ATHENS, Ohio – Behind two individual championships and a pair of runner-up efforts, the Lock Haven University men’s wrestling team hoisted the program’s first Mid-American Conference team championship with 123.5 team points.
Tabbed in the preseason to finish 11th out of the 13 teams, the Bald Eagles silenced the doubters on the way to a dominant team title win with 15.5 points to the nearest competition.
Anthony Noto and Ben Barton took home individual championships, while the Bald Eagles added three additional automatic qualifiers to their roster that will advance to the NCAA Championships in two weeks.
Shortly after he took over the program, head men’s wrestling coach Scott Moore used the term “The Rise” to describe his plans for the Bald Eagles program. The Bald Eagles wrote another chapter in that story by going from worst to first in the MAC and becoming the first new team champion in the MAC in over twenty years.
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. The Bald Eagles also picked up individual championships at 125 and 157 pounds en route to the program’s second conference championship in four years.
Noto picked up his 27th win in a row with a thrilling 3-1 sudden victory over Clarion’s Joey Fischer in the 125-pound final.
Following an early feeling-out period, Noto looked to earn a takedown in the waning seconds of the first period but the challenge was not in Noto’s favor as the bout remained scoreless after a period of action. Fischer chose bottom to start the second period and earned a quick-escape as Noto trailed 1-0 as the match headed to the final period.
Noto quickly returned the favor at the start of the third and drew the bout to a 1-1 deadlock with an escape of his own with 1:25 remaining. Both wrestlers battled at the center of the mat for the remainder of regulation as the bout headed to sudden victory.
In the sudden victory period, the bout remained at the center of the mat until Noto sprung for a deep single leg and wrapped Fischer’s hips. Noto then used a lift and a mat return to score the takedown with 50 ticks left in the first extra session to earn his first MAC championship and book his trip to the NCAA Championships in Detroit.
In the 157-pound final, Barton made it two-for-two for the Bald Eagles in the finals with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over top-seeded Johnny Lovett of Central Michigan.
Following a scoreless first period, Barton deferred his choice to the third and surrendered a quick escape in the second period but equalized the match with a penalty point on a stalling call on Lovett as the bout went to the third period at a 1-1 deadlock.
Barton chose bottom to start the third period and scored a quick escape to take a 2-1 advantage with 1:47 to go. Over the remainder of the bout, the action remained at the center of the mat as Barton upset the Chippewas top-seeded Lovett to earn his third trip to the NCAA Championships.
Ashton Eyler fell behind early in the championship bout at 165 pounds but used an escape to draw the bout to a 2-1 margin after three minutes of action.
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