LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – 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 tonight (Thursday, Feb. 1) in a thrilling Mid-American Conference (MAC) Eastern Division dual.
 
Tyler Stoltzfus (Mifflinburg, Pa./Saint Joseph's Academy), Colin Fegley (Mahanoy, Pa./Mahanoy), Gable Strickland (Benton, Pa./Benton), Wyatt Henson (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg) and Nick Stonecheck (Alpharetta, Ga./Buford) all posted wins for Lock Haven in a match that started at 165 pounds tonight.
 
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 13^th-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 (Warren, Pa./Eisenhower), 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 (Lima, N.Y./Honeoye Falls-Lima), 9-6 in a wild one. At 285, Ethan Miller (York, Pa./Central York) 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.
 
Henson ran his win streak to 27 straight with his 29^th win of the season. Tonight, he majored Ryan Sullivan at 141. Henson led 6-2 after one period, but two takedowns in the third secured the major.
 
The back-to-back majors had Lock Haven leading 19-13.
 
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.
 
In the night's final bout, Connor Eck (Bensalem, Pa./Bensalem) and No. 29 Alejandro Herrera-Rondon locked up in an electric one and Eck nearly pulled off the upset. Eck scored a takedown late in regulation and sent the bout to sudden-victory, but in the extra frame, Herrera-Rondon found the winning takedown.
 
Bout-by-Bout Results
No. 22 Lock Haven 25 – Clarion 16
165: Eli Brinsky (Clarion) dec. Eric Alderfer (Lock Haven), 2-1 / Clarion, 3-0
174: Tyler Stoltzfus (Lock Haven) won by injury default #32 John Worthing (Clarion) / Lock Haven, 6-3
184: #30 Cam Pine (Clarion) major dec. Cael Black (Lock Haven), 17-5 / Clarion, 7-6
197: Colin Fegley (Lock Haven) tech fall Brett Wittmann (Clarion), 17-2 (5:53) / Lock Haven, 11-7
285: John Meyers (Clarion) dec. Ethan Miller (Lock Haven), 7-4 / Lock Haven, 11-10
125: Joey Fischer (Clarion) dec, #8 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven), 9-6 / Clarion, 13-11
133: #29 Gable Strickland (Lock Haven) major dec. TJ England (Clarion), 9-1 / Lock Haven, 15-13
141: #13 Wyatt Henson (Lock Haven) major dec. Ryan Sullivan (Clarion), 14-4 / Lock Haven, 19-13
149: Nick Stonecheck (Lock Haven) pinned Kyle Schickel (Clarion), 1:34 / Lock Haven, 25-13
157: #29 Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (Clarion) dec, Connor Eck (Lock Haven), 9-6 SV / FINAL, Lock Haven 25-16
*Dual Started at 165 pounds
 
**Team Ranking =WIN Magazine (Jan. 29)
***Individual Ranking = NCAA Coaches' Panel (Jan. 22)
 
Attendance: 1,277
 
Up Next for Lock Haven:
The Bald Eagles will be right back in action tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 2) when they travel to Navy for a 7:30 p.m. non-conference dual.