Yianni Diakomihalis

Yianni Diakomihalis (born John Michael Diakomihalis; April 11, 1999) is an American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler. In freestyle, he is the reigning Pan American champion and a two-time youth level World Champion. As a folkstyle wrestler, Diakomihalis is a two-time NCAA Division I champion out of Cornell University and four-time New York state champion as a high schooler. As of May 16, 2020, he is ranked #2 in the NCAA pound for pound rankings and is the top-ranked wrestler at the 141-pounds rankings.[1][2]

Yianni Diakomihalis

Personal information
Full name	John Michael Diakomihalis
National team	American
Ethnicity	Greek
Born	(1999-04-01) April 1, 1999 New York, New York, United States
Residence	Rochester, New York
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	141 lb (64 kg)
Sport
Country	United States
Sport	Wrestling
Event(s)	Freestyle and folkstyle
College team	Cornell Big Red
Club	Finger Lakes Wrestling Club
Coached by	Rob Koll Mike Grey
Medal record Men's freestyle wrestling Representing  United States Pan American Championships 2020 Ottawa 65 kg Cadet World Championships 2015 Sarajevo 65 kg 2016 Tbilisi 65 kg Collegiate Wrestling Representing the Cornell Big Red NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships 2018 Cleveland 141 lb 2019 Pittsburgh 141 lb Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association 2018 Hempstead 141 lb 2019 Vestal 141 lb

High School

Diakomihalis attended Hilton High School in Hilton, New York along with his brother Greg, who's a five-time NYSPHSAA champion.[3] He made the varsity team in eighth grade (2013) and won the Division I state championship that same year at 99 pounds, defeating future Cornell teammate Vito Arujau in the finals. As a freshman, he also won the state title now at 113 pounds and that was repeated at 120 pounds as a sophomore.[4] As a junior, he became one of the eight four-time NYSPHSAA champions in the history of the New York when he walked through the competition at 138 pounds.[5] As a senior, he found himself unable to compete at the state championships after he suffered an injury that led him out of the tournament. He graduated in 2017 as a four-time NYSPHSAA champion with a 243-3 record on a win streak of 210 matches.[6]

University

As a high school sophomore (2014), Diakomihalis committed to Cornell University.[7] He has competed at 141 pounds in both of the seasons he competed on.

2017-2018

During regular season, he won the Bearcat Open, New York State Intercollegiate, and the Cliff Keen Invitational and compiled a record of 28-1.[8] Post-regular-season, he won the EIWA championships and later went on to win the NCAA championship, joining Kyle Dake as the only Big Reds to do so in their true freshman year of competition and earning notable victories over top-ranked Bryce Meredith, #2 Jaydin Eierman, #8 Dean Heil and #11 Tyler Smith.[9][10]

2018-2019

During regular season, he won the Mat Town Open I and the South Beach Individual and capped a perfect 13-0 record in dual matches, ending the regular season unbeaten.[11] He went on to win his second EIWA championship and earned the Outstanding Wrestler award in the process.[12] At the NCAA championships, he most notably defeated the #2, #3 and #5 ranked wrestlers in Jaydin Eierman, Joseph McKenna and Dominick Demas to claim the National title.[13] Post-season, Diakomihalis was named EIWA Top Wrestler and was the finalist for the Dan Hodge Trophy.[14]

2019-2020

Did not compete as he took an Olympic redshirt year.[15]

2020-2021

Diakomihalis will compete in this season and was added to the rankings, in where he's ranked #2 pound for pound and #1 at 141-pounds.[16][1][2]

Freestyle

Youth level

Diakomihalis is an accomplished cadet freestyle wrestler, he is a two-time World champion and two-time UWW National champion.[17][18] As a junior, he placed third at the 2016 UWW Nationals.[19]

Senior level

2019

After opting for the Olympic redshirt, Diakomihalis attended his first senior level tournament in the US Open. He went 6-0 (three technical falls) with notable wins over Frank Molinaro, Jordan Oliver and Zain Retherford at the finals.[20]

Not long after, he competed in an exhibition match against three-time World medalist Bajrang Punia. He won the match on points (10-8).[21]

