Lewis earns spot on 2018 Junior World Team

Redshirt freshman wins the 74kg bracket at the World Team Trials

May 19, 2018

BLACKSBURG - Virginia Tech redshirt freshman Mekhi Lewis will represent the United States on this year’s Junior World Team after winning the 74kg title at the 2018 World Team Trials on Saturday in Rochester, Minn.

Lewis becomes the just the second Hokie to make a Junior World Team while wrestling at Virginia Tech, joining Sean Gray who made the team in 1999. Joey Dance also made a Junior World Team as a senior at Christiansburg High School in 2012 prior to enrolling at Tech.

After defeating Wyoming’s Hayden Hastings in the first round, 8-6, Lewis knocked off Oklahoma State signee Travis Wittlake and 2018 All-American Alex Marinelli of Iowa en route to clinching a spot in the two out of three championship series with Iowa’s Jeremiah Moody. Moody, the U.S. Open champion at 74kg, dropped a 12-1 tech fall in the first bout before Lewis took care of business with a 10-0 first period tech fall that gave him title.

Lewis and Team USA will compete at the Junior World Championships in Slovakia from Sept. 17-23.

Teammate John Borst, the number one seed in the challenge tournament at 92kg, won his first match by tech fall, 10-0, against Danny Salas, before topping Jacob Woodley, Jacob Woodley, 7-6, to advance to the best of three. Iowa’s Jacob Warner proved to be too much though as he went 2-0 against Borst in the championship series.

In the senior division, assistant coach Frank Molinaro went 3-0 in the main bracket at 70kg, capped off with a 3-1 win over NC State’s Hayden Hidlay. He’ll face Jason Chamberlain in tomorrow’s best of three with a berth to Final X on the line. Volunteer assistant coach Ty Walz placed second in the challenge bracket and director of performance Tyler Graff placed third.

Tomorrow’s best two out of three championships begin tomorrow at 1 p.m.

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