Mekhi Lewis

Last updated
Mekhi Lewis
Mekhi Lewis.jpg
Lewis in 2019
Personal information
Full nameMekhi Kevin Lewis
Nationality American
Born (1999-04-29) April 29, 1999 (age 24)
New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S.
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight165 lb (75 kg)
Sport
CountryUnited States
Sport Wrestling
Event(s) Freestyle and Folkstyle
ClubSERTC
Titan Mercury WC
Coached byJared Haught
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
US National Championships
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2019 Fort Worth (SN)74 kg
Junior World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2018 Trnava74 kg
Collegiate Wrestling
Representing the Virginia Tech Hokies
NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2019 Pittsburgh 165 lb
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2022 Detroit 174 lb
ACC Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2019 Blacksburg165 lb
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2022 Charlottesville174 lb
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2023 Raleigh174 lb
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2024 Chapel Hill174 lb

Mekhi Kevin Lewis (born April 29, 1999) is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler. In freestyle, he was the 2018 Junior World Champion and the US National runner-up in 2019. As a folkstyle wrestler, Lewis is an NCAA Division I champion and ACC champion out of Virginia Tech and three-time NJSIAA champion as a high schooler. [1]

Contents

Folkstyle

Lewis began wrestling when he was five or six years old. [2]

High school

He attended Bound Brook High School in New Jersey and went on to win two NJSIAA titles during his high school wrestling years. [3] He was also on the football varsity team. [4]

College

When he was a high school senior, Lewis committed to Virginia Tech. [5]

2017-2018

Lewis chose to redshirt and competed unattached and compiled a record of 28 wins and 2 losses, winning multiple open tournaments such as the Hokie, Wolfpack, Storm, Appalachian, and Edinboro Opens. He also placed fourth at the Southern Scuffle. [6]

2018-2019

As a freshman, Lewis posted a record of 21 wins and 2 losses (13-1 in duals), won the Hokie Open and placed second at the Cliff Keen Invitational during regular season. [7] [8] Post-regular season, he won an ACC title and entered the NCAA championships as the eighth-seeded wrestler at 165 pounds. [9] He opened the tournament with a fall and decision before facing top-seeded Alex Marinelli, whom he also defeated by decision. He then defeated fourth-seeded Evan Wick, making it to the final against second-seeded Vincenzo Joseph. He beat Joseph to become the first Hokie ever to win an NCAA individual championship. [10] After the tournament, he earned the Most Outstanding Wrestler award. [11]

2020-2021

In 2019-2020 Lewis did not compete as an NCAA athlete. As a 2018 junior world champion and 2019 NCAA champion, he met two of the four criteria to be eligible for an Olympic redshirt, focusing on freestyle and retaining his eligibility as a sophomore. [12]

In 2020-2021, Lewis compiled an 8–1 record during regular season, suffering his only loss via injury, which forced him to forfeit out of the ACC Championships. [13]

Freestyle career

Junior level

Lewis never competed consistently in freestyle, having attended just two tournaments (US Open and WTT) before his appearance at the 2018 World Championships, being this tournament his first international competition ever. He went on to defeat all of his four opponents (two by technical fall), claiming gold. [14]

Senior level

2019

After taking an Olympic redshirt for 2019-2020, Lewis was nominated to compete at the Intercontinental Cup as his first senior freestyle competition. [15] He defeated three opponents on his way to the semifinals, where he was downed on points and thrown to the third-place match. He also lost the bronze-medal match, placing fifth. [16]

He then competed at the Bill Farrell Memorial in an attempt to earn a qualification ticket for the Olympic Trials. He defeated two opponents by technical fall and was subsequently matched with Vincenzo Joseph, whom he had defeated earlier that year at the NCAA championship final. He lost on points and was thrown to the consolation brackets. He beat Logan Massa and Thomas Gantt to earn a shot at the bronze medal. In the third-place match, he was defeated by three-time NCAA Division III champion Nazar Kulchytskyy. [17]

In his next attempt to qualify for the Olympic Trials, he competed at the US Nationals. [18] He dominated on his way to the finals with two technical fall victories, an 8-0 victory, and a decision. At the finals, he faced Bill Farrell Memorial opponent Logan Massa and was defeated on points, earning runner-up honors and a run at the Olympic Trials. [19]

