Mekhi Lewis of the Virginia Tech Hokies celebrates after his upset victory over number one seed Alex Marinelli of the Iowa Hawkeyes during the quarterfinals of the NCAA Wrestling Championships on March 22, 2019 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Lewis went on to defeat Vincenzo Joseph of the Penn State Nittany Lions in the 165 lbs weight class championship match.
The NCAA quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Championship at PPG Paints Arena on March 23, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Alex Pantaleo of Michigan waits for his 157 lbs match in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Championship held at PPG Paints Arena on March 22, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Wrestling fans listen to the National Anthem during the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on March 22, 2019 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Jack Mueller of the Virginia Cavaliers reacts after defeating Sebastian Rivera of Northwestern in the 125 lb weight class quarterfinals during the NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Championship held at PPG Paints Arena on March 22, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Mueller was defeated in the championship round by Spencer Lee of Iowa in a 5-0 decision.
Bo Nickal of the Penn State Nittany Lions wrestles Patrick Brucki of the Princeton Tigers in the semifinals of the NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Championships on March 22, 2019 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Gable Steveson of Minnesota walks off the mat as Anthony Cassar of Penn State defeated him in the 285 lbs weight class semifinals match during the NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Championship held at PPG Paints Arena on March 22, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Bo Nickal of the Penn State Nittany Lions stands with fellow All-Americans prior to the start of the championship matches during the NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Championship held at PPG Paints Arena on March 23, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Nick Suriano of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights celebrates after defeating Daton Fix of the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the 133 lbs weight class championship match during the NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Championship held at PPG Paints Arena on March 23, 2019 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Read more about the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Wrestling Championships in ESPN.
Justin Merriman, a freelance photojournalist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has traveled the world to cover politics, wars, natural disasters, civil unrest as well as covering assignment throughout the United States. His work has appeared in leading national publications and he has received multiple top journalism awards.
After covering the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks – including the crash of United Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania – Merriman committed to chronicling the U.S. military and its war on terror. He has followed this story across the United States and into the conflict zones of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He also has covered life in Fidel Castro’s Cuba in 2002, India’s efforts to eradicate polio from its population, the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Cuba in 2012, the 2013 conclave and election of Pope Francis in Rome, the second anniversary of Egypt’s revolution and subsequent unrest, Russia’s invasion of Crimea and the international political crisis that unfolded in Ukraine in 2014, a look inside of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in 2015 and its uncertain future, and most recently, traveled the entire U.S. border with Mexico documenting issues on immigration.
Merriman’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Time, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and other publications across the globe.
He has been recognized with numerous regional, national and international awards from organizations including Pictures of the Year International, Society of Professional Journalists, the National Press Photographers Association, the Society for News Design, the Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar, the Northern Short Course, the Southern Short Course, the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the Military Reporters and Editors Association, and the Western Pennsylvania Press Club. He was awarded Photographer of the Year by the News Photographer Association of Greater Pittsburgh four times and most recently was honored with the Keystone Press Award’s 2016 Distinguished Visual Award from the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.
Born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Merriman graduated from the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Writing. In 2009, the university awarded him its prestigious Alumnus of Distinction award.
Currently Merriman lives in Oakmont with his fiancé, Stephanie Strasburg, a photojournalist with PublicSource.
