A 2024 graduate of Virginia Tech, Coach Lewis arguably had the greatest career of any Hokie wrestler in history. In 2017-2018 Mekhi redshirted but accumulated a 28-2 record with 19 bonus point wins and a 4th place finish at the Southern Scuffle. His only losses on the season were both to Chance Marstellar at the Scuffle and he wrestled to a 6-2 record against NCAA qualifiers.
As a redshirt freshman in 2018-2019, Lewis exploded on the national scene earning VT’s first ever National Championship in addition to being ACC Champion and ACC Wrestler of the Year. Mekhi’s path to his national title started as an 8-seed and included upset wins over the #1, #4 and #2 seeds in Alex Marinelli, Evan Wick and defending national champion, Vincenzo Joseph. For his performance, Lewis was named Outstanding Wrestler for the 2019 Division I NCAA Tournament, being only the second freshman ever to accomplish the feat, joining Cael Sanderson. 2018 also included a Junior World Championship for Coach Lewis.
After an Olympic Redshirt year in 2020, Lewis’s 2020-2021 Season was marred by injury. The #1 ranked wrestler in the country for most of the season qualified for the NCAA Tournament but medically withdrew after a 2-0 start. He ended the season 10-2 with both losses coming from injury forfeit, the first of which ended a 28-match win streak dating back to his previous season of competition.
In 2021-2022, Coach Lewis returned to form as Virginia Tech’s first ever two-time National Finalist. Mekhi finished the season with a 24-2 record, with one loss coming in overtime of the National Finals against 5x National Champion, Carter Starocci. Lewis earned his second distinction as an NCAA All-American with his runner-up finish and was ACC Champion and ACC Wrestler of the Year for the second time.
2022-2023 saw Lewis earn a 22-3 record and a runner-up finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. His postseason started with a third ACC title at 174 pounds and ended with a 4th place finish at NCAAs. Both losses at the National Tournament came by way of tiebreak. Lewis became Virginia Tech’s seventh 3x All-American in program history, and the first Hokie ever to finish 4th or better in three appearances at the NCAA Tournament.
In his Senior season of 2023-2024, Lewis again set program records at Virginia Tech and made statements at the National level. Mekhi finished the regular season undefeated and continued his win streak through the ACC Championship, winning his 4th ACC Championship. The #1 seed at the NCAA Tournament, Lewis lost another tight match to eventual champion, Carter Starocci but wrestled back to the consolation finals and a 4th place finish. His second loss of the season came to another past national champion in Shane Griffith of Michigan. A 4th All-American finish with all placements being 4th or better was another first in VT program history.
After graduating, Coach Lewis accepted a coaching position with Beat the Streets-DC where he is currently coaching local youth wrestling. The MSWL is very excited to have Mekhi running our Week 4 Clinic and can’t wait to see him share his knowledge with our wrestlers!
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