2020

Lewis was scheduled to compete at the 2020 US Olympic Team Trials on April 4 at State College, Pennsylvania. However, the event was postponed for 2021 along with the Summer Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving all the qualifiers unable to compete. [20]

After being unable to compete for almost one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lewis represented the SERTC in the FloWrestling: RTC Cup at 74 kilograms during December 4–5. [21] In the first round against the Ohio RTC, he lost 9-2 to Carson Kharchla, but went on to close the day with a technical fall over Jevon Balfour. [22] In the second day, he was defeated by two-time NCAA Division I All-American Evan Wick, before picking up another technical fall over Balfour and helping the team to make the finals, where he lost to 2020 US national champion Logan Massa in a rematch. [23]

Freestyle record

Senior Freestyle Matches
Res.RecordOpponentScoreDateEventLocation
FloWrestling RTC Cup Silver medal icon.svg as NJRTC
Loss13-8 Flag of the United States.svg Logan Massa2-3December 4–5, 2020 FloWrestling RTC Cup Flag of the United States.svg Austin, Texas
Win13-7 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Jevon Balfour TF 17-6
Loss12-7 Flag of the United States.svg Evan Wick5-11
Win12-6 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Jevon Balfour TF 12-2
Loss11-6 Flag of the United States.svg Carson Kharchla2-9
2019 US Nationals Silver medal icon.svg at 74 kg
Loss11-5 Flag of the United States.svg Logan Massa4-6December 22, 20192019 Senior Nationals - US Olympic Trials Qualifier

Flag of the United States.svg Ford Worth, Texas

Win11-4 Flag of the United States.svg Thomas Gantt3-1
Win10-4 Flag of the United States.svg Chance MarstellerInjury (8-0)
Win9-4 Flag of the United States.svg Elroy PerkinTF 10-0
Win8-4 Flag of the United States.svg Jaison WhiteTF 10-0
2019 Bill Farrell Memorial 4th at 74kg
Loss7-4 Flag of the United States.svg Nazar Kulchytskyy 3-9November 16, 20192019 Bill Farrell Memorial International Open

Flag of the United States.svg New York, New York

Win7-3 Flag of the United States.svg Thomas Gantt5-1
Win6-3 Flag of the United States.svg Logan Massa7-1
Loss5-3 Flag of the United States.svg Vincenzo Joseph1-4
Win5-2 Flag of Slovakia.svg Jakub SykoraTF 11-0
Win4-2 Flag of the United States.svg James HunsbergerTF 10-0
2019 Continental Cup 5th at 74kg
Loss3-2 Flag of Russia.svg Gadzhimurad Alikhmaev2-6October 14, 20192019 Intercontinental Wrestling Cup

Flag of Russia.svg Khasavyurt, Russia

Loss3-1 Flag of Russia.svg Magoma Dibirgadzhiev3-5
Win3-0 Flag of Russia.svg Alibek Akbaev7-0
Win2-0 Flag of the United States.svg Dan Vallimont4-1
Win1-0 Flag of Armenia.svg Davit Gevorgyan3-2

Junior freestyle record

Junior freestyle results
Res.RecordOpponentScoreDateEventLocation
2018 World Championship Gold medal icon.svg at 74 kg
Win11-2 Flag of Azerbaijan.svg Abubakar Abakarov5-1September 23, 20182018 Junior World Wrestling Championships

Flag of Slovakia.svg Trnava, Slovakia

Win10-2 Flag of Mongolia.svg Bat-Erdene ByambasurenTF 12-1
Win9-2 Flag of South Africa.svg Matthew BartlettFall
Win8-2 Flag of Estonia.svg Erik ReinbokTF 10-0
2018 US World Team Trials Gold medal icon.svg at 74 kg
Win7-2 Flag of the United States.svg Alex Marinelli6-5May 19, 20182018 US Junior World Team Trials

Flag of the United States.svg Rochester, Minnesota

Win6-2 Flag of the United States.svg Travis Wittlake6-1
Win5-2 Flag of the United States.svg Hayden Hastings8-6
2018 US Open 5th at 74 kg
Win4-2 Flag of the United States.svg Tyler Dow15-8April 27, 20182018 US Open Junior Wrestling Championships

