University of Wyoming
After just one year attending NCSU, he transferred to his home state, Wyoming. His coaches from both universities explain that Meredith was feeling homesick and it was affecting him and his performance. [5]
As a sophomore ('15-'16), he quickly made a difference from last year, going up in the rankings from #31 to #5, finishing the season with 29 wins and 5 losses and winning a bronze medal at the Big 12 Conference. Despite his accomplishments during regular season, Meredith was an underdog at the NCAA tournament. As the fourteenth seed, he went on to defeat the second, third and sixth seeds to make it to the finals, where he faced the top–seed and eventual two–time NCAA champion Dean Heil and lost by points. [6] This marked Meredith in the history of the program as the first finalist since 1996. [2]
As a junior ('16-'17), he opened up the season with a Northern Colorado Open title and compiled a dual-meet record of 11–3. In the post-season, he made the finals of the Big 12s where he faced Dean Heil, whom he had lost to at last year's NCAA finals. He was once again defeated on points, earning runner–up honors and an automatic qualification ticket for the NCAAs. At the tournament, he was the number ten seed and as such, he defeated three opponents including the second seed before falling to the sixth seeded wrestler in the semifinals. Due to his last match's result, he was thrown to the semifinals of the consolation bracket, where he defeated Jaydin Eierman to make it to the bronze medal match, where he was pinned by the second seed, whom he had beaten before, placing fourth. [7] [2]
Meredith had his most successful season as a senior ('17–'18). He opened up with a victory over ninth–ranked Chad Red from Nebraska [8] and then went on to compete at the Cliff Keen Invitational, where he lost to two–time Cadet World Champion and fifth seed Yianni Diakomihalis in the semifinals and placed third. [9] He then dominated the rest of the regular season, claiming an RTOC title (named Outstanding Wrestler) [10] and posting a 16–0 record at duals, with notable wins over top–ranked Seth Gross, second–ranked Jaydin Eierman and two–time defending NCAA champion Dean Heil. [11] In the post–season, he once again defeated Heil in the Big 12 finals to claim his first title of the tournament. [12] He entered the NCAA championships as the top–seed and defeated three unseeded opponents until the semifinals, where he defeated Joey McKenna to reach the finale. He lost his final match against Yianni Diakomihalis, the only man to beat Meredith as a senior. [13] Overall, Meredith became a two–time NCAA finalist, three–time All-American and a Big 12 champion with a record of 108 wins and 21 losses. [2]
