For the fourth year, USA Wrestling is determining its UWW World Championships teams in men’s freestyle, women’s freestyle and Greco-Roman in a “Final X” event, June 10, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. This event will crown a U.S. Senior World Team member in the 10 weights in each style that will compete in the 2023 UWW World Championships this September in Belgrade, Serbia.
With that in mind, WIN Magazine is continuing its countdown for Final X and previewing three of the 30 best-of-3 Final X matchups between May 31 and June 9. That includes today’s preview of 65 kilos in men’s freestyle, 55 kilos in women’s freestyle and 63 kilos in Greco-Roman.
We also invite you to subscribe to WIN Magazine in time to receive the next issue of WIN, printed June 22, that will provide comprehensive coverage of this year’s Final X.
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The following is a list of WIN’s other Final X Previews. Click on previous days to view those previews:
- May 31: X (10) Days before Final X: 57k MFS, 50k WFS, 55k GR
- June 1: IX (9) Days before Final X: 61k MFS, 53k WFS, 60k GR
- June 3: VII (7) Days before Final X: 70k MFS, 57k WFS, 67k GR
- June 4: VI (6) Days before Final X: 74k MFS, 59k WFS, 72k GR
- June 5: V (5) Days before Final X: 79k MFS, 62k WFS, 77k GR
- June 6: IV (4) Days before Final X: 86k MFS, 65k WFS, 82k GR
- June 7: III (3) Days before Final X: 92k MFS, 68k WFS, 87k GR
- June 8: II (2) Days before Final X: 97k MFS, 72k WFS, 97k GR
- June 9: I (1) Day before Final X: 125k MFS, 76k WFS, 130k GR
June 2 Final X Previews
Men’s Freestyle – 65k/143.5lbs: Yianni Diakomihalis (Spartan Combat) vs. Nick Lee (Nittany Lion WC)
Yianni Diakomihalis
This has been quite the exciting past year for Diakomihalis, who recently became the fifth all-time college wrestler — and second Cornell wrestler — to win four NCAA titles this March in Tulsa, Okla. But the 24-year-old native of Rochester, N.Y., had already added to his freestyle wrestling resume last fall when he won a silver medal in the 2022 UWW World Championships … and earned a spot in the 2023 Final X. Diakomihalis has also earned a spot on the 2021 World Team and twice won a Cadet World championship in 2015 and 2016.
Nick Lee
Lee, a native of Evansville, Ind., is coming off his best performance in freestyle at the 2023 U.S. Open, where he beat Joey McKenna for the championship to earn the other spot in Final X. While competing at Penn State, Lee was a five-time All-American and closed out his college career with consecutive NCAA championships in 2021 and 2022. A former Indiana state champ at Mater Dei High School, Lee also won a pair of Cadet Pan Am championships, including 2014 when he won titles in both freestyle and Greco.
Women’s Freestyle – 55k/121lbs: Alisha Howk (Sunkist Kids WC) vs. Jacarra Winchester (OPTC/TMWC)
Alisha Hook
Howk, 23, became the first to earn a spot in Final X when she defeated Lauren Mason 8-3 in the finals of the U.S. Open, held this past April in Las Vegas. Howk, a native of Blue Springs, Mo., (who trains in River Falls, Wisc.) will be looking to make her first Senior World Team. She did earn a bronze medal in the last year’s U23 World Championships.
Jacarra Winchester
Winchester, who chose to wait until the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament to qualify for this year’s Final X, is the one in this match-up with more pass success and experience. Last year, she represented the United States in the Senior World Championships and placed fifth. The 30-year-old native of San Lorenzo, Calif., has also competed in two other World Championships, with a fifth-place finish in 2018 before she won a World championship in 2019. Two years later, she also earned a spot on the 2020 Olympic team, which competed in Tokyo in 2021, when she placed fifth at 53 kilos.
Greco-Roman – 63k/139lbs: Hayden Tuma (Suples WC) vs. Xavier Johnson (U.S. Army WCAP)
Hayden Tuma
Tuma, a 27-year-old native of Boise, Idaho, earned his spot in Final X when he defeated former World Team member Sammy Jones in the finals of the U.S. Open. This came after he won by injury default over Johnson in the semifinals in Las Vegas. Tuma is no stranger to World Championships on the age-group level as the former Idaho state champ from Centennial High represented the United States in two Cadet Worlds (2011 and 2012) and two Junior Worlds (2013 and 2015). In 2021, Tuma won the Senior Nationals, but settled for third in the World Team Trials.
Xavier Johnson
Johnson, a native of Orangeburg, S.C., made the most of his second chance at qualifying for Final X when he defeated Sammy Jones, 7-4, in the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament a month after the U.S. Open. Johnson had started his international career while representing the U.S. Marines, and won a Pan Am championship in 2021 at 67 kilos, but chose to join the Army WCAP last summer.
