall #32 Lucas Kapusta (Lock Haven) 15-0 (2:31) / George Mason 5-0
157: #23 DJ McGee (George Mason) dec. Nick Stampoulos (Lock Haven) 9-2 / George Mason 8-0
165: #24 Evan Maag (George Mason) dec. Caden Dobbins (Lock Haven) 8-4 / George Mason 11-0
174: #31 Avery Bassett (Lock Haven) dec. Logan Messer (George Mason) 7-3 / George Mason 11-3
184: #23 Colin Fegley (Lock Haven) dec. #25 Malachi DuVall (George Mason) 7-3 / George Mason 11-6
197: Tyler Kocak (George Mason) dec. #27 Tucker Hogan (Lock Haven) 9-3 / George Mason 14-6
285: #17 Gavin Hoffman (Lock Haven) dec. James Blackman (George Mason) 4-1 / George Mason 14-9
125: Ben Monn (George Mason) dec. Branden Wentzel (Lock Haven) 4-1 George Mason 17-9
133: #16 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) tech fall Geoffrey Whelan (George Mason) 21-5 (4:04) / George Mason 17-14
141: #17 Wyatt Henson (Lock Haven) tech fall Dominic Hargrove (George Mason) 21-6 (5:33) / FINAL, Lock Haven 19-17
*Dual started at 149 pounds
**Individual Ranking = NCAA Coaches’ Ranking (Jan. 23)
Up Next for Lock Haven:
The Bald Eagles will return to action at home on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. when they host longtime local-rival Bucknell.
