NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis’ love for wrestling fuels his commitment to improvement and growth
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by Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell with coach Mike Grey. Photo by Tony Rotundo, Wrestlers Are Warriors.
It is a well known fact that returning NCAA champion and Cornell sophomore Yianni Diakomihalis is a mat rat who loves wrestling.
You can see that passion when he is on the mat by the way he attacks the sport. But you can also see it when he talks about wrestling in public, such as at the 2019 NCAA Championships athlete press conference on Wednesday.
There is a certain spark in his eye, a certain pitch to his voice and a certain smile on his face. He couldn’t hide his excitement about wrestling, even if he tried. But Yianni D. does not try hide that passion.
When he was asked a simple question during the press conference, “why do you love wrestling,” Diakomihalis gave a glimpse into where his special focus comes from.
“There's a lot to that. But I think that it's something -- it's been my whole life. I started wrestling when I was six. I'm 19 now. I've been wrestling more than I've been not wrestling, and I think it's the pursuit of something greater. You know what I mean?,
“It's the pursuit of being better than I was the day before and being better than the day before that. Everything I do I just want to be great at the things that I take pride in. And there's nothing I take more pride in than this. And therefore I pretty much have dedicated my life to it. And it's something that I honestly couldn't put into words why I love it. But I do. And I couldn't not love it now,” Diakomihalis said.
In last year’s NCAA Championships, Diakomihalis won the national title as a freshman, and after the event, it was revealed that he became champion in spite of tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the quarterfinals. Suddenly, his impressive performance was even more amazing.
"Mind over matter," Diakomihalis shortly after to the Democrat and Chronicle. "I knew I was lying to myself. I knew something was wrong but I believed it enough and I kept telling myself: 'It doesn’t matter. Just grit it out, do whatever you’ve got to do.' "
When he was asked today about that injury, and basically if it changed his perspective about wrestling, Yianni found a way to turn that injury into a positive.
“Honestly for me getting hurt last year -- it's the first time I've ever thought about it being career-ending, by the way -- but for me I feel like it just showed me that anytime you're facing something or it's not going the way you want it to or the way you thought it would, that you can overcome it. And at least I could overcome it. And it was good confidence for me. It was like if I could do that with a torn ACL I could do anything healthy. It was good for my confidence almost being able to do it when I was hurt,” he said.
When asked later was he more excited when he was able to get back on the mat after the injury, or more excited about competing at the NCAA’s this weekend, competing at the nationals won hands down.
“I am more excited it’s finally here. When you walk in here and you are on the mats. You are seeing all the different programs walking around. It’s these schools you haven’t seen all year and you say, OK, it’s the national tournament now. If there is anything I would say, it’s that I am happy it is here.
“I was out for a while because of my knee. I am not going to say that every match I wrestled great and everything I did was perfect. However, I believe every day was better than the day before, and my trajectory was always upward. I think that hopefully, the version of me that wrestles this weekend, is the best version of Yianni Diakomihalis who has wrestled yet. And hopefully, the guy who wrestles on Monday is better than the guy who wrestled on Saturday night,” he said.
When asked about whether he was better this year than last year, when he won the NCAA title as a freshman, his answer showed a sophistication about the process of improvement.
“I mean, I'd like to think I've been getting better. We have tournaments like these to see if that's true or not. And for me, I guess, it's a challenge, but it's not, because it's something that I want to do. It's not like I have to force myself to want to get better.
“The difficult part is actually getting better. And finding the little things that you're doing wrong and being very self-critical. And I think it's something I just enjoy, I don't know why, I just really enjoy analyzing what I do and thinking about what I do and trying to get better results for myself. So I wouldn't say it's a challenge as much as it is something I look forward to doing and look forward to finding things I can work on,” he said.
He also is very appreciative of his coaches and teammates, those who have played a big role in his success. While many people seem to focus on Yianni when talking about Cornell wrestling, he knows that program is about much more than him.
“These guys are my best friends. It’s not me. I don’t win a national title being just me. I have the best coaches. I have great teammates. I have other great wrestlers around me. Look at our 125 and 133. Vito (Arujau) is the No. 8 seed and Chaz (Tucker) is one of the top 10 guys in the country. I am surrounded by good wrestlers. I have Jordan Oliver, who is an RTC athlete. Kyle Dake is coaching me. I have Mike Grey, Gabe Dean, coach Rob Koll. It is not just me. If it was just me, I would not have won. People look at the guy who is doing it, but I wouldn’t have won without those people who are around me,” he said.
Diakomihalis, who has been an age-group World champion during his development through the USA Wrestling system, is not shy about talking about his Olympic dreams. After last year’s NCAA’s, he said he believed he might be ready to challenge for the Olympic Team by the 2020 Tokyo Games.
“When I am training, it is always training towards this really big goal. For me, that goal is hopefully an Olympic gold medal. For this weekend, I can hit as many hip tips and gut wrenches as I want, but it is not going to win me a national title. When I am here, I am focusing on what I need to do to win the national title, because that is the nearest goal to me. In the process of training for this national title, I am developing skills that will be getting me towards those bigger goals,” he said.
Beat the Streets in New York has announced that they will invite the 2019 NCAA Champions to wrestle the No. 1 U.S. Senior freestyle wrestler in the nation in their weight class in the Madison Square Garden Theater in May as part of their annual Benefit.
Would Diakomihalis accept the challenge to wrestle in the Garden if he were to win the NCAAs again this weekend?
“Yeah. I don’t see why not. If I want to make a World Team, I have to beat the No. 1 guy,” he said.
And will be at the 2019 U.S. Open in Las Vegas in April, testing himself against the nation’s best freestylers?
“Yeah, I might as well. As long as I don’t get hurt again, knock on wood,” he said with a smile.
