SOURCE: cornellbigred.com

March 17, 2018

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Freshman Yianni Diakomihalis used a four-point cradle in the closing seconds to become Cornell's second freshman NCAA champion, topping No. 1 seed Bryce Meredith of Wyoming 7-4 in the 141 pound final on Saturday evening at Quicken Loans Arena. The rookie took the most challenging path possible as the No. 3 seed to earn the crown.

The freshman joined Kyle Dake as the lone Big Red freshmen to earn national titles. Dake also won his initial title at 141 pounds on his way to becoming a four-time NCAA champ - and doing so at four different weight classes.

Trailing 4-2 with under a minute and a half remaining after a Meredith takedown, Diakomihalis escaped to get back within one with 43 ticks remaining. Needing a takedown for the win, the freshman was able to wrap up the senior into a cradle and got two back points to rally for the victory.

Cornell's Yianni D scores a cradle off a scramble for a four-point move and a national title! #NCAAwrestling pic.twitter.com/TanobhBvq7

— NCAA Wrestling (@ncaawrestling) March 18, 2018

Diakomihalis and Meredith had a fantastic early scramble that ended in a stalemate, setting the early tone. The freshman pushed the pace to the edge throughout the first period despite an extended blood break for Meredith. Once returned to action, the two wrestlers spent the remainder of the period jockeying for position without a score. The freshman started neutral in the second and picked up an explosive takedown, followed by a quick escape by Meredith. A re-attack by the freshman nearly resulted in a second takedown, but was warded off by Meredith. Meredith chose bottom to kick off the third trailing 2-1, and Diakomihalis was only able to ride for five seconds before Meredith got the match-tying escape. He finally finished a shot to take the lead, setting up Diakomihalis' comeback.

Watch Yianni D's reaction to becoming a national champ! pic.twitter.com/NlAmZNqY6X

— NCAA Wrestling (@ncaawrestling) March 18, 2018

For the Cornell program, the win gave the Big Red its 20th individual national with Diakomihalis becoming the 14th to contribute to the total. The Big Red has now celebrated at least one NCAA champion in nine of the last 11 seasons and have had a finalist in each of those 11 years.

With three first-year starters earning All-America honors, including three freshmen, Cornell has now finished in the top 10 of the team race every year since 2008, joining Iowa as the lone schools to make that claim.