LH men’s wrestling set to defend title at the 2023 MAC Tournament
LOCK HAVEN, PA – The Lock Haven University men’s wrestling team begins defense of its Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament crown this Friday and Saturday at the 2023 MAC Championships in Fairfax, Virginia.
Action gets started at George Mason’s EagleBank Arena at 12 p.m. on Friday and 11:30 a.m. on Saturday with the finals to begin at 3 p.m.
Rankings:
Lock Haven’s 2023 MAC Pre-Seeds:
125: Anthony Noto, #1 seed
133: Gable Strickland, #1 seed
141: Sean Logue, #7 seed
149: Nick Stonecheck, #4 seed
157: Ashton Eyler, #7 seed
165: Avery Bassett, #2 seed
174: Tyler Stoltzfus, #7 seed
184: Colin Fegley, #7 seed
197: Brad Morrison, unseeded
285: Isaac Reid, #2 seed
MAC Allocations (23):
125: 2
133: 1
141: 2
149: 5
157: 4
165: 1
174: 4
184: 2
197: 1
285: 1
Lock Haven in the Coaches’ Panel Rankings:
125: Noto, #10
133: Strickland, #30
149: Stonecheck, #33
165: Bassett, #31
285: Reid, #32
Lock Haven in the RPI:
125: Noto, #7
149: Stonecheck, #29
157: Eyler, #22
165: Bassett, #29
174: Stoltzfus, #32
184: Fegley, #33
285: Reid, #33
Title Defense:
At the 2022 MAC Championships, the Bald Eagles silenced the doubters on the way to a dominant team title win with 15.5 points to the nearest competition.
At 125 pounds, Noto looks to defend his individual crown, and is the No. 1 seed heading into the tournament. Noto has amassed a 25-2 record and currently sits at No. 10 in the NCAA Coaches’ Poll.
Gable Strickland also enters as the No. 1 seed and he sits at 27-9 on the season and 30th ranked wrestler in the nation at 133 pounds.
Avery Bassett and Isaac Reid both enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed at 165 and 285 pounds, respectively.
Year in Review:
For the second straight year, the Bald Eagles laid claim to the MAC East Regular Season Dual Championship. This year’s is officially a share of the title with Rider University, but The Haven defeated Rider in head-to-head competition back on January 28.
In conference, head coach Scott Moore and the Bald Eagles posted a 5-1 dual record and an 8-7 overall record, five of The Haven’s seven losses came against nationally-ranked opponents including No. 1 Penn State and No. 3 Ohio State.
MAC History:
2020: 5th – 82 pts. – 1 Champion: Jared Siegrist, 174 lbs.
2021: 14th – 15 pts.
2022: 1st – 123.5 pts. – 2 Champions: Anthony Noto, 174 lbs. & Ben Barton, 157 lbs.
