LOCK HAVEN – The Lock Haven men’s wrestling team hosted Big Ten opponent Wisconsin on Sunday, Dec. 8, at Thomas Fieldhouse.

Wisconsin (2-3) built a 9-0 lead after the first two bouts but Lock Haven (2-1) won six of the remaining eight bouts for the 26-17 victory.

“It was a good performance,” Lock Haven head coach Scott Moore said. “Our guys wrestled hard, and scored a lot of points. Big win for Avery Bassett [174]. We knew it was going to be close. We knew they had some competitors. They had a good win last night against Bucknell. So I think our guys came out, performed well, and got a win for it.”

The Haven looked to bounce back after a 34-6 loss to No. 17 Rutgers on Friday (Dec. 6).

The match didn’t start as Lock Haven intended as No. 25 Nicolar Rivera pinned Lucas Fye in 1:10 at 125. Then, at 133, Wisconsin’s Zan Fuggitt pulled off the upset over No. 14 Anthony Noto by a 4-2 decision. This was Noto’s second career loss in Thomas Fieldhouse, the first coming last year in a dual versus Clarion where he fell to Joey Fischer by a 9-6 decision.

But Lock Haven would find a way to re-establish momentum, winning its next three bouts to take a 12-9 lead.

Nationally ranked – No. 23 – Wyatt Henson would major Brock Bobzein 12-4, upping his overall record on the year to 8-2. Lucas Kapusta, would then win by tech fall, 17-1, in 5:57, upping his record to 9-3 on the year and a perfect 3-0 in dual meets and remaining a key, consistent part of the lineup

In a match of two transfers at 157, No. 33 Nick Stampoulos downed Luke Mechler 14-7. Stampoulos controlled the match from the start scoring two takedowns in the first period to build a 6-1 lead. From there, the Bald Eagle held on for the victory giving Lock Haven the 12-9 lead.

Wisconsin would bounce back, tying the dual at 12-12 as Caden Dobbins dropped a close 9-6 decision at 165 to Cale Anderson. The match was tied 6-6 but Anderson scored a takedown with under a minute remaining for the victory.

With the score all tied, Lock Haven needed some wins from the backweights, something they struggled with last year. But thanks to No. 33 Avery Bassett, No. 28 Colin Fegley and Tucker Hogan, the Bald Eagles sealed the victory.

Bassett topped Luke Condon by a major decision, 12-2. The two wrestlers were tied 0-0 after the first period but a nine-point second period helped Bassett secure the major. Fegley won by tech fall, 19-4, at 184. With an 8-2 lead heading to the final period, Fegley scored 11 points to secure the tech fall and give Lock Haven a 21-12 lead.

All The Haven needed at 197 was a win from freshman Tucker Hogan to secure the dual meet.

Last time out at Rutgers, Hogan lost by fall (0:52). This time, however, was a different story as Hogan needed just two minutes for the 15-0 tech fall to seal the dual victory for Lock Haven. 12 of Hogan’s points came via nearfall.

“We told him to wrestle your style,” Moore mentioned. “That’s what he did. He got a takedown right away and didn’t waste any time. He got on top and worked his magic. That’s his best position, and that’s where we want to see him all year.”

Gannon Rosenfeld defeated Ethan Miller by tech fall, 24-8 (6:38), in the final bout of the night.

In all, Lock Haven won six bouts and had three tech falls with two major decisions. The victory marked The Haven’s first vs. a Big Ten opponent since the victory over Rutgers back on Dec. 1, 2017.

UP NEXT

Lock Haven will travel to the Journeymen Collegiate Classic on Dec. 21 to face No. 12 Iowa State, No. 6 Ohio State, and No. 22 North Carolina.