LH men’s wrestling romps to White Out Night victory over Davidson

LOCK HAVEN, PA– In front of a packed Thomas Fieldhouse, the Lock Haven men’s wrestling team (1-2) cruised to a 31-13 victory over Davidson College (0-2) in the annual White-Out match Thursday night. The non-conference dual served as the Bald Eagles first home match of the season and The Haven grab their opening win of the 2022-23 season.

The Bald Eagles were victorious in seven bouts on the night including two pins and two tech falls as the defending Mid-American Conference (MAC) champions shined on their home mat.

In the opening bout of the night at 157 pounds, Ashton Eyler (Millersburg, Ohio/ Claymont High (Iowa Central CC)) wasted no time putting the Bald Eagles ahead. Eyler scored a takedown in the opening seconds and pulled away over the final rounds for a 7-1 victory over Marc Koch.

Avery Bassett (Middleburg, Pa./Midd-West (George Mason)) delighted The Haven faithful as he secured an early takedown at 165 pounds and powered his way into a pin over Jared Hardrick just 1:49 into the bout to push LHU ahead 9-0.

At 174, it was back-to-back pins for the Bald Eagles as Tyler Stoltzfus (Mifflinburg, Pa./Saint Joseph’s Academy) showed Brett Sanderlin the lights after a dominant first period saw Stoltzfus hold a 14-0 lead.

Colin Fegley (Mahanoy, Pa./Mahanoy) notched The Haven’s fourth straight win to open the dual with an 8-2 decision victory at 184 pounds. Fegley’s win pushed the Bald Eagles ahead 18-0.

At 197 and 285, the Wildcats grabbed a pin and a decision victory to cut the gap in half at 18-9.

No. 21 Anthony Noto (Lima, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima (NC State)) got The Haven back on track with a clinic at 125 pounds against Davidson’s Hale Robinson. The 2022 MAC Champion notched four takedowns and eight near-fall points to lead 16-3 after the opening period. The redshirt sophomore finished off the tech fall after grabbing another takedown to cap the 18-3 win.

At 133 pounds, Gable Strickland (Benton, Pa./Benton) battled out a gritty 4-0 decision victory over Jackson Sichelstiel to push Lock Haven ahead 31-9.

Tyler Dilley (Saint Mary’s, Pa./Saint Mary’s) grabbed the Bald Eagles seventh and final win at 141 with a dominant 16-1 tech fall win over Josh Viarengo. Dilley put the pressure on early and led 8-1 after the first period. After a lopsided second, Dilley led 14-1 and he capped off the effort with a takedown to close a 16-1 win.

Davidson earned a major decision victory in the final bout at 149, but The Haven rolled on the night to the 31-13 win.

There was a familiar face in the Wildcats’ corner as the match marked a homecoming of sorts for Davidson head coach Nate Carr, Jr.

Carr was named the Wildcats head coach in August after six seasons in Mat-Town U.S.A as the Bald Eagles assistant coach. During his time in The Haven, Carr was instrumental in “The Rise” of the Lock Haven men’s Division I wrestling program, but he and the Wildcats left Thomas Fieldhouse still searching for dual-win No. 1 this season.

Bout-by-Bout Results:
157: Ashton Eyler (LHU) dec. Marc Koch (DC) / 7-1 / LHU 3-0
165: Avery Bassett (LHU) pinned Jaden Hardrick (DC) / (1:49) / LHU 9-0
174: Tyler Stoltzfus (LHU) pinned Brett Sanderlin (DC) / (3:37) / LHU 15-0
184: Colin Fegley (LHU) dec. Cameo Blankenship (DC) / 8-2 / LHU 18-0
197: Gavin Henry (DC) pinned Brad Morrison (LHU) / (2:28) / LHU 18-6
285: Jake Fernicola (DC) dec. Ethan Miller (LHU) / 3-2 / LHU 18-9
125: #21 Anthony Noto (LHU) tech falled Hale Robinson (DC) / 18-5 (3:15) / LHU 23-9
133: Gable Strickland (LHU) dec. Jackson Sichelstiel (DC) / 4-0 / LHU 26-9
141: Tyler Dilley (LHU) tech falled Josh Viarengo (DC) / 16-1 (5:14) / LHU 31-9
149: Noah Frack (DC) major dec. Connor Eck (LHU) / 8-0 / LHU 31-13

Final Team Score: Lock Haven 31 Davidson 13

Attendance: 1,497

The Bald Eagles are back in action on Sunday (Dec. 4) when they travel to the ARMS Software Patriot Open hosted by George Mason. Action gets underway on Sunday at 10 a.m.