NCAA Rankings 2018-19

165 Mekhi-ser Soze

Mekhi Lewis was the talk of Pittsburgh and won Outstanding Wrestling of the NCAA tournament when he took out #1 Alex Marinelli, #4 Evan Wick and #2 Vincenzo Joseph in consecutive matches to claim the 165-Pound title. 

Chance Marsteller closed out his college career in third, a spectacular accomplishment given how tumultuous that career was at times. Marinelli finished in seventh place, but only lost to #1 Mekhi and #3 Chance at NCAAs. Thanks to an undefeated regular season that included three wins over Evan Wick and one over Vincenzo Joseph, Marinelli earns the #4 ranking, ahead of Wick, who finished fourth in Pittsburgh. Likewise, Marinelli is 1-0 against both Isiah White and Josh Shields this season, who both placed higher at NCAAs but are ranked lower. 

Logan Massa missed the podium for the second consecutive year, suffering heartbreaking losses to Bruce Steiert and Alex Marinelli to finish in the round of 12 and falls from #3 to #9 in the top 20.

Joseph Smith was seeded #33 thanks to spending the whole season at 174 prior to the Big 12 Championship. Smith had a predictably murderous draw, but proved he was a worthy contender, beating Connor Flynn in the second consolation round before having his tournament ended by Demetrius Romero. 

Gordon Wolf won three highly entertaining bouts in the consolation rounds but was stymied in the bloodround by Bryce Steiert to finish off the podium but inside the top 20. Wolf's inclusion left no room for Virginia's Cam Coy, who went winless in Pittsburgh.

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