2019 NCAA champion Mekhi Lewis (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com; Graphic/Anna-Lee Marie)
Welcome to a new recurring feature from InterMat as we lead into the 2021-22 collegiate season. We are about 50 days away from the start of the new season, so what better way to ring in the new year than to use that time to count down the top-50 current collegiate wrestlers. Each day a new wrestler will be released.
These rankings have been compiled by members of the InterMat staff and used a combination of collegiate achievements, with 2021 accomplishments carrying more weight than past years, along with win-loss records and notable wins. While we are counting down the top-50 wrestlers based primarily on collegiate accomplishments, it is impossible to totally ignore achievements in the international settings, so they did factor in slightly, too.
Before getting to the next wrestler on the list, look at the wrestlers previously profiled:
#50 - Greg Kerkvliet (Penn State)
#49 - Ben Darmstadt (Cornell)
#48 - Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State)
#47 - Kaleb Young (Iowa)
#46 - Rocky Elam (Missouri)
#45 - Chad Red Jr. (Nebraska)
#44 - Brandon Courtney (Arizona State)
#43 - Brock Mauller (Missouri)
#42 - Cohlton Schultz (Arizona State)
#41 - John Poznanski (Rutgers)
#40 - Brayton Lee (Minnesota)
#39 - Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State)
#38 - Parker Keckeisen (Northern Iowa)
#37 - Tariq Wilson (NC State)
#36 - Jacob Warner (Iowa)
#35 - Jacori Teemer (Arizona State)
#34 - Tony Cassioppi (Iowa)
#33 - Vito Arujau (Cornell)
#32 - Patrick Glory (Princeton)
#31 - Max Dean (Penn State)
#30 - Keegan O'Toole (Missouri)
#29 - Mike Labriola (Nebraska)
#28 - Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh)
#27 - Austin DeSanto (Iowa)
#26 - Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh)
#25 - Evan Wick (Cal Poly)
#24 - Alex Marinelli (Iowa)
#23 - Ryan Deakin (Northwestern)
#22 - Sebastian Rivera (Rutgers)
#21 - Sammy Sasso (Ohio State)
#20 - Trent Hidlay (NC State)
#19 - Stevan Micic (Michigan)
#18 - Hayden Hidlay (NC State))
Next up is…
#17 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech)
Weight: 174 lbs
Year: Junior
Career Record: 38-4
Hometown: Bound Brook, New Jersey
College Accomplishments: 2019 NCAA Champion, 2019 ACC Champion
2021-22 Preseason Ranking: #5 at 174 lbs
Even with a pair of New Jersey state titles in high school, Mekhi Lewis may have slipped under the radar for some nationally. That's probably due to his lack of freestyle experience...which we'll get to later.
With one of the top wrestlers in program history, David McFadden, already in the fold at 165 lbs in 2017-18, Lewis was able to take a redshirt during his first year in Blacksburg.
Lewis started his unattached assault of open competition with wins in his first three open tournaments. He pinned six opponents during a run that included titles at the Hokie Open, the Wolfpack Open, and the Storm Open.
That set the stage for the most significant tournament of his redshirt campaign, the Southern Scuffle. Lewis earned wins over four national qualifiers and lost only two All-American Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven), twice. He would finish in fourth place. Those losses to Marsteller accounted for the only setbacks during his redshirt season.
Lewis continued demolishing foes on the open circuit after the Scuffle with titles at the Appalachian Open and the Edinboro Open. During those final two tournaments, Lewis' most notable win was a 12-5 decision over Thomas Bullard (NC State), a returning national qualifier. Lewis would finish the year with a sparkling 28-2 record.
After the collegiate season, Lewis decided to try his hand at freestyle, despite having an extremely limited history with the discipline. One would have never known as he downed Alex Marinelli (Iowa), Travis Wittlake (Oklahoma State), and Jeremiah Moody (Iowa) to claim the 74 kg spot on the Junior World Team.
At the 2018 Junior World Championships, Lewis breezed through the tournament and made the finals after two techs and a fall. In the finals, Lewis used some late-match magic to stave off an attack from Abubakar Abakarov (Azerbaijan), before turning it into his own scoring maneuver to seal a 5-1 victory and the gold medal.
Lewis' first official appearance for Virginia Tech came at the school's season-opening Hokie Open, where he went 4-0. In his first dual meet, Lewis was upended by Missouri's veteran Connor Flynn, 8-6.
