2022-23 NCAA DI Rankings

Yianni Diakomihalis

Here it is - the biggest question of this week's rankings: Who takes the top spot at 149 after Austin Gomez defeated Yianni Diakomihalis? 

We chose to go with Yianni Diakomihalis for a few reasons. First, he's a 3-time NCAA champion with a proven track record that shows he's the best wrestler at this weight. Yianni defeated Gomez twice last year along with quality wins over Sammy Sasso (twice), Max Murin, Zach Sherman, Ridge Lovett (twice), and a host of other wrestlers. No one else at this weight has as many of those quality wins with as few losses as Yianni. 

What makes it even more clear to keep Yianni at #1 is Gomez's loss to Paniro Johnson just 2 weeks ago. While Johnson is 4-0 this year, last year the Cyclone suffered losses to the likes of Drew Roberts, Chance Lamer, Blaine Brenner, PJ Ogunsanya, and Ridge Lovett. Had Gomez not suffered that recent loss, we'd likely have ourselves a new #1 at this weight, but for now, Yianni stays in the top spot. 

Some might make a case for Jonathan Millner to move to the #1 spot because he is currently 10-0 on the year and was the #2 ranked wrestler last week. However, Millner closed out last year by losing to Sammy Sasso - a wrestler that Austin Gomez and Yianni Diakomihalis defeated twice last year. 

After that big result, we saw Doug Zapf take out Caleb Henson at the Keystone Classic to move up a few spots into the top 10. Freshman Shayne Van Ness and Jackson Arrington also jumped into the rankings by both defeating Central Michigan's Johnny Lovett.

Questions or comments for the rankers? We welcome and encourage your feedback. Hit up Jon Kozak (email: Jonathan.Kozak@flosports.tv; Twitter: @KozakJon) and JD Rader (email: jd.rader@flosports.tv; Twitter: @rader_jd)