Month: February 2019

2A-Region 1 preview

When & where: Chiles HS, Tallahassee. First session is set for noon Friday. Saturday’s first session is set for 10 a.m., finals usually begin at discretion of the tournament director and are most often slated for late-afternoon starts.
Team favorite/local outlook: It’s been incredibly difficult to determine who will win the region team championship, and this year appears to be little different. I would expect Lincoln and Matanzas, the two finalists for the Region 1 duals title, to be in contention. I would expect District 1 champion Pace and District 2 runnerup Columbia to be in the same mix. I can think of three or four other teams that might have enough nucleus to make an impact in the team standings. But those would be my four most prominent choices to look at this weekend.
Print brackets for this tournament here: REGION 1 BRACKETS

Like the 1A-Region 1 preview we released earlier today, this preview will be somewhat different from the first two we did earlier this week since, for me, every kid in this tournament is local. We’ll break down each quadrant for all of the weight classes. You’ll actually see each pick at each round, with a quick comment on the round.

The key thing to remember: It’s not personal. Prove me wrong. Or prove me right. I like either one. I’m not telling which one is better. You’ll have to figure that one out for yourself.

Matmen’s state qualifier predictions, sure to be wrong —

106: 1. Matthew Rodriquez (2nd, Ridgeview). 2. Elijah Hendley (19th, Lincoln). 3. Bruce Harting (Ed White). 4. Riley Girgis (Middleburg).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Brandon Walls (Gulf Breeze).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Deagan Kilpatrick (Choctaw), Hunter Brown (Chiles), Cody Smith (Creekside).
First-round match worth price of admission: Kilpatrick v. Brett Millard (Columbia).
My too-short take: Rodriquez should dominate the bracket from start to finish this weekend, and will come out from the bottom half. Hendley should be the solid favorite on the top half, but he could get a pair of decent District 3 tests along the way.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Harting moves on through, with a closer win over Walls in the quarters.
Second quarter: Hendley moves on through, with a closer win over Girgis in the quarters.
Third quarter: Rodriquez moves on through, with a dominant win over Kilpatrick in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Smith moves on through, with a closer win over Brown in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Julian Villegas (Ponte Vedra – bye), Vincent DeLeo (Bartram Trail), Millard, Raequan Staples (Englewood). Staples could have a challenge from Niceville’s Grace Moore, but the other contested matches should end in decisive wins.
WB round 2 projected: Brown, Kilpatrick, Girgis, Walls. Kilpatrick and DeLeo should be very close, but the other three should be solid wins, if not decisive ones.
WB quarters projected: Brown, Girgis. Brown pinned Kilpatrick a month ago at Timberwolf Duals, Girgis should win a close dual against Walls.
Semis/blood round: Hendley will have a battle on his hands with Harting in the semis, or should at least, but I would expect Rodriquez to win decisively in the bottom half. Harting, with states on the line, will have experience on his side in the top half of the blood round, while Girgis should push past Smith with a closer if not solid win in the bottom half.

113: 1. Shaun Culbreth (4th, Matanzas). 2. Mark Munroe (5th, Lincoln). 3. Gabe Guzman (9th, Ridgeview). 4. David Tambula (Choctaw).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Davon Bailey (17th, Orange Park).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Atticus Waters (Pace), Michael Moore (Bartram Trail), Noah Tritz (Niceville).
First-round match worth price of admission: Moore v. Tritz. Both should get out to Saturday.
My too-short take: Culbreth, also, should be in control of this bracket through each round; the bottom-half finalist should get more of a test, with a potential Munroe-Guzman semifinal looking pretty competitive.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Tambula moves on through, with a solid win over Leon’s Lukas McKinney in the quarters.
Second quarter: Culbreth moves on through, with a decisive win over Bailey in the quarters.
Third quarter: Munroe moves on through, with a decisive win over Waters in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Guzman moves on through, with a decisive win over Moore in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Andrew Feek (Creekside), Max Kronlage (Gulf Breeze), Michael Stephens (Ponte Vedra), Tritz (bye). All three contested matches should end in decisive wins.
WB round 2 projected: Moore, Waters, Bailey, Tritz. Moore and Bailey should win decisively, Waters solidly, Tritz may have a close match with McKinney, could even go the other way.
WB quarters projected: Waters, Bailey. Waters should win a closer match in the top half, Bailey should take a solid win in the bottom half.
Semis/blood round: Culbreth should win decisively over Tambula in the top-half semi, while Munroe should win a close decision over Guzman in the bottom half. Tambula had a 9-3 district-final win in hand over Waters, and should take a solid win in the top half of the blood round. Guzman and Bailey went 6-4 in the District 3 finals, and I think Guzman might open up a little more with states on the line, for a closer victory.