After he won the US Open championship, Diakomihalis sat out of the World Team Trials Challenge and earned himself a spot on Final X: Rutgers to face Zain Retherford.[22] In the first match, he was beaten 4-10 and the second match ended with a lot on controversy; Retherford was down 4-6 when he got a takedown for two points, Diakomihalis ended up earning two more to apparently win the match 8-6, however, there were problems with the scoring and that led to the match being scored 6-6 with an advantage to Retherford, winning the match and the Final X series.[23][24]

A month later, Diakomihalis competed at the prestigious Yasar Dogu Grand Prix. He defeated four opponents such as his Final X opponent Zain Retherford, Ali Rahimzade and Ismail Musukaev to claim the championship.[25]

Two weeks later he went on to compete in the Waclaw Ziolkowski Memorial at Warsaw, Poland. He defeated four opponents (two technical falls) including Ismail Musukaev (by forfeit) to claim the championship.[26]

Due to Final X' controversy, a rematch between Zain Retherford and Diakomihalis took place in a special event called Final X: Yianni vs. Zain. He lost the bout on points, losing his chance to represent the United States at the World Championships.[23]

On December, he competed at the US Nationals. He defeated three opponents before getting heavily upset by Joseph McKenna in the semifinals. He advanced to the finals of the consolation brackets but forfeited his final match.[27]

2020

In his first tournament of the year, Diakomihalis competed at the Pan American Championships. He defeated four opponents including Agustín Destribats and NCAA Division II champion Jose Rodriguez to claim the championship.[28]

Diakomihalis was scheduled to compete at the US Olympic Team Trials on April 4-5 at State College, Pennsylvania.[27] However, the event and the Olympics were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving him and all the qualifiers unable to compete.[29]

Freestyle record

Senior Freestyle Matches
Res.	Record	Opponent	Score	Date	Event	Location
2020 Pan American Championship at 65 kg
Win	22-4	Mauricio Sanchez	4-0	March 6-9, 2020	2020 Pan American Wrestling Championships	Ottawa, Canada
Win	21-4	Agustin Destribats	7-4
Win	20-4	Jose Rodriguez	9-2
Win	19-4	Luis Orta	Fall
2019 US Nationals 4th at 65 kg
Win	18-4	Bryce Meredith	TF 10-0	December 20-22, 2019	2019 U.S Senior National Championships	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss	17-4	Joseph McKenna	5-5
Win	17-3	Ben Whitford	11-3
Win	16-3	Nick Dardanes	TF 10-0
Win	15-3	Mario Mason	TF 10-0
2019 Final X: Yianni vs Zain at 65 kg
Loss	14-3	Zain Retherford	1-2	September 2, 2019	2019 Final X Wrestle-Off: Yianni vs Zain	Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
2019 Waclaw Ziolkowski Memorial at 65 kg
Win	14-2	Gor Ogannesyan	9-8	August 2-4, 2019	2019 Ziolkowski, Pytlasinski, Poland Open	Warsaw, Poland
Win	13-2	Sayatbek Okasov	TF 11-0
Win	12-2	Shaohua Yuan	TF 10-0
2019 Grand Prix Yaşar Doğu at 65 kg
Win	11-2	Haji Mohamad Ali	Fall	July 11-14, 2019	2019 Grand Prix Yaşar Doğu	Istanbul, Turkey
Win	10-2	Ismail Musukaev	9-9
Win	9-2	Ali Rahimzade	TF 13-2
Win	8-2	Zain Retherford	9-5
2019 US World Team Trials at 65 kg
Loss	7-2	Zain Retherford	6-6	June 7-8, 2019	2019 Final X: Rutgers	New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States
Loss	7-1	Zain Retherford	4-10
2019 Beat The Streets at 65 kg
Win	7-0	Bajrang Punia	10-8	May 6, 2019	2019 Beat The Streets: Grapple at the Garden	New York City, New York
2019 US Open at 65 kg
Win	6-0	Zain Retherford	6-4	April 24-27, 2019	2019 U.S Open Wrestling Championships	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	5-0	Jordan Oliver	TF 16-5
Win	4-0	Frank Molinaro	10-3
Win	3-0	Nick Dardanes	TF 10-0
Win	2-0	Chase Farr	TF 14-4
Win	1-0	Corey Shie	7-4

