Photo courtesy of Kadir Caliskan
BLACKSBURG - Virginia Tech redshirt freshman Mekhi Lewis clinched a spot in the gold medal match at the 2018 Junior World Championships in Trnava, Slovakia on Saturday after going 3-0 with a win by fall and two tech falls.
Lewis will face Azerbaijan's Abubakr Abakarov tomorrow, Sept. 23, at 12 p.m. ET for the gold medal at 74 kg. Track Wrestling will have complete coverage, including live stats and a live stream with a subscription, and frequent updates will be provided on Twitter at @HokiesWrestling.
Competing in just his third career freestyle tournament, Lewis punched his ticket to the 74 kg finals with a 12-1 second period tech fall over 2018 Junior Asian silver medalist Bat-Erdene Byambasuren of Mongolia. Lewis surrendered his lone point of the tournament in the semifinals against Byambasuren on a step out.
In his first match, Lewis led Estonia's Erik Reinbok, 6-0, after the first period and secured a tech fall with two more takedowns 38 seconds into the second to win 10-0. Lewis faced Matthew Bartlett of South Africa in the quarterfinals and used a toss to secure a takedown and a fall at 1:04 in the first period, putting him through to the semis.
During his redshirt year, Lewis went 28-2 with 19 bonus point victories. His only two losses were to Lock Haven All-American Chance Marsteller. The Open Mat ranked Lewis second on their list of top redshirting freshmen in the nation last season and he went 6-2 against opponents that qualified for the 2018 NCAA Championships.
Mekhi Lewis - 74 kg
Lewis TF Erik Reinbok (Estonia), 10-0
Lewis WBF Matthew Bartlett (South Africa), 1:04
Lewis TF Bat-Erdene Byambasuren (Mongolia), 12-1