120: 1. Derrick Lancero (Pace). 2. Ikeon Myles (14th, Lincoln). 3. Colin Brown (Creekside). 4. Brandon Mallin (Ft Walton Beach).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Olufemi Egberongbe (Chiles), Trevor Tagarelli (Bartram Trail), Ricardo Rivera-Resto (Englewood).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Ethan Goodman (20th, Matanzas).
First-round match worth price of admission: Brown v. Thomas Greene (Columbia). Winner has a better-than-average chance to get out.
My too-short take: Wild bracket, wide-open. Perhaps the most wide-open of the weight classes I’ve previewed so far. There’s no clear favorite, there are OK arguments to be made for seven kids to win the whole thing.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Lancero moves on through, with a close win over Brown in the quarters.
Second quarter: Egberongbe moves on through, with a solid win over Rivera-Resto in the quarters.
Third quarter: Myles moves on through, with a decisive win over Tate’s David Luckey in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Goodman moves on through, with a very close win over Mallin in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Greene (bye), Tagarelli, Clay Propes (Ridgeview), Brennan Kade (Gainesville). All should be solid wins in the contested matches.
WB round 2 projected: Mallin, Tagarelli, Rivera-Resto, Brown. Mallin/Greene is interesting (winner could get out), Tagarelli/Luckey should be close, Brown and Rivera-Resto should take solid wins.
WB quarters projected: Mallin, Brown. Schedule and experience will carry both to solid wins.
Semis/blood round: Lancero should win a close top-half semi over Egberongbe, while Myles should do the same over Goodman in the bottom half (it was 5-4 Myles in the region final at state duals). Mallin wins a very tight top-half blood round matchup, while Brown and Goodman face off one last time with states on the line. Both have wins, either one has proven the ability to push past the other. Really a complete tossup.

126: 1. Ian McGuigan (9th, Columbia). 2. Kelly Scanlon (Gulf Breeze). 3. Tyler Tran (Pace). 4. Gavin Riccobono (12th, Nease).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): CJ Sexton (Creekside), Caleb Bushong (Lincoln), Weston Burbidge (Ft Walton Beach).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Caleb Bower (Matanzas).
First-round match worth price of admission: Tran v. Riccobono.
My too-short take: Here’s another bracket where there’s six kids who could contend for the title; in my mind, McGuigan is just a bit better than the rest of the group, with a lot of District 1 kids chasing. The districts were pretty crazy at this weight last week, and I think they settle out a bit this week.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Scanlon moves on through, with a solid win over Bushong in the quarters.
Second quarter: Burbidge moves on through, with a solid win over Chiles’ Alex Adkins in the quarters.
Third quarter: McGuigan moves on through, with a closer win over Tran in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Bower moves on through, with a decisive win over Ridgeview’s Shawn Tahir in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Sexton, Jerry Gomer (11th, Bartram Trail), Riccobono (bye), Jay Pinto (Niceville). Sexton, Gomer and Pinto should all win decisively.
WB round 2 projected: Sexton, Tran, Riccobono, Bushong. Sexton and Riccobono should win solid decisions, while Tran and Bushong should win close matches.
WB quarters projected: Tran, Riccobono. Tran should win a closer decision, while Riccobono should win solidly in the bottom half.
Semis/blood round: Scanlon should win by a solid decision over Burbidge in a matchup of District 1 rivals, while McGuigan takes a closer decision over Bower in the bottom half. Tran overcomes his district rival in the top half of the blood round with a close win, while Riccobono also overcomes a district rival with a closer decision.

