Jackson Turley must wrestle 'best match of career' to beat Mekhi Lewis in NCAA Tournament

Ahead of the 2023 NCAA Wrestling Tournament, former Virginia Tech national champion Mekhi Lewis was seeded No. 3 at 174 pounds. In his way first is Rutgers’ Jackson Turley, a former All-American.

Turley battled injuries since his 2021 podium run but eked out an automatic bid at the Big Ten Tournament with a 7th place finish. However, he was seeded No. 30 and paired against the former champion and two-time finalist in the first round.

Rutgers head coach Scott Goodale said Turley would have to wrestle the best match of his career to pull off the massive upset.

“Everybody at this point is a little banged up,” Goodale said. “I think (Turley) is wrestling  extremely well. He’s extremely dangerous. I think he’s still leaving points out there. And I think he believes he can win. Obviously he’s wrestling a national champ to start the tournament. So that’s kind of where he’s at, you know, again, one round at a time. 

“But he gets one of the best guys in the field right away and happens to be a Jersey guy. I think Jackson will be fired up for it. He’ll have to wrestle his best match that he’s ever wrestled in a Rutgers singlet; that’ll have to be Thursday morning if he wants to win.”

Lewis went 18-1 through the regular season and ACC Tournament. His lone loss came to Nebraska’s Mikey Labriola, the No. 2 seed. Lewis went 24-2 last year and lost in the NCAA finals to Penn State’s Carter Starocci.

Prior to that, Lewis won the national title at 165 pounds over former two-time champion Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) and fell in the Blood Round amid injuries in 2021, also at 165 lbs.

Lewis is 80-7 in his career with the Hokies.

CLICK HERE to WIN March Madness Prizes in On3’s Bracket Challenge

“So I think he’s into it,” Goodale said. “I think he’s excited about it. I think he’s one of the better athletes in the field. I think he could be dangerous. It’s all about which Jackson shows up right? If it’s the electric one, the excitable one, he’ll have a good tournament. If it’s the one that allows the match to get away from him then it’ll be a struggle. But he’s having a really good week of training. He’s excited about the draw. 

“This is his time and he understands that and it’s all about getting on a roll and maybe it doesn’t happen in the first round. Maybe he’s somebody like he did a couple years ago when he came storming through the backside. I think no matter what Jackson is gonna be able to wrestle. He’ll wrestle the whole tournament. And that’s kind of what we’re looking forward to.”

Turley is 34-25 in his career and went 10-5 during the shortened 2021 season. He finished in 8th place at 174 pounds to grab the first All-American accolades in his career. Turley went 3-3 before shoulder surgery in 2021-22.

CLICK HERE to subscribe to the On3 YouTube channel today for all of the latest news on college football, recruiting, NIL, more! 

The 2023 NCAA Wrestling Tournament begins Thursday in Tulsa (Okla.)