Noto reflects on sophomore season with Men’s Wrestling

individual MAC title at 125-pounds, was named the MAC Wrestler of the Year, and was named the InterMAT MAC Wrestler of the Year.

by KC Wallace Staff Writer

LOCK HAVEN, Pa.

- The wrestling season has come to an end for head coach Scott Moore and the Bald Eagles.

Ending the year with a record of 8-7 on the year, along with a second straight Mid American Conference (MAC) title, and four wrestlers competing in the NCAA Division I Championships.

Anthony Noto made the most of his soph- omore season with an individual record of 34-4.

“That shows all the hard work is paying off,” Noto said. “I’m gonna battle back next year and try to get an undefeated record going into nationals.”

Noto’s 34 wins were a team-high, recording six tech-falls, five pins, and three major decisions. He is 65-7 in his two-year career at Lock Haven.

“He’s a great leader,” Moore said. “He takes pride in his wrestling and has a lot of confidence in himself. He’ll continue to be a leader and somebody that we’re gonna lean on to guide some of the younger guys down the road.”

For Noto, the awards just kept on coming, earning All-American Honors at the NCAA Division 1 Championships after a fourth-place finish.

Noto is the first Bald Eagle to earn All-American Honors since 2019, and is the 44th overall.

Noto also claimed his second straight

Lhu Athletes Of The Week

Blaise Zeiders

Blaise Zeiders powered Lock Haven to a winning-record last week (3-2), which included a PSAC East series win over regionally-ranked Shippensburg (2-1). Over five total games, Zeiders hit a sensational .632 with 12 hits (12for-19). Over that span, he had nine RBIs, one home run, two doubles and scored four runs. In last week’s five game stretch, Zeiders had a multiple-hit game in four of the five contests.

Mia Shuler

Mia Shuler helped the Bald Eagles to a pair of PSAC wins over the weekend. Playing at No. 2 singles, she collected wins vs. East Stroudsburg Friday, and Shippensburg on Saturday. Shuler opened the weekend Friday with a 6-0, 6-2 win over ESU’s Samantha Passmore. On Saturday, Shuler topped Shippensburg’s Brooklynn Rupert 6-1, 6-2. Shuler was also part of a No. 2 doubles win Friday at ESU.

Courtesy of Haven Athletics

“We believed he could be an All-American,” Moore mentioned. “He was ready to compete in nationals and he ended up fourth in the country.”

Noto claimed his second straight individual MAC championship in as many tries after an 8-0 major decision victory in the finals. Noto is the first two-time MAC champion in Lock Haven history. He also earned a spot in the NCAA Championships where he would go on to earn All-American honors.

Noto opened up his All-American run with back-to-back decision victories over Oklahoma’s Joey Prata and Eric Barnett of Wisconsin. In the quarterfinals, Noto fell by major decision (14-4) to three-time champion Spencer Lee. A 3-1 decision victory over Rutgers Dean Peterson in the consolation round earned Noto All-American honors. Noto earned two more decision victories to advance his way to the third place match. Noto dropped his match to finish fourth.

“My goal this year was to be an All-American,” Noto said. “I wanted to be top eight and I got fourth so I was very happy about that.”

Although the season just ended, Noto has his sights set on next year’s NCAA Division I Cham- pionships and securing another MAC title.

“(My goal is to) win another MAC title and be an NCAA champion. That’s my goal. It’s on my calendar. I can’t wait,” Noto mentioned. Moore also sees the potential in Noto and believes he can be a national champion.

“(We know that) his true potential and his ultimate goal is to become our next national champion, which hasn’t been done since 1997.”