132: 1. Nicholas Vugman (6th, Bartram Trail). 2. Lawrence Russo (5th, Matanzas). 3. Alex McGuigan (13th, Columbia). 4. Dean Ganci (18th, Orange Park).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Ethan Billhimer (16th, Pace), Gabe Galloza (St Augustine), Jimmy Martin (Lincoln).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Michael Walls (Gulf Breeze).
First-round match worth price of admission: Galloza v. Martin. Both should be Saturday qualifiers.
My too-short take: Pretty sure we’ll see a District 4 finals recap, and the recency pick is to take Russo, with his win last week, but the chalk pick is Vugman, with a third at states last year. It’s going to be a tremendous final either way; last week was a one-point decision in Russo’s favor.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Vugman moves on through, with a closer win over Billhimer in the quarters.
Second quarter: Ganci moves on through, with a solid win over Galloza in the quarters.
Third quarter: McGuigan moves on through, with a solid win over Englewood’s Dairo Guerra in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Russo moves on through, with a solid win over Walls in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Mitchell Monk (Chiles), Martin, Michael Galiani (Creekside), Jorge Ramirez (Ed White). Monk should win solidly, but the others should all be closer decisions.
WB round 2 projected: Walls, Martin, Galloza, Billhimer. Billhimer should have a dominant win, Walls and Galloza should have solid wins, and Martin takes a very close decision over Guerra (could go the either way on it without too much argument).
WB quarters projected: Walls, Billhimer. Walls and Billhimer should both take solid wins at this point.
Semis/blood round: Vugman should take a solid win over Ganci in the top half semis, while Russo wins close over McGuigan in the bottom half. I think Ganci will take a closer win over Walls in the top half of the blood round, and it’s an absolute tossup between McGuigan and Billhimer in the bottom half.

138: 1. Storm Mercado (11th, Middleburg). 2. Cameron Broughton (13th, Orange Park). 3. Josh Bower (14th, Matanzas). 4. Matthew Arango (16th, Columbia).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Keane Creager (19th, Niceville); Lynden North (Englewood).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Dylan Lawrence (Gulf Breeze), Reed Waterson (Lincoln).
First-round match worth price of admission: Watterson v. Seth O’Gara (Pace).
My too-short take: Kind of going chalk here, which is a bit of an odd flex for this region, which has already had plenty of wildness just in the lowers. Mercado appears to be on a roll, though, with a 9-2 win over Broughton last weekend at districts. The group might be more even than I think, as it plays out, but we’ll have to see tomorrow.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Broughton moves on through, with a close win over Creager in the quarters.
Second quarter: Arango moves on through, with a closer win over North in the quarters.
Third quarter: Mercado moves on through, with a closer win over Lawrence in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Bower moves on through, with a closer win over Watterson in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Joseph Governara (Bartram Trail), Jake Summers (Creekside), Alex De Almeida (Ponte Vedra), O’Gara. All should be solid wins, DeAlmeida may be closer with Chiles’ Andrew Mullins.
WB round 2 projected: Watterson, Lawrence, North, Creager. Creager may win decisively (if districts were any indicator), the others solidly.
WB quarters projected: Lawrence, Creager. Lawrence will have a battle in the top half with Watterson, could go either way, while Creager’s experience should lead to a closer win over North in the bottom half.
Semis/blood round: Broughton should overcome Arango in a close decision in the top half of the semis, while Mercado wins closer in the bottom half over Bower. Arango rallies in the top half for a close win over Lawrence in the blood round, while Bower pushes past Creager in a very close decision in the bottom half.

