Yianni Diakomihalis selected as USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week

Yianni Diakomihalis (Rochester, N.Y./Titan Mercury WC/Finger Lakes) has been selected as TheMat.com Athlete of the Week on April 30, 2019.

Fresh off his second-consecutive NCAA title, Cornell sophomore Diakomihalis won the 2019 U.S. Open last weekend in the Senior men’s freestyle division at 65 kg, one of the deepest weights of the tournament.

As the No. 5 seed, Diakomihalis had to go through some of the toughest competitors in the world.

A two-time Cadet World champion, Diakomihalis rattled off two tech falls to open his tournament before meeting up with 2016 Olympian Frank Molinaro in the quarterfinals.

Molinaro, who was seconds away from an Olympic bronze medal, could not stop the young talent as Diakomihalis went on for a decisive 10-3 to move to the semis.

There, he took on Finger Lakes Wrestling Club teammate and top-seeded Jordan Oliver, who was the 2017 U.S. Open champion.

With some creative scoring from both athletes, Oliver led 4-4 on criteria at the break. The second period was all Diakomihalis as he strung together multiple takedowns and turns in the final minute to earn a 16-5 tech fall victory.

In the finals, Diakomihalis battled former Penn State star and Hodge Trophy winner Zain Retherford, the No. 2 seed. It was another successful second period that pushed Diakomihalis to a victory, defeating Retherford, 6-4, to win the U.S. Open title. As a result, he was named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler. 

With the win, Diakomihalis secured his spot in this summer’s Final X at Rutgers.

Each week USA Wrestling will select an Athlete of the Week based upon performance within wrestling for that week. The selection committee will consider any level of wrestling from youth programs through the senior level. Twitter fan votes also play a part in decision.

To nominate a wrestler for this honor please send the athlete's name, wrestling program, weekly accomplishments and career accolades to USA Wrestling Communications Coordinator Taylor Miller at tmiller@usawrestling.org.