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LOCK HAVEN – The Lock Haven men's wrestling team welcomed Rider to the Thomas Fieldhouse on Thursday for a Mid-American Conference dual and came out on top, 24-13, for the Bald Eagles’ seventh consecutive victory.
With the win, Lock Haven improves to 11-5 and remains perfect at home (5-0) and in the MAC (4-0).
"Our guys wrestled hard," Lock Haven coach Scott Moore said. "We came to compete, even the matches we lost, I thought we wrestled well. We relied on bonus points again, but it was just a total team effort overall. Ten guys took the mat, ten guys competed, and didn’t lose many periods."
The dual started at 197 pounds with Lock Haven winning the first two matches to take a 7-0 lead. No. 27 Tucker Hogan dropped Brock Zurawski by a 9-3 decision.
No. 17 Gavin Hoffman (285) majored Collin French 14-4. The Montoursville graduate had a 7-1 lead heading into the final period but scored an escape and two takedowns to secure the major.
Rider got on the board in the 125 bout. Noah Michaels downed Branden Wentzel 10-0. Heading to the final period up 1-0, Michaels scored nine points in the third, eight of which came via near fall, for the major.
Lock Haven jumped out to a 17-4 lead at the break after back-to-back tech falls from No. 16 Anthony Noto and No. 17 Wyatt Henson at 133 and 141, respectively.
Noto downed Will Betancourt 18-3 in 6:43. Noto had a 4-1 lead before scoring a takedown and some back points to take an 11-1 lead heading to the final period. Noto secured an escape and two takedowns for the tech.
Noto, a redshirt senior, jumped to 133 from 125 last year and currently sits at a record of 14-6.
"125 was tough to make weight," Noto mentioned. "So for my last year, I made the jump to 133. Took a couple losses here and there, but nobody's gonna remember what happens during the season. What matters is the championships in March. I’m glad I took the losses early, and I’m getting used to others in this weight class and their style. I’m just grateful to compete for The Haven in my last year."
Henson needed just 4:48 for the tech over Branden Palcko. The Bald Eagle scored six takedowns over the final two periods for the tech, giving The Haven a 17-4 lead. The Broncs responded at 149 with No. 15 Sammy Alvarez downing No. 32 Lucas Kapusta 9-3. Nick Stampoulos responded with an upset victory over No. 27 Colton Washleski for the Bald Eagles.
The Buffalo transfer topped Washleski 9-3. Up 6-2, Stampoulos defended well to prevent a takedown. The two wrestlers have wrestled three times throughout their careers, with Stampoulos currently winning the series 2-1.
"We wrestled once at MAC's and once at NCAA last year," Stampoulos said. "He wrestled hard, I wrestled hard, and it was just fun to try to score points and get better every week."
Rider responded with No. 30 Enrique Munguia winning by decision over Caden Dobbins 9-5 at 165. It looked like Munguia would secure a major but Dobbins fought back and scored an escape and a takedown in the final period. Despite a slow start and going down 17-4 early, the Broncs closed the gap on the Bald Eagles 20-10.
However, at 174, No. 31 Avery Bassett sealed the dual for The Haven with a 15-6 major decision over Michael Wilson.
No. 14 Isaac Dean downed No. 23 Colin Fegley 5-2 in the final bout.
In all, Lock Haven won six bouts on the night and secured two tech falls and two major decisions.
The Bald Eagles will return to action this weekend as they head to longtime rival Clarion for a MAC dual, slated for a 7 p.m. start on Saturday.
Lock Haven 24, Rider 13
197: No. 27 Tucker Hogan (LHU) dec. Brock Zurawski, 9-3. 285: No. 17 Gavin Hoffman (LHU) maj. dec. Collin French, 14-4. 125: Noah Michaels (R) maj. dec. Branden Wentzel, 10-0. 133: No. 16 ANthony Noto (LHU) tech fall Will Betancourt, 18-3, 6:43. 141: No. 17 Wyatt Henson (LHU) tech fall Branden Palcko, 21-5, 4:48. 149: No. 15 Sammy Avlarez (R) dec. No. 32 Lucas Kapusta, 9-3. 157: Nick Stampoulos (LHU) dec. No. 27 Colton Washleski, 9-4. 165: No. 30 Enrique Munguia (R) dec. Caden Dobbins, 9-5. 174: No. 31 Avery Bassett (LHU) maj. dec. MIchael Wilson, 15-6. 184: No. 14 Isaac Dean (R) dec. No. 23 Colin Fegley, 5-2.