Lock Haven hosts Mat-Town Open; Noto crowned champion at 125
SOURCE: www.golhu.com
November 28, 2021

 


The Division I men's wrestling team was back in action at home as the Bald Eagles hosted the Mat-Town Open I Tournament Sunday.

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - For the first time since February 23, 2020, the Lock Haven University wrestling team competed at home in Thomas Fieldhouse in front of the Mat-Town U.S.A. fans as the Bald Eagles hosted the 2021 Mat-Town Open I Tournament today (Sunday, November 28).

Several Bald Eagles were in action - competing unattached - and leading the way among the limited lineup was Anthony Noto (Lima, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima (NC State)), who powered his way to the 125-pound title. Noto picked up his second consecutive championship in as many tries as the transfer continued to impress.

Today, Noto went 3-0 on the way to the victory. He opened the day with a pin and followed it up with a tech fall. In the opener, Noto pinned Jace Schafer (West Virginia, UNA) in 6:11, before earning a 20-5 tech fall (7:00) over Aiden Lewis of Bucknell.

In the finals, Noto's workmanlike effort led to a dominating 10-3 win over Lehigh's Sheldon Seymour. Competing unattached at Millersville's Shorty Hitchcock Memorial Open on November 20, Noto went a perfect 5-0 on the way to the title.

At 285 pounds, freshman Kaleb Snodgrass (Van Buren, Ohio/Van Buren) scored a pair of victories to open the day. Snodgrass upended Binghamton's Collin Burns by a 4-1 margin, before scoring a quick fall over Zach Taylor in his second matchup of the day.

In match three, Snodgrass fell by a 14-1 major decision to drop into the consolation bracket. The Buckeye State native kept his day going with another victory over Burns, this time of the 4-2 variety. In the consolation final, Snodgrass met up with Nathan Taylor and fell via pin fall to finish in fourth place.

Jack Coulston (Boiling Springs, Pa./Boiling Springs) and Tyler Dilley (Saint Mary's Pa./Saint Mary's) competed unattached for the Bald Eagles at 141 pounds. Coulston fell in both bouts on the day, while Dilley wrapped up a 2-2 day on the mats. Dilley opened the day with a 11-2 major decision win over Bucknell's Christopher Lanciano and later defeated Myles Griffin of the Spartan Combat Regional Training Center via a 7-3 decision.

Lock Haven also turned in a trio of solid efforts at 149 pounds. Connor Eck (Bensalem, Pa/Bensalem) and DaShawn Farber (Bethlehem, Pa./Nazareth) each went 2-2 on the day. Billy Talmadge (Branchville, NJ/High Point) also competed and dropped a pair of bouts.

Redshirt-junior Tyler Megonigal (Vienna, Va./James Madison) kept things rolling for the Bald Eagles at 165. Megonigal took down Virginia's Raymond Costa, 10-6, for his first victory of the day, before defeating Navy's Adam Davis by an 11-5 tally to post his second win of the afternoon. The Virginia native later dropped a pair of bouts to wrap up the day with a 2-2 record.

At 174 pounds, Tyler Stoltzfus (Mifflinburg, Pa./Saint Joseph's Academy) rolled two a pair of easy victories to open the day. Stoltzfus cruised to a 14-2 major decision victory over Bucknell's Sam Barnes in his first bout, before scoring a second-period fall over Navy's Gary Eakin to remain unbeaten on the afternoon. The freshman was tripped up in the semifinals, before defaulting out.

Today's tournament field included wrestlers from App State, Binghamton, Bloomsburg, Brown, Bucknell, Buffalo, Clarion, Cornell, Drexel, Lehigh, Navy, Pittsburgh, Pitt-Johnstown, Virginia and West Virginia.

For Lock Haven, today's action marked the Bald Eagles fourth straight tournament appearance in the early portion of the 2021-22 season. LHU opened the season with a strong showing at the Clarion Open on November 7 and followed it up with a trip to the Journeymen Collegiate Classic on November 14. In the Bald Eagles most recent outing, standout 125-pounder Luke Werner (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) led the way as he won an individual title at the Navy Classic (Nov. 20).

Following last weekend's championship effort at Navy, Werner was named the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Wrestler of the Week on Wednesday (Nov. 24). The strong showing also pushed Werner back into the national rankings at 125 pounds.

On Tuesday, November 23, InterMat had Werner ranked No. 33 and he was one of two Bald Eagles who were ranked at their respective weight class. Transfer Ben Barton (Louisville, Ky./Trinity(Campbell)) was ranked No. 33 at 157 pounds. Barton, a two-time NCAA Division I qualifier at Campbell, made his LHU debut at the Navy Classic and finished fourth.

Werner currently has 97 career wins as he will look to become Lock Haven 23rd member of the 100-win club in the coming weeks.

Looking ahead, Lock Haven sets its attention on a busy stretch that will see the Bald Eagles open the dual-meet portion of their 2021-22 schedule.

LHU is set to host Michigan State on Thursday, December 2 at 7 p.m. in the Bald Eagles' annual "White Out" match. The match will mark Lock Haven's first dual-meet since a home match vs. Cornell on February 22, 2020.

On Saturday, December 4, Lock Haven will host nationally-ranked Lehigh at 1 p.m. LHU's match-day promotions include "Alumni Day 2021" and a "Crimson Out." Lehigh was ranked No. 22 in the November 23 edition of the National Wrestling Coaches' Association (NWCA) Division I poll.

The noteworthy and upcoming non-conference dual matches vs. perennial powers Michigan State and Lehigh at home in Thomas Fieldhouse mark two of five true-home duals scheduled this season. Lock Haven will also host MAC duals vs. George Mason, Clarion and Cleveland State. The full 2021-22 LHU men's wrestling schedule is available at GoLHU.com.


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