By USA Wrestling

2022 World silver medalist and four-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis (Rochester, N.Y./Titan Mercury WC/Spartan Combat RTC) has officially accepted his berth in Final X. He will battle for the 65 kg spot on the 2023 U.S. World Team in men’s freestyle wrestling in Final X, presented by Tezos, on Saturday, June 10 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Final X will determine the 2023 U.S. Senior World Teams in all three Olympic disciplines: men’s and women’s freestyle and Greco-Roman. There will be 30 weight classes contested, 10 in each Olympic discipline. The top two U.S. athletes in each weight class will compete in a best-of-three series in Final X to determine who will wrestle at the 2023 Senior World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia

Diakomihalis won a silver medal at the 2022 World Championships at 65 kg. He was also a member of the 2021 U.S. Senior World Team. Competing for Cornell, he became only the fifth wrestler in history to win four NCAA Div. I national titles, winning in 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023. He was a 2020 Senior Pan American Championships gold medalist and won the 2019 U.S. Open. Diakomihalis won U17 World freestyle titles in 2015 and 2016. A native of Rochester, N.Y., he was a four-time New York state champion for Hilton High School. 

It is the second straight year Final X will serve as the Beat The Streets New York Annual Benefit. This year’s event will be the 13th BTSNY Annual Benefit. These unique and electrifying annual 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.

This will be the fourth time Diakomihalis has competed in a BTSNY Annual Benefit event. His most recent BTSNY appearance was in 2022, when he defeated Evan Henderson in two straight matches in Final X New York at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden.

There are a variety of options for Final X wrestling-only event tickets, with prices starting at $40 on Ticketmaster. 

Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages (wrestling event plus exclusive after-party celebration access), that also provide the best wrestling-event seats, are available at give.btsny.org/beatthestreetsbenefit2023. For more information on ticket packages, email Katrin Pokalyukhin at katrin@btsny.org.

Proceeds from Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages will directly help BTSNY, which provides a safe, positive atmosphere for student-athletes to learn the essential life lessons of discipline, perseverance, self-reliance, humility and a strong work ethic through wrestling.

The team selection procedures for the U.S. World Teams in each style allows for 2022 Senior World medalists to advance directly to Final X at a specified weight class. Diakomihalis has met this requirement and accepted his qualification. 

The Final X opponent for Diakomihalis will be determined at the U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Nev., April 26-30. The champion in men’s freestyle at 65 kg at the U.S. Open will qualify to face athlete in Final X.

FloWrestling will serve as the host broadcasting partner for Final X, presented by Tezos.

*Please note if Prudential Center's tenant, New Jersey Devils, hosts a Stanley Cup Final game on June 10 the contingency date for Final X would be Friday, June 9.

Final X, presented by Tezos

At Prudential Center, Newark, N.J., Saturday, June 10

Declared qualifiers to date

Men’s Freestyle 65 kg – Yianni Diakomihalis (Rochester, N.Y./Titan Mercury WC/Spartan Combat RTC)

Women’s Freestyle 50 kg – Sarah Hildebrandt (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC/USOPTC)

Men’s Freestyle 74 kg – Kyle Dake (State College, Pa./Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC)

Men’s Freestyle 97 kg - Kyle Snyder (State College, Pa./Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC)

Women’s Freestyle 57 kg – Helen Maroulis (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids)

Men’s Freestyle 79 kg – Jordan Burroughs (Philadelphia, Pa./Sunkist Kids/Pennsylvania RTC)

YIANNI DIAKOMIHALIS 

Hometown: Rochester, N.Y. 

Club: Titan Mercury WC 

Regional Training Center: Spartan Combat RTC 

College: Cornell 

High School: Hilton, N.Y.

Born: April 11, 1999

• 2022 World silver medalist
• 2021 U.S. Senior World Team member
• 2020 Senior Pan American champion
• 2019 U.S. Open champion 
• 2021 Ziolkowski Open champion (Poland)
• 2019 Yasar Dogu champion (Turkey)
• Two-time U17 World champion (2015, 2016) 
• Four-time NCAA champion (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023) 
• Four-time New York state high school champion

Yianni Diakomihalis BTSNY Annual Benefit History (3-1 record)

2019: Bajrang Punia (India), WIN, 10-8

2020: Vladimir Khinchegashvili (Georgia), LOSS 4-4

2022: Evan Henderson (USA), match one, WIN 11-9

2022: Evan Henderson (USA), match two, WIN 14-4