A couple weeks later, Lewis and the Hokies traveled out west to the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. In Vegas, Mekhi picked up a pair of wins over veteran national qualifiers Branson Ashworth (Wyoming) and Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa), to earn a place in the finals. Opposite Lewis was Nebraska's Isaiah White. The more seasoned White was able to neutralize any offensive attacks from Lewis in a 2-0 win. Little did we realize that, the White loss would be the last of the year for Lewis.
As his redshirt freshman year progressed, Lewis' offense opened up more and he went on a 12-dual winning streak post-Vegas. That streak saw him record bonus points in nine of those contests.
At Lewis' first ACC Championship event, he coasted to one-sided decision wins against Zach Finesilver (Duke) and Bullard to win the conference title. Even with a 23-2 record, the Junior World Champion had to settle for an eighth seed at the NCAA Championships in Pittsburgh.
Lewis opened up with a familiar opponent in the first round of the national tournament, as he pinned in-state rival Cam Coy (Virginia) late in the third period. Next up was a 4-1 win over #24 Cael McCormick (Army West Point), who had pulled an upset in his first bout.
The win over McCormick set up a quarterfinal bout with undefeated, top-seeded Alex Marinelli (Iowa), the Big Ten champion. Lewis thwarted Marinelli's offensive attacks and kept the score to 1-1 late in the third period. After a Marinelli attack, Lewis was able to turn it into offensive of his own and scored a winning takedown.
In the semifinals, Lewis had another challenge from #4 Evan Wick (Wisconsin). Again the Hokie freshman was able to gut out a close win to make the national finals. Lewis' opponent in the title match was an imposing figure in two-time national champion Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State). Once again, Lewis was able to nullify the offense of a potent foe; however, he blew the match open by reaching for a cradle which he locked up and nearly pinned Joseph. That proved to be the decisive hold, as Lewis went on to win 7-1.
Lewis' national title made him the first Virginia Tech wrestler to accomplish the feat. He finished the year winning his final 19 bouts and tallied bonus points in 13 matches.
His status as a Junior World Champion and 2019 national champion allowed Lewis to use an Olympic redshirt for the 2019-20 season.
Once Lewis re-emerged in the Hokie lineup, during the 2021 season, he opened the year with eight consecutive wins. Three were against conference opponents that happened to be returning national qualifiers (Jake Keating - Virginia, Kennedy Monday - North Carolina, and Bullard).
In Virginia Tech's final dual of the 2021 season, Lewis had to face his stiffest test of the regular season, the returning ACC champion at 165 lbs, Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh). Wentzel had a 3-0 lead on Lewis late in the match and was riding extremely tough. Obviously in pain, Lewis had to take a second injury-related time out and eventually defaulted.
With just over two weeks between the Pitt dual and the ACC Championships, Lewis entered the conference tournament but defaulted out immediately. He still was awarded an at-large berth and given the fourth seed at the NCAA Championships.
In St. Louis, Lewis did what he needed to do in the opening round and got by #29 Brian Meyer (Lehigh), 8-3. The second round saw Lewis take on #13 Tanner Skidgel (Navy). Lewis was in obvious pain throughout the bout, but somehow managed to wrestle for the entire seven minutes and pulled out a 3-2 win over Skidgel.
On Friday morning, Lewis did not come out for his quarterfinal bout against #5 Zach Hartman (Bucknell), due to the existing injury. He medically forfeited out of the tournament and did not earn All-American status.
Lewis is slated to return for the Hokie up at 174 lbs in 2021-22.
Strengths: Lewis has excellent footwork and motion from neutral. He is virtually impossible to takedown, as his balance allows him to be comfortable even if his leg is elevated. Lewis also has remarkable timing on his reshots, which is where a large portion of his offense is based on. He's also dangerous from a short-offense situation. On the mat, he can get a ride out if needed, but generally won't turn most top competitors.
2021-22 Outlook: 174 lbs is an absolutely stacked weight class with the top-three finishers all returning this year. Add in Lewis and three-time NCAA All-American Hayden Hidlay and you have an incredible top-tier of contenders. Since Lewis is coming up from 165 and Hidlay from 157, they will slot in behind those top-three. Lewis has always looked like a huge 165 lber, so don't expect the weight to be an issue. If healthy, he's definitely a title threat.
2021 NCAA champion Mekhi Lewis (Photo/Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com)
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