Youth freestyle record

Junior level

Junior freestyle results
Res.	Record	Opponent	Score	Date	Event	Location
2016 US Nationals at 60 kg
Win	11-1	Jaydin Eierman	TF 19-8	April 27-30, 2016	2016 UWW Junior US National Wrestling Championships	Las Vegas, Nevada
Yes	10-1	Joshua Terao	TF 10-0
Yes	9-1	Kaden Gfeller	Fall
Win	8-1	Benjamin Lamantia	TF 11-0
Win	7-1	Parker Nein	TF 11-0
Loss	6-1	Jaydin Eierman	11-12
Win	6-0	Michael McDaniel	TF 10-0
2015 Phil Portuese NE Regional at 132 lb
Win	5-0	Jonathan Gabriel	TF 10-0	May 1-3, 2015	2015 Phil Portuese NE Regional	East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
Win	4-0	Jacob Wasser	TF 10-0
Win	3-0	Zack Trampe	TF 11-0
Win	2-0	Alex Joya	TF 11-0
Win	1-0	Ezekiel Beatty	TF 12-1

Cadet level

Cadet freestyle results
Res.	Record	Opponent	Score	Date	Event	Location
2016 World Championship at 63 kg
Win	35-1	Stefan Tonu	8-4	September 13-18, 2016	2016 Cadet World Wrestling Championships	Tbilisi, Georgia
Win	34-!	Jintaro Motoyama	9-3
Win	33-1	Ulan Tolegen	TF 10-0
Win	32-1	Daniel Markarashvili	TF 10-0
Win	31-1	Tobias Portmann	TF 15-3
2016 US Nationals at 63 kg
Win	30-1	Jaime Hernandez	TF 10-0	June 2-5, 2016	2016 UWW Cadet US National Wrestling Championships	Akron, Ohio
Yes	29-1	Jaime Hernandez	9-0
Yes	28-1	Will Lewan	9-0
Win	27-1	Nikolas Chavez	TF 11-0
Win	26-1	Tyler Shilson	TF 10-0
Win	25-1	P.J. Gohn	TF 10-0
Win	24-1	Cal Hansen	TF 10-0
2015 World Championship at 58 kg
Win	23-1	Jintaro Motoyama	8-4	August 25-30, 2015	2015 Cadet World Wrestling Championships	Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Win	22-1	Soslan Guchakov	10-5
Win	21-1	Dmytro Mykhniuk	TF 10-0
Win	20-1	Fazil Hasanov	4-0
Win	19-1	Maksat Talkambaev	TF 10-0
2015 US Nationals at 58 kg
Win	18-1	Vito Arujau	8-4	June 28-31, 2015	2015 UWW Cadet US National Wrestling Championships	Akron, Ohio
Yes	17-1	Vito Arujau	Fall
Yes	16-1	Ben Freeman	11-5
Win	15-1	Alex Lloyd	TF 12-0
Win	14-1	Jason Kraisser	TF 10-0
Win	13-1	Seth Schroeck	TF 10-0
Win	12-1	Tariq Wilson	TF 10-0
2014 USAW Nationals at 120 lb
Loss	11-1	Dylan Duncan	4-12	July 23-25, 2014	2014 USMC Fargo Junior National Championships	Fargo, North Dakota
Yes	11-0	Coltan Williams	Fall
Yes	10-0	Garrett Lambert	TF 10-0
Win	9-0	Travis Piotrowski	16-8
Win	8-0	Caleb Call	TF 10-0
Win	7-0	Requir Vandermerwe	5-4
Win	6-0	Taylor Brown	TF 11-0
2014 Phil Portuese NE Regional at 120 lb
Win	5-0	Tim Kane	TF 17-6	May 2-4, 2014	2014 Phil Portuese NE Regional	East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
Win	4-0	Andrew Merola	TF 10-0
Win	3-0	Zack Zeamer	TF 10-0
Win	2-0	Marshall Keller	TF 12-2
Win	1-0	Jose Christopher Morales	TF 16-6