145: 1. Matt Ross (6th, Columbia). 7. Ian Eckert (7th, Matanzas). 3. Carlos Bogan (13th, Ft Walton Beach). 4. Ethan Baur (18th, Ponte Vedra).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): None.
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Chris Burch (16th, Middleburg); Calvin Malo (19th, Gulf Breeze); Jace White (20th, Lincoln); Joseph Cortez (Pace).
First-round match worth price of admission: White vs. Cortez in a matchup of two prospective Saturday qualifiers.
My too-short take: Going chalk again here, though this time, Ross and Eckert have clearly established themselves as the class of the field (they went overtime at Clay in consi round 4); Bogan, too, has won several tournaments this year, and will give Ross a strong push, as will perennial contender Burch to Eckert in the bottom half.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Bogan moves on through, with a solid win over Stanton’s Grant Kelsey in the quarters.
Second quarter: Ross moves on through, with a closer win over Baur in the quarters.
Third quarter: Burch moves on through, with a solid win over Malo in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Eckert moves on through, with a solid win over White in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Hayden Yanni (St Augustine), Malachi Santiago (Crestview), Ethan Eudy (Leon), White. All should be solid wins but for the third, where Eudy may be pushed hard by Creekside’s Hunter Brown.
WB round 2 projected: Cortez, Malo, Baur, White. Malo and Baur should win solidly, but I expect close wins for Cortez over Yanni and White over Kelsey.
WB quarters projected: Malo, Baur. Malo will be pushed, but should win close, where Baur takes a solid win in the bottom half.
Semis/blood round: Going to be a lot of scrambling between Ross and Bogan, in a match that could pile up the points; I expect a closer Ross win. Eckert’s strength will be difficult for Burch to overcome, but it should be close. Bogan should have enough left to take a solid win over Malo in the top half of the blood round, where Baur’s technique will allow him to prevail in a very close, tossup-y close, win over Burch in the bottom half.

152: 1. Kishma Davis (10th, Pace). 2. Elliott Crum (7th, Lincoln). 3. Jacob Satterfield (11th, Nease). 4. Bryce Williams (13th, Middleburg).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Obie Smith (Columbia), Noel Alicea (Matanzas).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Collin Lentz (15th, Niceville), Logan Myers (19th, Choctaw).
First-round match worth price of admission: Smith v. Kade Tsitos (St Augustine).
My too-short take: There’s some really good talent in this group that is not going to get out to states, one way or another, with up to five kids, I think, that can credibly battle for third or fourth. Davis has flown under the radar a bit this season, while Crum is going to get stiff challenges from the quarters forward (even his round 1 is no pushover). I’ve picked against him before — and been wrong before.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Davis moves on through, with a decisive win over Alicea in the quarters.
Second quarter: Williams moves on through, with a solid win over Smith in the quarters.
Third quarter: Crum moves on through, with a closer win over Myers in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Satterfield moves on through, with a closer win over Lentz in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Lonnie Sanders (Terry Parker), Caleb Tourgee (Ft Walton Beach), Reed Propes (Ridgeview).
WB round 2 projected: Lentz, Myers, Smith, Alicea. Lentz should have a dominant win, Myers a decisive one, Smith a closer one and Alicea a solid one.
WB quarters projected: Lentz, Smith. Lentz should have a solid one (if districts are any indicator), while Smith should win a closer one.
Semis/blood round: Davis takes a closer win in the top-half semi, while it’s razor-tight in the bottom half between Crum and Satterfield (tossup-y tight). Williams overcomes Lentz in a scramble for points in the blood round that ends up close, while Satterfield takes a solid win over Smith in the bottom half.

