The Beavers edged out two-time defending Pac-10 Champions, Boise State, garnering 127.0 team points over the Broncos’ 125.0. Cal Poly finished third with 120.0. Oregon State automatically qualified five to the NCAA Tournament.
“It was a team effort,” head coach Jim Zalesky said. “This tournament everybody contributed and scored points. [Colby] Covington won it and I think that’s important. [Mike] Mangrum came back and the way he got beat in the first round and came back to place third was a great effort. I think they paced us and everybody else really came in and contributed.”
Covington beat Boise State’s Nate Lee for the second time this season to take the 174 pound title after easily cruising through the first two matches on Friday.
“It’s a great feeling,” Covington said. “The team is excited and I’m excited, personally. Like coach tells us, good things are going to happen, you just don’t when. I believe I can be national champ, and Pac-10 champ is a step in the right direction. But I’m going to move forward and keep training hard and focusing and I’m going to be ready to go once it comes time for NCAAs and Omaha.”
Redshirt sophomore Jason Lara (Midway City, Calif.) and sophomore Clayton Jack (Vacaville, Calif.) already qualified on Friday at 125 pounds and heavyweight. Adding to them, sophomore Kelly Kubec (Lake Stevens, Wash.) and redshirt freshman Mike Mangrum (Auburn, Wash.) earned automatic bids at 133 and 141 pounds.
Lara fell to No. 1 Anthony Robles of Arizona State in the championship match, 9-3, while Jack fell short against No. 1 Mitch Monteiro of Cal State Bakersfield, 9-5.
Kubec earned a pair of decisions to take third place at 133 pounds, defeating No. 5 Justin Paulsen of Stanford, 7-3, before No. 4. Ben Ashmore of Arizona State, 7-5, in the third place match.
Mangrum earned his bid in a similar fashion by defeating No. 1 Levi Jones of Boise State in a close 4-3 decision before winning third place in a 9-3 decision over No. 5 Elijah Nacita of Cal State Bakersfield.
Senior Dan Brascetta (Aurora, Colo.) fell in the championship match at 165 pounds to No. 1 Nick Amuchastegui of Stanford in a riding time point, just missing the single automatic bid.
Senior Keegan Davis (Salem, Ore.) finished just short of the automatic qualification at 157 pounds, falling in a 3-2 decision to No. 5 Te Edwards in the third place match.
Freshman RJ Pena (Salem, Ore.) and redshirt freshman Ty Vinson (Great Falls, Mont.) both earned fifth place finishes at 149 and 184 pounds, while sophomore Chad Hanke (Dayton, Ore.) was fourth, falling 8-3 to No. 4 Matt Casperson of Boise State.
At-large bids to the NCAA Tournament will be announced on Wednesday, Mar. 10.
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