Defining what greatness is in college sports can vary greatly depending on the school and the context. However, winning a school's first individual national championship in a sport, winning a junior world championship, and winning a historic amount of individual conference titles while rarely losing any matches puts you in line to be an all-time great across all sports.
That's exactly what Mekhi Lewis has done over his illustrious Virginia Tech Wrestling career, winning the first individual national title in VT Wrestling history back in 2019 at 165 pounds while earning the Most Outstanding Wrestler honor for that year's NCAA Championships. He's also won four ACC individual titles at two different weight classes, is a three-time All-American, won a Junior World Championship in 2018, has been named ACC Wrestler of the Year twice (2019, 2022) and has a collegiate career record of 121-11 including a perfect 15-0 entering the 2024 NCAA Championships.
If you're looking to define greatness, that's greatness right there, the like of which has never been achieved by any wrestler in Virginia Tech's history. Regardless of what happens at this week's NCAA Championships in Kansas City, there's no doubt that Lewis is the greatest wrestler in Virginia Tech history to date.
And yet even with that, Lewis still has one final chance to add on more in Kansas City in a fascinating spot as he pursues his second national champion.
Lewis earned the top overall seed this year after dominating all the competition on his way to a perfect 15-0 official record and an ACC title. However, Lewis faces a tougher draw on his side of the bracket at 174 than anyone could imagine for a number one seed.
That's because Penn State's Carter Starocci, the three-time defending NCAA champion who defeated Lewis for the 174-pound crown in 2022, somehow got a nine seed. This is despite the fact that Starocci was undefeated on the season prior to injuries keeping him out of the Big 10 Championship, which appeared to force the committee to seed him lower. Regardless of that injury, it is absurd that Lewis and Starocci are not only on the same side of the bracket, but they also are on track to meet in the quarterfinals.
Now Starocci has said he's at 100% though it's one thing to be at 100% for a single match, but another thing to be at 100% for the marathon that is the three-day NCAA Championships. Starocci does have good history though against Lewis from that 2022 NCAA Championship finals victory plus a collegiate exhibition showcase earlier this season where Starocci beat Lewis, though an exhibition is a bit different than the bright lights of the NCAA Championships.
You also have to add in the fact that Michigan's Shane Griffith, the 2021 NCAA champion at 165 who moved up to 174 since then, is the four seed and likely will face the winner of Lewis vs. Starocci for a spot in the finals. That puts the top three 174 wrestlers in the country, according to Intermat, on the same side of the bracket. That's an insane oversight based largely on the medical forfeits of Starocci for the entire B1G Tournament and Griffith for the B1G final. If those medical forfeits hadn't happened, we're likely talking Starocci, Lewis, and Griffith as the top three seeds in that order instead of only one being able to reach the final.
Regardless, if Lewis is going to win his second national title, the road it's going to take to get there is going to be a major challenge but one that he can absolutely overcome. It's also a chance to cement his legacy even further, especially if he were to win a national title by being a one seed and somehow getting a brutal draw still. Imagine taking down two fellow former national champions at various weight classes on the way to winning a second national title of his own. That would be a historic run that would likely give him a shot at winning the Hodge Trophy, college wrestling's version of the Heisman.
Big picture, Lewis' career has made it clear that he deserves to be considered among the top tier of greatest athletes in Virginia Tech's history, and very likely would be on a Mount Rushmore of greatest athletes. That top tier has become much more crowded over the past few years with Lewis and VT WBB superstar Liz Kitley joining VT athletic greats like Bruce Smith, Michael Vick, Queen Harrison, and Spyridon Jullien in that top tier, while surpassing other greats like Dell Curry, Tyrod Taylor, Tere Williams, Devin Carter, and more.
Obviously, the competition is steep when you get to the highest tier, but Mekhi Lewis has earned his spot among the greatest athletes of Virginia Tech's history. His legacy is undoubtedly secured in that regard yet a second national title would raise a fair question as to whether Lewis may be the greatest athlete in the history of Virginia Tech Athletics.
That's a questions to try to answer starting Sunday though, and then ask again and again over the years and decades to come.
For now, it's time to sit back and enjoy watching one of the great Hokie athletes of all-time take the mat for the final time in pursuit of winning a second national title. Watching all-time greatness only happens for a few years in college sports, and the clock is about to strike midnight on Mekhi Lewis's historic collegiate wrestling career.
This week, the hope for Lewis is that a national championship trophy is being lifted by him Saturday night in Kansas City when the clock on his illustrious collegiate career strikes midnight.