160: 1. Nate Golmon (2nd, Pace). 2. Tony Davis (8th, Lincoln). 3. Luis Parrales (13th, Bartram Trail). 4. Jaquenez Madison (Leon).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Kevonte Times (Chiles).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Jalen Hines (14th, Creekside); Sam Russo (17th, Matanzas); Ashley Saddler (Terry Parker).
First-round match worth price of admission: Hines v. Corban Ferguson (Ft Walton Beach). Might set a tone inside the bottom quarter of the bracket.
My too-short take: Only Rodriquez, so far, is as dominant within his bracket as Golmon will be in this one. He’ll probably have to go six minutes in the final, but I could see decisive wins in each of the four matches, three of them against — as projected — fellow state qualifiers.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Golmon moves on through, with a decisive win over Madison in the quarters.
Second quarter: Parrales moves on through, with a solid win over Times in the quarters.
Third quarter: Davis moves on through, with a solid win over Russo in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Hines moves on through, with a closer win over Saddler in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Carl Otero (Ed White), Sam Howard (Englewood), Daniel McDonal (Milton), Ferguson. All of them should be closer wins.
WB round 2 projected: Saddler, Russo, Times, Madison. Russo, Times and Madison should have solid wins in this round, Saddler might be closer against Otero.
WB quarters projected: Russo, Madison. Russo’s competitive schedule will see him through in a closer win over Saddler, while
Semis/blood round: Golmon takes a decisive win over Parrales in the top-half semi, while Davis has a solid if not decisive win over Hines in the bottom half. Parrales takes a solid win in the top half of the blood round over Russo, while Madison wins closer over Hines in the bottom half.

170: 1. Quenteen Robinson (4th, Matanzas). 2. Kyle McGill (9th, Chiles). 3. Jacob Campbell (5th, Orange Park). 4. Bronson Carter (16th, Gainesville).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Eddie Alexis (Ft Walton Beach), Jordan Mitchell (Englewood).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Andrew Collins (Lincoln), Paul Roberts (Choctaw).
First-round match worth price of admission: Collins v. Roberts.
My too-short take: I think your “final” is going to be staged in the semis; I can’t find a Campbell-Robinson matchup this year so far. They also did not face each other in the post-season run of last year. Very similar. Going to be one of the best semifinals of the day out at Chiles; I’m going to enjoy watching that one up close.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Alexis moves on through, with a closer win over Mitchell in the quarters.
Second quarter: McGill moves on through, with a solid win over Nease’s Kirill Kim in the quarters.
Third quarter: Campbell moves on through, with a solid win over Collins in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Robinson moves on through, with a closer win over Carter in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Jalani Stockton (Leon), Brody Andrews (Pace), Roberts, Matthew Murphy (Niceville). Roberts should have a decisive win, the others should be solid wins in favor of the projecteds.
WB round 2 projected: Carter, Collins, Roberts, Mitchell. Carter, Collins and Mitchell should win decisively, Roberts might win closer over Kim.
WB quarters projected: Carter, Mitchell. Carter should win decisively (if districts are any indication), Mitchell should win close.
Semis/blood round: McGill should be solidly favored in the top-half semis over Alexis, while expect all-out war between Robinson and Campbell in the bottom half. Carter should win solidly in the top half of the blood room, and whoever has to go to the bottom half of the blood round should win decisively (I have it as Campbell, but it’s really a tossup).

182: 1. Landon Dains (4th, Terry Parker). 2. John Gunther (11th, Pace). 3. Jacob Moore (5th, Orange Park). 4. Tanner Washburn (15th, Lincoln).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Ryan Murphy (St Augustine).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Kaleb Williams (Ft Walton Beach), Sean Ripley (Niceville), Troy Maritato (Ponte Vedra).
First-round match worth price of admission: Ripley v. Shawn Raggins (Columbia).
My too-short take: Dains has been looking for a quality test, and after a close win over Moore in the district finals, that test should continue against either Moore or Gunther, the winner of which (in the quarters) should make the final. Could see two unbeatens there, which is always a treat.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Gunther moves on through, with a close win over Moore in the quarters.
Second quarter: Washburn moves on through, with a closer win over Murphy in the quarters.
Third quarter: Dains moves on through, with a solid win over Ripley in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Williams moves on through, with a very close win over Maritato in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Gregory Moore (Matanzas), Austin Earle (Gulf Breeze), Raggins, Austin Wheeler (Chiles). Earle and Wheeler should win decisively, while Raggins and Moore should win close matches.
WB round 2 projected: Maritato, Ripley, Murphy, J. Moore. Moore and Maritato win decisively, Murphy solidly and Ripley closer.
WB quarters projected: Ripley, J. Moore. Ripley wins closer against Maritato in the top half, Moore wins closer against Murphy in the bottom half.
Semis/blood round: Gunther should win a closer match in the top-half semi, while Dains takes a solid if not decisive win over Williams in the bottom half. Washburn wins closer over Ripley in the top half of the blood round, while Moore does the same over Williams in the bottom half.

