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LOCK HAVEN — The No. 22 Lock Haven men's wrestling team won five of 10 bouts including three of the last four, all by bonus points, and the Bald Eagles (6-8, 3-2 MAC) powered their way by longtime rival Clarion (8-7, 3-2 MAC), 25-16, at home in front of an exuberant crowd on Thursday in a thrilling Mid-American Conference Eastern Division dual.
Tyler Stoltzfus, Colin Fegley, Gable Strickland, Wyatt Henson and Nick Stonecheck all posted wins for Lock Haven in a match that started at 165 pounds.
Thanks to Strickland (133), Henson (141) and Stonecheck, the Bald Eagles won three of the last four bouts of the night and Stonecheck's pin at 149 pounds sealed the team victory.
Strickland, ranked No. 29 nationally, and 13th-ranked Henson posted back-to-back major decisions. Stoltzfus won by injury default at 174 and Fegley bumped up to 197 pounds and secured a tech fall.
Clarion won the opener at 165 pounds as Eli Brinsky edged out Eric Alderfer (Harleysville, Pa./Faith Christian Academy), 2-1 in a hard-fought bout. The victory put the visitors up 3-0, but Lock Haven quickly jumped ahead at 6-3 behind Stoltzfus' win by injury default at 174.
At 184, No. 30 Cam Pine downed Cael Black, 17-5 and the major decision pushed Clarion to a 7-6 lead.
The Bald Eagles responded in a big way as Fegley, the Bald Eagles' starter at 184, jumped up to 197 and secured the all-important tech fall. Fegley dominated Brett Wittmann from the start and earned the 17-2 tech at 5:53. Fegley's win put Lock Haven up, 11-7.
Clarion posted back-to-back wins at 285 and 125, and the Golden Eagles led Lock Haven, 13-11 after six bouts. At 125, Joey Fischer edged Anthony Noto, 9-6 in a wild one. At 285, Ethan Miller rallied late, but could not overcome a quick start from Clarion's John Meyers and the Bald Eagle dropped a 7-4 decision.
Strickland's major at 133 put Lock Haven up for good as he grinded out the big win with a tremendous effort in the third period on the way to the win over TJ England, 9-1. Strickland rode out the second on top, but the two were scoreless after two periods. Strickland erupted for two takedowns including one late to secure the bonus-point win.
Stonecheck's pin sent the packed Thomas Fieldhouse crowd into a frenzy, and more importantly – secured the victory. The pin came at the 1:34 mark in his 149-pound bout with Kyle Schickel. Schickel scored the first takedown, but after a quick escape, Stonecheck threw him to his back and ended things in the first period. The pin pushed the Bald Eagle lead to 25-13 and sealed the dual victory.
Stonecheck, the reigning MAC East Wrestler of the Week, found himself ranked No. 32 by InterMat this week. He was 2-0 last week, which included an upset-win vs. Rider.
No. 22 Lock Haven 25, Clarion 16
165: Eli Brinsky (C) dec. Eric Alderfer, 2-1. 174: Tyler Stoltzfus (LHU) def. No. 32 John Worthing, inj. def. 184: No. 30 Cam Pine (C) maj. dec. Cael Black, 17-5. 197: Colin Fegley (LHU) tech fall Brett Wittmann, 17-2, 5:53. 285: John Meyers (C) dec. Ethan Miller, 7-4. 125: Joey Fischer (C) dec. No. 8 Anthony Noto, 9-6. 133: No. 29 Gable Strickland (LHU) maj. dec. TJ England, 9-1. 141: No. 13 Wyatt Henson (LHU) maj. dec. Ryan Sullivan, 14-4. 149: Nick Stonecheck (LHU) pinned Kyle Schickel, 1:34. 157: No. 29 Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (C) dec. Connor Eck, 9-6 SV.