Oregon State tied with American University, edging out No. 20 Illinois and 21 Pittsburgh. The Beavers moved up three spots from yesterday's finish, tacking on 28 team points.
Davis found himself narrowly behind in the third place match at 157 pounds before chalking up a final takedown late in the match to earn the 4-3 decision over sixth-seeded Jake Deitchier, wrestling unattached for Minnesota, and his highest placing at the Midlands Championships and first placing of the season. Davis began the day as the only remaining Beaver wrestler in the championship bracket, but fell to top seeded Steve Fittery of American in a 15-5 major decision. Davis came back in the consolation bracket with a 9-6 win over Derek St. John, wrestling unattached for Iowa, before his placing victory.
Also competing in the third place match, junior Colby Covington (Springfield, Ore.) had already solidified himself as the only unseeded wrestler guaranteed to place at 174 pounds. Covington opened the final day with three straight nail biting decisions over Ethan Lofthouse of Iowa, wrestling unattached, 5-4, a 9-8 victory over seventh-seeded Shane Riccio of Bucknell and a 2-1 win over fifth-seeded Duke Burke of Iowa State to get to the deciding match. But in the final match, Covington came up just shy of third place in a 5-3 loss to third-seeded Luke Manuel of Purdue.
Redshirt sophomore Jason Lara (Midway City, Calif.) earned the first placing for the Beavers, tallying seventh place honors at 125 pounds. Lara started the day off with a 6-3 decision over JJ Krutsinger of Iowa but fell to sixth-seeded Ben Kjar of Utah Valley in a tough 4-3 heartbreaker in the consolation semifinals. But Lara rebounded with a 5-3 decision over ninth-seeded Anthony Zanetta of Pitt to earn his first placing at the Midlands Championships and of his collegiate career.
Next to place was sophomore Kelly Kubec (Lake Stevens, Wash.) at 133 pounds, earning seventh place. Kubec started out strong with a fall over Jimmy Kirchner of Rider in 2:22, but came up just short against seventh-seeded Matt Fisk of Lehigh in a 6-4 decision. But Kubec got back to his pinning ways with a 2:08 fall over eighth-seeded Billy Ashnault in the seventh place match. Kubec has now placed in both big tournaments this season and has a team-high tying 10 falls - tied for 42nd all-time in a single season and ninth most for a sophomore in school history.
Earlier in the day, freshman RJ Pena (Salem, Ore.) fell just short of a placing match at 149 pounds, losing to seventh-ranked Mitch Mueller of Iowa State, 5-1, in overtime. And sophomore heavyweight Clayton Jack (Vacaville, Calif.) was unable to overcome sixth-seeded Mark Ellis of Missouri, falling 10-1, just out of placing.
The Beavers return home to host Wyoming next on Thursday, Jan. 7, in legendary Gill Coliseum beginning at 7:00 p.m.
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