195: 1. Trey Chesser (7th, Creekside). 2. Wyatt Dillon (17th, Pace). 3. Azaya Purifoy (12th, Tate). 4. Julian Moore (Orange Park).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Charles Woo (Stanton), Julius Moreland (Columbia).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Jeremiah Brown (Lincoln), Patrick Adams (Ft Walton Beach).
First-round match worth price of admission: Dillon vs. Angel Rodriguez (Nease).
My too-short take: There’s a bit of open space in this bracket, but Chesser should be tops among the group, with the most experience among the better kids in the weight class. Dillon’s schedule should be enough to see him through on the bottom half.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Purifoy moves on through, with a solid win over Moreland in the quarters.
Second quarter: Chesser moves on through, with a decisive win over Woo in the quarters.
Third quarter: Dillon moves on through, with a closer win over Brown in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Moore moves on through, with a closer win over Adams in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Jarred Ball (Ed White), Aiden Savage (Choctaw), Rodriguez, Pete Grimm (Matanzas). Ball, Savage and Grimm should all win decisively, Rodriguez should win solidly.
WB round 2 projected: Adams, Brown, Woo, Moreland. Adams, Brown and Moreland all should win decisively, Woo should have a closer match in this round.
WB quarters projected: Brown, Woo. Brown and Woo should both take close decisions.
Semis/blood round: Chesser should take a solid win in the top half over Purifoy, while Dillon should at least win solidly, if not decisively, over Moore in the bottom half. Purifoy should in turn take a solid win in the top half of the blood round over Brown, while Moore should win decisively in the bottom half over Woo.

220: 1. Od’juan Whitfield (Ridgeview). 2. Kennard Madden (Crestview). 3. Clarke Hamilton (Bartram Trail). 4. Bryan McKnight (Creekside).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Zhaquez Griffin (Columbia), Wyatt Yown (Lincoln), Ben Sabella (Terry Parker).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Cecil Bermudez (Matanzas).
First-round match worth price of admission: Griffin v. Sabella.
My too-short take: Most wide-open weight class maybe in 2A, certainly for the region, with no state-ranked wrestlers in the group of 15 kids here. A hard-charging competitor with a good bit of momentum could run the table at this weight class this weekend. I can think of seven kids, in this weight this weekend, that would win the title, and not feel terribly surprised by their tournament runs.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Madden moves on through, with a closer win over Yown in the quarters.
Second quarter: Hamilton moves on through, with a closer win over Griffin in the quarters.
Third quarter: McKnight moves on through, with a solid win over Leon’s Josh Seabrooks in the quarters
Bottom quarter: Whitfield moves on through, with a closer win over Bermudez in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Larry McCrudy (Ed White – bye), Sabella, Kevin Burgess (Tate), Ramsey Kidder (Niceville). Kidder should win decisively, Sabella solidly, and Burgess should advance with a closer win.
WB round 2 projected: Bermudez, Sabella, Griffin, Yown. Bermudez, Griffin and Yown should all win decisively, while Sabella should take a solid win.
WB quarters projected: Bermudez, Griffin. Bermudez should take a solid win in the top half, while Griffin takes a tossup win over Yown that could go the other way.
Semis/blood round: Madden wins closer in the top-half semis over Hamilton, while Whitfield does the same over McKnight in the bottom half. In another tossup — if districts are any indication — we take chalk with Hamilton edging Bermudez in the top half of the blood round, while McKnight wins closer over Griffin in the bottom half.

