Sports

Winning and More Winning

A whole lot of congratulations to go around this week…

By Steve Lawrence

First, to no one’s surprise, Cornell wrestler Yanni Diakomihalis won his third NCAA title with an 11-5 decision over Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett. I say “to no one’s surprise” because the victory was Yanni’s 75th consecutive, and ran his career record to 94-1.

I wrote a couple of weeks ago that it seems like Diakomihalis has been around forever, and given this is his third title, he can come back next season to try to match Kyle Dake’s legendary four titles. (Dake’s run will live forever in NCAA wrestling lore, as his titles came in four different weight classes.) Yanni missed a season to the COVID pandemic, but prior to that he won as a freshman with a 37-1 record, and as stated, that was the last time he lost. He was 29-0 as a sophomore, and 28-0 this year. He has been on the radar for local wrestling fans for even longer, as he won four NYS high school championships prior to coming to Cornell.

All in all, it was a great “comeback” year for the Big Red. After losing the Ivy League title they had held for 17 years and saying farewell to longtime coach Rob Koll, Cornell elevated assistant coach Mike Grey to the head coaching position and reclaimed the Ivy League and Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association crowns. The Big Red finished an impressive seventh at the NCAAs, with Vito Arajau and Jonathan Loew joining Diakomihalis as All Americans.

Over at Ithaca College, three more athletes stepped atop the podium at the NCAA, with Ava Lowell becoming the women’s swimming and diving team’s fifth individual national champion with her victory on the three-meter board, Megan Matheny — living up to her billing as the #1 seed — winning her second national title in the pole vault and Jack Wadsworth winning the title and setting a national record in the 100 backstroke. Megan hails from Lansing, and her teammates Ariyanha Bernard, Logan Bruce and Tia Jones — who also competed at the national championships — all competed in Section IV as high school athletes.

Wadsworth’s coach, Mike Blakely-Armitage, told me, “Jack has been amazing to coach this season, he is the perfect definition of controlled chaos and harnessing it into athletic effort. He gets locked in and is able to get to the next level that many athletes will never get to nor understand. His dedication to accomplishing his goals is something quite special and I’ve really appreciated being part of his journey this season,”

Congrats to the Finger Lakes Central Outlaws hockey team, who won the Tier III NYS Championship 12u PeeWee level this past weekend. For the second year in a row! The team is made up of a group of kids from Ithaca, Lansing, Elmira and Cortland, and they were the only team in their age group to go undefeated. They beat a team from the Long Island/New York City area to win. The Outlaws are coached by Russ Johnson, James Sheehan and Jeremy Downs.

When I learned that the Newfield boy’s basketball team had won the state title, I thought back over the years and recalled how that community has embraced its basketball program. The Trojans made numerous trips to the Final Four, and it is just a classy program by any measure.

I have interviewed many of the coaches over the years, I have seen dozens of players come and go, but there has always been one constant, and that is Ricky Stewart. Ricky has been an assistant coach, advocate, mentor and all-around father figure to so many players for so many years, and one of the nicest men I have ever met. Ricky and his wife, Jean, raised a houseful of kids. Some were biological children, some were not, and the Stewarts created a safe space for everyone. I recall looking at team photos year after year, and hoping that team — and that community — knew how lucky they are to have Ricky in their midst, and when Jean passed on in December, I knew the community would be there to support their friend. I recall thinking then how cool it would be if Newfield finally won the state title. Congrats, Trojans, and I’m glad you got an assist from above.

Ithaca College swimmer Jack Wadsworth celebrates his national title. (Photo: Provided)

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