ATHENS, Ohio – Four wrestlers booked trips to the championship finals to lead the Lock Haven University men's wrestling team to 94 points, and the Bald Eagles sit atop the team standings after day one of the 2022 Mid-American Conference (MAC) wrestling championships at the University of Ohio.

Lock Haven went 4-1 in the semifinals to run out to a 20.5-point lead over the MAC West Division Dual Champion Chippewas of Central Michigan after the opening day of competition in the Bald Eagles third trip to the MAC Championships.

Anthony Noto (Lima, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima (NC State)) ran his winning streak to 26 matches with three victories to book his first trip to the MAC Championship Finals at 125 pounds. Noto opened the day with a late-bout fall over Edinboro's Christopher Merlo before earning a hard-fought 5-2 victory in the quarterfinal round over George Mason's Ben Monn. In the semifinal round, Noto used a pair of first period takedowns and a riding time advantage to earn a 7-6 victory in a back-and-forth affair with Kent State's Jake Ferri. 

Noto will meet up with Clarion's Joey Fischer in the finals tomorrow evening in a re-match of a tightly-contested bout from Lock Haven's February dual-meet victory over the Golden Eagles. In that matchup, Noto used a third-period takedown to extend his lead en route to a 4-1 victory over Fischer.

Lock Haven notched its second finalist of the day behind Ben Barton's (Louisville, Ky./Trinity (Campbell)) efforts at 157 pounds. Barton opened the day with a 10-1 major decision victory over George Mason's Avery Bassett to reach the semifinals. In the semifinal round, Barton notched a third-period takedown in a back-and-forth affair to send the bout to sudden victory. In the extra session, Barton wasted little time as he used an ankle pick just 18 seconds into the period to wrap up a 4-2 victory over Ohio's Jordan Slivka to book his trip to Saturday evening's championship final.

Barton will match up with top-seeded Johnny Lovett of Central Michigan in tomorrow's 157-pound finals.

Ashton Eyler (Millersburg, Ohio/Claymont High (Iowa Central CC)) kept the train rolling for the Bald Eagles at 165 pounds and became the first LHU wrestler to book his trip to Detroit's NCAA Championships in the process with three victories to reach the MAC final.

Eyler opened the day with a 7-5 decision victory over Clarion's Kolby Ho before earning a trip to the semifinals with a fall at the 6:45 mark against Edinboro's Dylan Kohn. In a rematch of their February bout, Eyler used a second-period takedown and a third-period escape to earn a 3-1 decision victory over Cleveland State's Riley Smucker. With the win, the Millersburg, Ohio native ran his winning streak to 21 bouts.

In Saturday evening's championship final, Eyler will meet up with top-seeded Izzak Olejnik of Northern Illinois.

At 285 pounds, Isaac Reid (Saltsburg, Pa./Kiski) made it a Crimson and White quartet in the finals behind three convincing victories. Reid opened the day with a 10-3 triumph over Kent State's Jacob Cover before posting an easy 7-0 win in the quarterfinals over Northern Illinois' Terrese Aaron. Reid was dominate in his semifinal victory over David Szuba of Rider. Behind four takedowns and more than four minutes of riding time advantage, the Kiski, Pa. native notched a 10-1 major decision triumph to earn his first trip the MAC Finals.

Reid will look to run his unbeaten streak to 16 matches tomorrow evening against nationally-ranked and top-seeded Matt Stencel of Central Michigan when the pair battle for the MAC crown.

At 133 pounds, Gable Strickland (Benton, Pa./Benton) reached the semifinals before getting tripped up by the top-seeded wrestler in the bracket to fall into tomorrow's wrestle backs. Strickland picked up a 16-1 tech fall victory over Kent State's Brandon Fenton. Strickland chose neutral to start period two and used a pair of take downs and two four-point tilts to cruise to his third victory via tech fall on the season.

In the semifinals, Strickland matched up with top-seeded Richie Koehler of Rider. Strickland hung-tough as he looked to avenge a February loss to Koehler before eventually falling by a 4-0 tally to drop into the consolation round.

DaShawn Farber (Bethlehem, Pa./Nazareth High School) picked up one of the day's biggest upset wins to open his day at 149 pounds and the Nazareth High School graduate is still alive in consolation round action after a 2-1 day. Farber showed second-seeded Brent Moore of Clarion the lights at the 4:37 mark of the match to post the early upset but was tripped up by a 6-3 decision loss in the quarterfinals. In the wrestle backs, Farber will wrestle on to action on Saturday afternoon after a 5-1 decision victory over Northern Illinois' Anthony Chelonia.

At 174 pounds, Tyler Stoltzfus (Mifflinburg, Pa./Saint Joseph's Academy) went 1-1 on the day. Stoltzfus dropped his opening round bout via major decision to second-seeded Sal Perinne of Ohio but recovered in the consolation round with an 8-4 win to advance to action on Saturday.

Colin Fegley (Mahanoy, Pa./Mahanoy) went 2-1 at 184 pounds, rattling off back-to-back wins after a tough loss to open the day. Fegley notched a pair of 5-2 wins in consolation round action and grabbed three-point victories over Zayne Lehman of Ohio and Ethan Ducca of Edinboro, respectively.

At 197 pounds, Parker McClellan (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) recorded his 50th career win to open the day. McClellan earned a 3-1 decision triumph in sudden victory over Ryan Yarnell of SIU Edwardsville. The Altoona, Pa. native dropped a 7-3 decision in the quarterfinals, but remains in action in the consolation bracket after a convincing 14-1 major decision victory over Rider's Matt Correnti.

Tyler Dilley (Saint Mary's, Pa./Saint Mary's) was in action at 141 pounds and saw his season come to an end with an 0-2 day. Dilley fell to top-seeded and nationally-ranked Dresden Simon in the opening round and dropped an 11-2 major decision to SIU Edwardsville's Saul Ervin in the consolation round.

Lock Haven leads the team standings after day one following a 94-point outing. Central Michigan resides in the runner-up spot with 73.5 points, while Northern Illinois, Clarion and Kent State round out the top five.

The Road Ahead:

The Bald Eagles wrap up the 2022 MAC Championships tomorrow with the consolation rounds and championship finals. Consolation quarterfinal round action kicks off the day at 11:30 a.m. ET with the championship finals being slated to begin at approximately 3:00 p.m. ET with all action being aired on ESPN+