Flag of the United States.svg Las Vegas, Nevada

Loss3-2 Flag of the United States.svg Kaleb Romero6-11
Loss3-1 Flag of the United States.svg Jeremiah Moody7-9
Win3-0 Flag of the United States.svg Jarrett Jacques8-4
Win2-0 Flag of the United States.svg Tanner SkidgelTF 10-0
Win1-0 Flag of the United States.svg Devin Bahr5-0

NCAA record

NCAA Championship Matches
Res.RecordOpponentScoreDateEvent
2021 NCAA Championships DNP at 165 lbs
Loss7–1Zach HartmanMFORMarch 18–20, 20212021 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win7–0Tanner Skidgel3–2
Win6–0Brian Meyer8–3
2019 NCAA Championships Gold medal icon.svg at 165 lbs
Win5–0Vincenzo Joseph7–1March 23, 2019 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win4–0Evan Wick5–2
Win3–0Alex Marinelli3–1
Win2–0Cael McCormick4–1
Win1–0Cam CoyFall

Stats

SeasonYearSchoolRankWeigh ClassRecordWinBonus
2021Sophomore Virginia Tech #21658–280.00%50.00%
2019Freshman#8 (1st)28–293.33%43.33%
Career35–290.00%42.50%

Collegiate awards and records

Freestyle awards and honors

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References

  1. ↑ "Mekhi Lewis - Wrestling". Hokie Sports. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  2. ↑ mark.berman@roanoke.com 981-3125, Mark Berman. "Virginia Tech wrestler Mekhi Lewis savoring NCAA championship". Roanoke Times. Retrieved 2020-06-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ Frezza, Harry. "Wrestling: Bound Brook's Lewis returns to host clinic". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  4. ↑ "Mekhi Lewis | Bound Brook HS, Bound Brook, NJ | MaxPreps". www.maxpreps.com. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  5. ↑ "Mekhi Lewis Commits To VA Tech". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  6. ↑ Steen, Alex (2018-02-08). "Top 10 Redshirting Freshmen in NCAA Division I Wrestling - 2018". The Open Mat. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
  7. ↑ "Lewis, Moore win titles at the Hokie Open". Virginia Tech Athletics. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  8. ↑ writer, Nicholas Hatch, sports staff. "Hokies wrestling places three of its own at Cliff Keen Invitational". Collegiate Times. Retrieved 2020-06-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ "NCAA wrestling tournament brackets 2019: Top seeds announced for each weight class". North Jersey. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  10. ↑ "NCAA wrestling championships: Penn State wins 2019 national title | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  11. ↑ Rapp, Timothy. "NCAA Wrestling Championships 2019: Penn State Wins Title, Results, Standings". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  12. ↑ "Lewis to utilize Olympic redshirt in 2019-20". Virginia Tech Athletics. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  13. ↑ "Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) Profile | WrestleStat". www.wrestlestat.com. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  14. ↑ "Lewis wins gold at Junior World Championships". Virginia Tech Athletics. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  15. ↑ "Mekhi Lewis, Ty Walz set to compete at 2019 Continental Cup". Virginia Tech Athletics. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  16. ↑ "Walz wins bronze at 2019 Continental Cup". Virginia Tech Athletics. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  17. ↑ "Lewis, Walz take fourth place at Bill Farrell Memorial". Virginia Tech Athletics. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  18. ↑ "Lewis, Walz set to compete at U.S. Senior Nationals". Virginia Tech Athletics. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  19. ↑ "Mekhi Lewis and Ty Walz qualify for U.S. Olympic Team Trials". Virginia Tech Athletics. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  20. ↑ NJ.com, Bill Evans | NJ Advance Media for (2020-03-13). "U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials postponed for coronavirus: Burroughs, Green, Ashnault, Suriano in limbo". nj. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  21. ↑ "RTC Cup Lineups | Virginia Tech Wrestling Board". Virginia Tech Wrestling Board. November 18, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Spartan Combat RTC and Cliff Keen WC advance to semifinals on FloWrestling's RTC Cup". Team USA. December 4, 2020. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021.
  23. ↑ "See the results for the FloWrestling: 2020 RTC Cup Presented by Titan Mercury Wrestling Club wrestling event on FloWrestling.org". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
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