OSU wrestling has weekend sweep over Air Force, Wyoming

No. 13 Oregon State entered the weekend in need of two victories against two ranked opponents on the road.

Faced with No. 25 Air Force on Friday and No. 15 Wyoming on Sunday, while having struggled in duals as of late, the chances of Oregon State (4-3, 1-1) winning both matches was a bit of a stretch.

But the Beavers showed why they’re still the favorite to win the Pac-12, blowing out Air Force (3-2) 32-7, and then convincingly beating Wyoming (6-3, 1-0 Western Wrestling Conference) 21-12 two days later.

The two wins put Oregon State over .500 in duals this season, at 4-3, and more importantly, put the Beavers back on track after dropping their last dual to Pac-12 rival No. 18 Boise State.

No. 4 Mike Mangrum, a 141-pound senior, led the way for Oregon State, recording technical falls in both matches.

No. 9 Scott Sakaguchi, a 149-pound junior, provided a big lift for the Beavers after returning from an ankle injury that has hampered him since the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 16.

Sakaguchi pulled a major decision over Air Force’s Logan Burch, and won by a 4-2 decision over Wyoming’s Brandon Richardson.

No. 4 Chad Hanke, a heavyweight senior, was another bright spot for OSU, getting wins by decision in both matches to pace the Beavers.

The wins couldn’t have come at a better time for Oregon State, considering the bulk of the Pac-12 schedule is right around the corner.

The Beavers host Stanford this weekend at Gill Coliseum before two more nonconference contests against Lehigh and Cornell the following weekend.

Oregon State and the Cardinal are scheduled to square off at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

sports@dailybarometer.com