This is a kid who loves wrestling. Why put a limit on what he can achieve with all that passion and commitment?
It is a well known fact that returning NCAA champion and Cornell sophomore Yianni Diakomihalis is a mat rat who loves wrestling.
You can see that passion when he is on the mat by the way he attacks the sport. But you can also see it when he talks about wrestling in public, such as at the 2019 NCAA Championships athlete press conference on Wednesday.
There is a certain spark in his eye, a certain pitch to his voice and a certain smile on his face. He couldn’t hide his excitement about wrestling, even if he tried. But Yianni D. does not try hide that passion.
When he was asked a simple question during the press conference, “why do you love wrestling,” Diakomihalis gave a glimpse into where his special focus comes from.
“There's a lot to that. But I think that it's something -- it's been my whole life. I started wrestling when I was six. I'm 19 now. I've been wrestling more than I've been not wrestling, and I think it's the pursuit of something greater. You know what I mean?,
“It's the pursuit of being better than I was the day before and being better than the day before that. Everything I do I just want to be great at the things that I take pride in. And there's nothing I take more pride in than this. And therefore I pretty much have dedicated my life to it. And it's something that I honestly couldn't put into words why I love it. But I do. And I couldn't not love it now,” Diakomihalis said.
In last year’s NCAA Championships, Diakomihalis won the national title as a freshman, and after the event, it was revealed that he became champion in spite of tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the quarterfinals. Suddenly, his impressive performance was even more amazing.
"Mind over matter," Diakomihalis shortly after to the Democrat and Chronicle. "I knew I was lying to myself. I knew something was wrong but I believed it enough and I kept telling myself: 'It doesn’t matter. Just grit it out, do whatever you’ve got to do.' "
When he was asked today about that injury, and basically if it changed his perspective about wrestling, Yianni found a way to turn that injury into a positive.
“Honestly for me getting hurt last year -- it's the first time I've ever thought about it being career-ending, by the way -- but for me I feel like it just showed me that anytime you're facing something or it's not going the way you want it to or the way you thought it would, that you can overcome it. And at least I could overcome it. And it was good confidence for me. It was like if I could do that with a torn ACL I could do anything healthy. It was good for my confidence almost being able to do it when I was hurt,” he said.
When asked later was he more excited when he was able to get back on the mat after the injury, or more excited about competing at the NCAA’s this weekend, competing at the nationals won hands down.
“I am more excited it’s finally here. When you walk in here and you are on the mats. You are seeing all the different programs walking around. It’s these schools you haven’t seen all year and you say, OK, it’s the national tournament now. If there is anything I would say, it’s that I am happy it is here.
“I was out for a while because of my knee. I am not going to say that every match I wrestled great and everything I did was perfect. However, I believe every day was better than the day before, and my trajectory was always upward. I think that hopefully, the version of me that wrestles this weekend, is the best version of Yianni Diakomihalis who has wrestled yet. And hopefully, the guy who wrestles on Monday is better than the guy who wrestled on Saturday night,” he said.
When asked about whether he was better this year than last year, when he won the NCAA title as a freshman, his answer showed a sophistication about the process of improvement.
“I mean, I'd like to think I've been getting better. We have tournaments like these to see if that's true or not. And for me, I guess, it's a challenge, but it's not, because it's something that I want to do. It's not like I have to force myself to want to get better.
“The difficult part is actually getting better. And finding the little things that you're doing wrong and being very self-critical. And I think it's something I just enjoy, I don't know why, I just really enjoy analyzing what I do and thinking about what I do and trying to get better results for myself. So I wouldn't say it's a challenge as much as it is something I look forward to doing and look forward to finding things I can work on,” he said.
He also is very appreciative of his coaches and teammates, those who have played a big role in his success. While many people seem to focus on Yianni when talking about Cornell wrestling, he knows that program is about much more than him.
“These guys are my best friends. It’s not me. I don’t win a national title being just me. I have the best coaches. I have great teammates. I have other great wrestlers around me. Look at our 125 and 133. Vito (Arujau) is the No. 8 seed and Chaz (Tucker) is one of the top 10 guys in the country. I am surrounded by good wrestlers. I have Jordan Oliver, who is an RTC athlete. Kyle Dake is coaching me. I have Mike Grey, Gabe Dean, coach Rob Koll. It is not just me. If it was just me, I would not have won. People look at the guy who is doing it, but I wouldn’t have won without those people who are around me,” he said.
Diakomihalis, who has been an age-group World champion during his development through the USA Wrestling system, is not shy about talking about his Olympic dreams. After last year’s NCAA’s, he said he believed he might be ready to challenge for the Olympic Team by the 2020 Tokyo Games.
“When I am training, it is always training towards this really big goal. For me, that goal is hopefully an Olympic gold medal. For this weekend, I can hit as many hip tips and gut wrenches as I want, but it is not going to win me a national title. When I am here, I am focusing on what I need to do to win the national title, because that is the nearest goal to me. In the process of training for this national title, I am developing skills that will be getting me towards those bigger goals,” he said.
Beat the Streets in New York has announced that they will invite the 2019 NCAA Champions to wrestle the No. 1 U.S. Senior freestyle wrestler in the nation in their weight class in the Madison Square Garden Theater in May as part of their annual Benefit.
Would Diakomihalis accept the challenge to wrestle in the Garden if he were to win the NCAAs again this weekend?
“Yeah. I don’t see why not. If I want to make a World Team, I have to beat the No. 1 guy,” he said.
And will be at the 2019 U.S. Open in Las Vegas in April, testing himself against the nation’s best freestylers?
“Yeah, I might as well. As long as I don’t get hurt again, knock on wood,” he said with a smile.
This is a kid who loves wrestling. Why put a limit on what he can achieve with all that passion and commitment?
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