Nick Lee came out on top of Yianni Diakomihalis on Saturday, February 3 at the 2024 Pan-Am Qualifier Wrestle-Off. Lee won 12-3 in the first match before Diakomihalis medically forfeited out of the second match. Lee will now go to Acapulco, Mexico to compete at the Pan-Am Olympic Games Qualifier taking place February 28-March 1. There, he will need to reach the finals to qualify the United States for the Olympics at 65 kg. 

The first match between Lee and Diakomihalis got out to a competitive start with Yianni getting in on a double leg but Nick Lee countering for 2 with a chest wrap. Then, Yianni got to another double and was able to lift Lee in the air and finish for 2 to take the lead on criteria. However, during the finish, Yianni appeared to slam his head hard on the mat and had to take injury time. After a short break, Yianni got back to his offense and to a single leg for a step-out to extend his lead to 3-2. 

Yianni held that lead into the break until Nick Lee hit a clean fireman’s 30 seconds into the second period to take a 4-3 lead. After Lee’s takedown, Diakomihalis’ pace began to slow considerably allowing Lee to earn easy finishes on multiple takedowns. In total, Lee rallied in the second period for 9 straight points to take the 12-3 victory. With that win, Lee now moves to 4-0 in his career against Diakomihalis and will almost certainly be the #1 seed at 65 kg at the upcoming Olympic Trials this April.

Watch Nick Lee's win over Yianni Diakomihalis:

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As mentioned above, Diakomihalis slammed his head hard on the mat attempting to finish a double leg in the first period. Throughout the match, Diakomihalis looked visibly shaken up and even looked off balance making his way back to the center of the mat throughout the second period. Because of that head injury, Diakomihalis was forced to medically forfeit out of the second match of the best of 3 series.