Diakomihalis, Duke to clash at 70 kg in men’s freestyle at 2025 Final X in Newark, N.J.

Senior World silver medalist Yianni Diakomihalis and U20 World bronze medalist PJ Duke will face off at 70 kg in men’s freestyle for a spot on the 2025 U.S. Senior World Team at Final X on Saturday, June 14 at Prudential Center.

A proven force on the senior stage, Diakomihalis made his debut at 70 kg at the U.S. Open in April in Las Vegas, where he defeated two-time Senior World medalist James Green in the finals to punch his ticket to Final X. Diakomihalis has extensive international experience at 65 kg, including a 2022 Senior World silver medal and a 12th place finish at the 2021 Senior World Championships.

A two-time Senior Pan American champion and two-time Cadet World champion, Diakomihalis was also a member of the 2022 Senior World Cup championship team. He enters Final X looking to secure his third Senior World Team spot.

Duke is a bright, young talent in the United States, earning his spot in Final X after storming through the Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament last weekend in Louisville, Ky. Duke’s tournament included victories over two NCAA champions from Nebraska, Antrell Taylor and Ridge Lovett. In the finals, Duke edged out 2021 Junior World bronze medalist Bryce Andonian for the title.

Duke’s international resume continues to grow, as he earned bronze at the 2024 U20 World Championships and gold at the 2024 Bill Farrell Memorial International at the Senior level. He also earned back-to-back U.S. Open U20 freestyle titles in 2024 and 2025.

Committed to Penn State, Duke is among the top high school prospects in the sport. It will be an intriguing matchup against the veteran Diakomihalis, a four-time NCAA champion for Cornell from 2018 to 2023

Final X will mark the first matchup between New York natives Diakomihalis (Rochester) and Duke (Slate Hill).

Final X will determine the 2025 U.S. World Team in two international disciplines—men’s freestyle and women’s freestyle. In total, 20 weight classes will be contested, 10 in each discipline. The top two U.S. athletes in each weight classes will wrestle a best-of-three series at Final X to determine the U.S. representative at the 2025 Senior World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.

Diakomihalis is set to make his fourth Final X appearance. He has battled at Final X three times, securing a spot on the 2022 Senior World Team with a two-match series victory over Evan Henderson. He fell short in 2019 against Zain Retherford and in 2023 against Nick Lee. All three of his previous Final X matchups were at 65 kg. Duke will be making his Final X debut.

Final X will serve as the Beat the Streets New York Annual Benefit, the 15^th BTSNY Annual Benefit to date. These unique electrifying events help BTSNY raise more than $1 million each year to support local youth wrestling programs which empower young people in New York City. The BTSNY Annual Benefit after-party will follow the conclusion of Final X.

Diakomihalis has competed in four Beat the Streets events, his Final X appearances in 2022 and 2023, plus a pair of exhibitions. In 2019, he defeated 2020 Olympic bronze medalist and four-time World medalist Bajrang Punia of India, 10-8. He fell in a narrow 4-4 decision to 2016 Olympic champion and 2015 World champion Vladimer Khinchegashvili of Georgia in 2020. Final X will be Duke’s first Beat the Streets event.

Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages (Final X plus exclusive after party celebration access), that also provide the best wrestling-event seats, are available at give.btsny.org/2025FinalX. Proceeds from Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages will directly help BTSNY serve NYC youth. For more information on ticket packages, email BTSNY Executive Director Brendan Buckley at bbuckley@btsny.org. 

Event-only tickets for Final X without access to the BTSNY after-party celebration are available on Ticketmaster.

FloWrestling will serve as the host broadcast partner for Final X. Fans can watch the event live or on-demand at FloWrestling.com.

Online results for Final X will be available on USA Bracketing, USA Wrestling’s new best-in-class event management software.

Final X will be held in two sessions on Saturday, June 14. Session I, which starts at 2 p.m. (ET), will feature round one in each best-of-three series. Session II, which starts at 5 p.m. (ET), will continue with round two and if-necessary round three matches. Match order for each session will be provided at a later date.

For more information about Final X, please visit themat.com.

57 kg – Spencer Lee (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Luke Lilledahl (Saint Charles, Mo./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

61 kg – Vito Arujau (Ithaca, N.Y./Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Jax Forrest (Johnstown, Pa./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

65 kg – Joseph McKenna (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Real Woods (Ann Arbor, Mich./Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC)

70 kg – Yianni Diakomihalis (Rochester, N.Y./Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. PJ Duke (Slate Hill, N.Y./KD Training Center/Titan Mercury WC)

74 kg – Mitchell Mesenbrink (Bellefonte, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. David Carr (Ames, Iowa/Cyclone RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

79 kg – Evan Wick (San Gabriel, Calif./SoCal RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Levi Haines (Arendtsville, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

86 kg – Zahid Valencia (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Kyle Dake (Port Matilda, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

92 kg – Trent Hidlay (Raleigh, N.C./Wolfpack WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Joshua Barr (Davison, Mich./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

97 kg – Kyle Snyder (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Hayden Zillmer (Deerwood, Minn./Gopher WC)

125 kg – Wyatt Hendrickson (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/U.S. Air Force WCAP) vs. Trent Hillger (Minneapolis, Minn./Gopher WC)

50 kg – Audrey Jimenez (Bethlehem, Pa./Lehigh Valley Wrestling RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Erin Golston (Denton, Texas/New York AC)

53 kg – Brianna Gonzalez (Baldwin, Calif./Iowa Women's WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Felicity Taylor (Coralville, Iowa/Titan Mercury WC)

55 kg – Cristelle Rodriguez (Fresno, Calif./Tiger WC) vs. Everest Leydecker (Phoenix, Ariz./Thorobred WC)

57 kg – Helen Maroulis (Rockville, Md./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Amanda Martinez (Riverside, Ill./Cardinal WC/Titan Mercury WC)

59 kg – Abigail Nette (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP) vs. Jacarra Winchester (Colorado Springs, Colo./USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC)

62 kg – Kayla Miracle (Phoenix, Ariz./Valiant WC) vs. Adaugo Nwachukwu (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP)

65 kg – Macey Kilty (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa Women’s WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Aine Drury (Westminster, Calif./New York AC)

68 kg – Kennedy Blades (Tiffin, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Brooklyn Hays (Colorado Springs, Colo./USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC)

72 kg – Alexandria Glaude (Atherton, Calif./Beaver Dam RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Amit Elor (Walnut Creek, Calif./Titan Mercury WC)

76 kg – Kylie Welker (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa Women's WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Dymond Guilford (Lancaster, Calif./USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC)