LHU’s Scott Moore named MAC Wrestling Coach of the Year
LOCK HAVEN, PA – Following the conclusion of the 2022 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Wrestling Championships Saturday (March 5), Lock Haven University head coach Scott Moore was named the Coach of the Year after a vote by the league’s 13 head coaches.
For Moore, the honor comes after the Bald Eagles claimed their first MAC team title.
LHU’s team title came in just the Bald Eagle third season overall in the MAC and they dominated the field on the way to the victory. Lock Haven racked up 123.5 points, distancing itself from second-place Central Michigan by 15.5 team points.
The remarkable effort this weekend proved to be another historic chapter in “The Rise” of LHU wrestling as the rebuild is once again – well on its way in Mat-Town U.S.A.
In all, nine of 10 Bald Eagles placed at the championships. LHU pushed four into the finals and Anthony Noto (125) and Ben Barton (157) both came away with individual championships.
At the championships, it proved to be a true “worst-to-first” turnaround for the Bald Eagles.
LHU finished 14th of 14 competing teams at last season’s (2020-21) MAC Championships and back in October (’21), the Bald Eagles were picked to finish 11th among the 13 conference teams that competed this weekend in Athens, Ohio.
In winning the team title, Lock Haven became the first team to win a MAC wrestling title outside of Missouri or Central Michigan since Ohio won the title back in 2001.
Last weekend’s action marked just the third MAC tournament appearance for LHU. Lock Haven officially joined the Mid-American Conference for the 2019-20 season and the Bald Eagles made an immediate impact after placing fifth of 15 in the team standings.
Last season, Lock Haven competed at the MAC championships for just the second time. For the Bald Eagles, last season’s appearance at the conference tournament marked their only competition of the 2020-21 season, which was impacted heavily by the COVID-19 global pandemic.
During the regular season, LHU claimed the MAC Eastern Division Dual title. Lock Haven was 10-5 overall, 6-1 in MAC duals and went a perfect 6-0 vs. Mid-American Conference East competition.
Looking ahead, Coach Moore will lead five qualifiers into the 2022 NCAA Division I wrestling championships, which will take place on March 17-19 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
