KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Two national titles.
Four appearances in the NCAA finals.
Nine All-American finishes.
Five New Jersey state titles.
Mekhi Lewis and Shane Griffith are near the top of any list of New Jersey wrestling legends for what they accomplished in their high school and college careers.
On Saturday, sixth-year senior Griffith and seventh-year senior Lewis wrestled their final college matches against each other in the 174-pound third-place match of the 2024 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Griffith scored a takedown in the final 30 seconds to seal the victory, topping Lewis, 4-0 – one last clutch takedown in a career full of them.
“It was funny, I was talking to people about that, we’ve kind of been dominating the scene since we were both young,” said Griffith. “It’s awesome watching him win a national championship and knowing I was capable of doing that, I think he paved the way for me personally. I have nothing but respect for him.
“I don’t think we ever wrestled before that. He was always a little bit bigger, and I’m just a skinny kid trying to fill out. It’s good we got to wrestle finally.”
While Griffith was doing his post-match interview, Lewis came over and gave him a hug.
“There he is, legend,” said Griffith.
Griffith won a national title with Stanford in 2021 after the school announced it was dropping the program. He and his teammates wore black logo-less singlets in protest, but his run to the title gained national attention and Stanford reversed field, saving wrestling and a number of other sports designated to be cut.
A three-time state champion and four-time finalist from Bergen Catholic, Griffith reached the national final again in 2022 where he lost to Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole and finished fifth a year ago following a semifinal loss to Iowa State’s David Carr. He was also named an All-American after the 2020 tournament was canceled as he was seeded third.
Not happy with his final NCAA tournament last year and with two Stanford degrees to his name, Griffith came back for one more year, going to Michigan and bumping up a weight class to 174.
“This last year has been a roller coaster, just finding myself again,” said Griffith. “I wasn’t that wrestler I was when I was 18, 19 years old. I know people complain about people coming back (for a sixth year) but it’s only my fourth NCAAs, so five-time All-American but a true four-time All-American. It was another stepping stone in my journey and getting tougher. I really cherish the moments. I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished in wrestling, the sport has been nothing but great to me.”
Griffith does not know what his future holds or what role wrestling would be a part of the rest of his life.
“I’m ready to move on, I’m grateful,” said Griffith. “I’ll definitely support guys I know, I have my Stanford and Michigan families. My personal time is done competing, but I’ll help out here and there if I have time for it and people need help.”
Virginia Tech 174-pounder Mekhi Lewis before the semifinal round of the NCAA Championships on Friday, March 18, 2022 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.James Kratch | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
A two-time state champion at Bound Brook, Lewis became Virginia Tech’s first national champion when as an eighth-seeded redshirt freshman he stunned two-time national champion Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State in the 2019 165-pound final, earning Most Outstanding Wrestler honors.
After taking an Olympic redshirt year in 2020, Lewis tore his pectoral muscle and had to default after his second-round win at the 2021 tournament. He returned in 2022 after nearly quitting the sport in part because of battles with depression and reached the final where he lost to Penn State’s Carter Starocci in overtime.
Last year, Lewis finished fourth after losing a semifinal to Nebraska’s Mikey Labriola.
Lewis and Griffith both dropped into wrestlebacks this year after losses to Starocci – Lewis 4-0 in the quarterfinals and Griffith 2-0 in the semis.
Lewis isn’t sure if he will seek to continue wrestling freestyle or move on to another career. He said earlier this season he would like to work for a non-profit.
“It was good wrestling a tough competitor like Shane,” said Lewis. “Another Jersey legend, just going out there trying to prove and show for everyone. It (stinks) to lose, but I’m satisfied. Around this time last year, I was basically down on myself but this year I’m happy even though I didn’t win. I built a lot of character from this year, and I just can’t ask for anything more.”
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Bill Evans can be reached at [email protected].
