BLACKSBURG, Va. – Mekhi Lewis becomes just the third Virginia Tech wrestler to be seeded second entering the NCAA Wrestling Championship, joining teammates Hunter Bolen (184, 2020) and Sam Latona (125, 2021). Scott Justus (184, 2002) remains the only Hokie to garner a top seed entering the tournament.
Full brackets can be found here or at the top of the page.
Lewis – 2018 Junior World champion, 2019 ACC champion and national champion, and most recently, 2022 ACC champion – enters the championship with a 20-1 record at his new weight class of 174-pounds. The redshirt junior is undefeated in his three trips to the big dance and is the highest seeded Hokie entering the tournament.
🏆 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP SEEDS 🏆
— Virginia Tech Wrestling (@HokiesWrestling) March 9, 2022
Christiansburg Cowboy riding to Detroit as the #15 seed. #Hokies #ALLINALLTHETIME🦃 pic.twitter.com/pN2dJUTLkL
With their last year of eligibility, five-time NCAA qualifiers Korbin Myers and Nathan Traxler also join Lewis as top-10 seeded wrestlers – Myers receiving the No. 4 seed and Traxler garnering the No. 10 seed. Myers snagged All-American honors for the first time in his career last season with a fourth-place finish and looks to improve upon that performance come Detroit. Graduate transfer Nathan Traxler has been spectacular in his season with the Hokies as he looks to break through onto the podium for the first time in his career. Both graduate seniors took home ACC titles last weekend – Myers now a four-time (two-time EWL, two-time ACC) and Traxler a two-time conference champion (197-pounds, Pac-12; 285-pounds, ACC).
Rounding out the rest of the Hokies headed to Detroit – three-time ACC finalist and Junior World bronze medalist Bryce Andonian will enter the NCAA tournament as the No. 11 seed; returning All-American Hunter Bolen heads into Detroit as the No. 15 seed; 2021 ACC Freshman of the Year, two-time ACC finalist and ACC champion, returning All-American Sam Latona enters his second championship as the No. 24 season looking to return to form at the big dance; and finally, Collin Gerardi and Connor Brady both enter as the No. 28 seed and will look to shake things up in their respective weights after fourth-place finishes at the ACC tournament.
HOKIE SEEDS AND FIRST ROUND MATCHUPS
125
No. 24 Sam Latona (VT, 12-7) vs No. 9 Devin Schroder (PUR, 19-4)
133
No. 4 Korbin Myers (VT, 18-1) vs No. 29 Jake Gilva (MINN, 12-13)
141
No. 28 Collin Gerardi (VT, 12-9) vs No. 5 Andrew Alirez (UNCO, 22-3)
149
No. 11 Bryce Andonian (VT, 8-3) vs No. 22 Max Brignola (LEH, 18-6)
157
No. 28 Connor Brady (VT, 12-9) vs No. 5 Qunicy Monday (PRIN, 20-3)
174
No. 2 Mekhi Lewis (VT, 20-1) vs No. 31 Dennis Robin (WVU, 13-15)
184
No. 15 Hunter Bolen (VT, 22-5) vs No. 18 Abe Assad (IOWA, 13-8)
285
No. 10 Nathan Traxler (VT, 19-2) vs No. 23 Quinn Miller (UVA, 18-7)