NCAA record

NCAA Championships Matches
Res.	Record	Opponent	Score	Date	Event
2019 NCAA Championships at 141 lbs
Win	10-0	Joey McKenna	SV-1 6-4	March 21-23, 2019	2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win	9-0	Jaydin Eierman	6-5
Win	8-0	Dom Demas	5-1
Win	7-0	Chad Red	7-3
Win	6-0	Pete Lipari	10-5
2018 NCAA Championships at 141 lbs
Win	5-0	Bryce Meredith	7-4	March 15-17, 2018	2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win	4-0	Jaydin Eierman	SV-1 6-4
Win	3-0	Dean Heil	6-5
Win	2-0	Nick Gil	MD 13-4
Win	1–0	Nick Zanetta	MD 10-1

Stats

Season	Year	School	Rank	Weigh Class	Record	Win	Bonus
2019	Sophomore	Cornell University	#1 (1st)	141	29-0	100.00%	58.62%
2018	Freshman		#3 (1st)		37-1	97.37%	68.42%
Career					66-1	98.51%	64.18%

Awards and honors

2020

• Pan American Championships (65 kg)

2019

• Final X: Rutgers & wrestle-off (65 kg)
• U.S Open Championship (65 kg)
• BTS: Grapple at the Garden Dual (65 kg)
• NCAA Division I (141 lbs)
• Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (141 lbs)

2018

• NCAA Division I (141 lbs)
• Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (141 lbs)

References

1. "P4P". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
2. "141". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
3. Johnson, James. "Hilton's Greg Diakomihalis sets Section V record with fifth state wrestling title". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
4. Johnson, James. "Diakomihalis leads trio of champions". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
5. BV (2016-03-03). "#4 & #1: Yianni & Greg Diakomihalis Both Win NYS Titles for State Champion Hilton". New York Wrestling News. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
6. Johnson, James. "Yianni Diakomihalis' high school wrestling career is over". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
7. "Hilton's Yianni Diakomihalis commits to Cornell". USA TODAY High School Sports. 2014-11-11. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
8. "Yianni Diakomihalis - 2020-21 - Wrestling". Cornell University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
9. "Three Crowned EIWA Champs, Big Red Takes Second Overall". Cornell University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
10. Lipari, Andy. "Hilton grad Yianni Diakomihalis wins NCAA Division I wrestling championship for Cornell". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
11. LLC, ACS. "Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) Profile". www.wrestlestat.com. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
12. Smith, Earl (2019-03-10). "2019 EIWA Championships Final Results & Automatic Qualifiers". The Open Mat. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
13. "NCAA wrestling championships: Penn State wins 2019 national title | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
14. "Diakomihalis Unanimously Repeats as EIWA Top Wrestler". Cornell University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
15. "College wrestling: The 2020 Olympic redshirt factor, broken down | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
16. "Yianni Diakomihalis Will Wrestle For Cornell Next Season". www.flowrestling.org. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
17. "UPDATE: Diakomihalis wins gold, Webster wins bronze in freestyle at UWW Cadet Worlds". Retrieved May 19, 2020.
18. "Diakomihalis, Steveson make USA Wrestling history; Americans finish second at Cadet World Championships". Retrieved May 19, 2020.
19. www.usawmembership.com https://www.usawmembership.com/senior_national_teams/2019?bio=1911. Retrieved 2020-05-19. Missing or empty |title= (help)
20. "Diakomihalis Wins US Open, Honis Earns Second". Cornell University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
21. "2019 Beat the Streets Grapple at the Garden Results". Retrieved May 19, 2020.
22. "Final X: Rutgers men's freestyle championship series preview". Retrieved May 19, 2020.
23. "Zain Retherford Beats Yianni Diakomihalis in Wrestleoff, Makes 2019 World Team". Roar Lions Roar. 2019-09-03. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
24. Smith, Earl (2019-08-15). "Arbitrator Rules in Yianni/Zain Controversy". The Open Mat. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
25. "Dieringer and Diakomihalis earn titles at Yasar Dogu, bringing total gold medal count to three". Retrieved May 19, 2020.
26. "Diakomihalis claims gold in thrilling finals match at Ziolkowski Memorial". Retrieved May 19, 2020.
27. "Wrestling's Diakomihalis and Arujau Qualify for Olympic Team Trials". Cornell University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
28. "Men's freestyle wins six gold medals and team title on last day of Pan Am Championships in Canada". Retrieved May 19, 2020.
29. Scott, Roxanna. "USA Wrestling postpones Olympic trials due to coronavirus concerns". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2020-05-19.