Cornell's Yianni Diakomihalis has been dreaming of competing at the #NCAAWrestling championships since he was 10 years old. Now it's a reality. pic.twitter.com/yldd1NIE72
— NCAA Wrestling (@ncaawrestling) March 17, 2018
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Four first-year starters earned All-America podium slots and freshman Yianni Diakomihalis advanced to the finals at 141 pounds as Cornell wrestling ended day two of the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championship in the top 10 as a team. The Big Red will have freshman Max Dean (184 pounds) and junior Jon Jay Chavez (165) wrestling for seventh place, while freshman Ben Darmstadt could finish as high as third on Saturday morning.
Cornell advanced at least one wrestler to the finals for the 11th straight year and will be looking for a national champion for the ninth year in that span (11 champions over that span). It marked the 16th straight year the Big Red crowned at least three All-Americans.
Yianni Diakomihalis avenged his only collegiate loss with a takedown of Jayden Eierman of Missouri in the semifinals, 6-4 in overtime. A late escape after an Eierman takedown sent the match to sudden victory, and Diakomihalis ended it there, finishing a single leg for the takedown. He'll meet top-ranked Bryce Meredith of Wyoming in the final, a rematch of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational semifinals won 4-2 in sudden victory by Diakomihalis.