285: 1. Darius Stanley (3rd, St Augustine). 2. Saul Storey (5th, Creekside). 3. Jonquille Rivers (14th, Lincoln). 4. Cam Goodenow (Pace).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Weston Tew (Crestview), Ryan Piersza (Bartram Trail), Chris Lands (Englewood), Gregory Milinkovic (Gainesville).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): None.
First-round match worth price of admission: Piersza v. Milinkovic.
My too-short take: We should see a rematch of the District 4 final, which might or might not be contested this go-round — it might depend on how much effort Storey had to expend to get there, and it might be decided to hold off one more week until states to finally settle things.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Storey moves on through, with a very close win over Tew in the quarters.
Second quarter: Piersza moves on through, with a closer win over Lands in the quarters.
Third quarter: Rivers moves on through, with a solid win over Gulf Breeze’s Cameron Anderson in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Stanley moves on through, with a solid win over Goodenow in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Sam Neely (Chiles – bye), Milinkovic (bye), Reese Sheehan (Orange Park), Marquis Walton (Terry Parker – bye). Sheehan should win solidly in this round.
WB round 2 projected: Goodenow, Milinkovic, Lands, Tew. Goodenow and Tew should win decisively, Milinkovic and Lands should take closer wins.
WB quarters projected: Goodenow, Tew. Both closer wins.
Semis/blood round: Storey should ‌win decisively in the top-half semi over Piersza, while Stanley should win solidly, if not decisively, in the bottom half over Rivers. I think Goodenow wins solidly, if not decisively, over Piersza in the top half of the blood round. The bottom half blood-round match says the chalk pick is Rivers, but I will not be surprised if Tew ends up winning it.

All statewide rankings as created by Brant Parsons and as updated February 26.

Curious about what Brant thinks (after all, you might like his better)? Here’s links to his four 1A previews (they’re not all out yet, we’ll update our post to reflect):

2A-Region 1: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/highschool/wrestling/os-sp-wrestling-region-preview-2a-1-2019-story.html
2A-Region 2: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/highschool/wrestling/os-sp-wrestling-region-preview-2a-2-2019-story.html#nt=oft02a-2gp4
2A-Region 3: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/highschool/wrestling/os-sp-wrestling-region-preview-2a-3-2019-story.html
2A-Region 4: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/highschool/wrestling/os-sp-wrestling-region-preview-2a-4-2019-story.html#nt=oft02a-2gp4

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1A-Region 1 preview

When & where: South Walton HS, Santa Rosa Beach. First session is set for noon Friday. Saturday’s first session is set for 10 a.m., finals usually begin at discretion of the tournament director and are most often slated for late-afternoon starts.
Team favorite/local outlook: Wakulla should leave the Gulfside with one more championship trophy under its belt, as region champs; the War Eagles have won regions before, but winning this year — with this tournament field — has been the goal from Day 1 at season’s end last year. I would project Clay and Florida High will battle it out for second. Clay has a deeper team and that might be enough to carry the Blue Devils back to second, but Florida High has firepower of its own, too. If you’re looking to round out a top five, look at Arnold, Bolles, Bishop Kenny, Suwannee, possibly Yulee and maybe Mosley as well.
Print brackets for this tournament here: REGION 1 BRACKETS

This preview will be somewhat different from the first two we did earlier this week since, for me, every kid in this tournament is local. We’ll break down each quadrant for all of the weight classes. You’ll actually see each pick at each round, with a quick comment on the round.

The key thing to remember: It’s not personal and it’s just an opinion at the moment. Prove me wrong. Or prove me right. I like either one. I’m not telling which one is better. You’ll have to figure that one out for yourself.

Matmen’s state qualifier predictions, sure to be wrong —

106: 1. Tazz Hampton (8th, Clay). 2. George Hernandez (10th, Wakulla). 3. Tanner Brockman (11th, Arnold). 4. Jacob Witt (14th, Bolles).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Joseph Jackson (16th, Episcopal) & DaQuan King (19th, Raines).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Yoamet Perez (Suwannee) & Cole Bell (Mosley).
First-round match worth price of admission: Perez v. Lucas Biddle (North Bay Haven).
My too-short take: Hampton has the experience to push through to his first region title and should emerge out of the bottom half. Hernandez and Brockman went 5-3 at Wakulla’s IBT, and I took the chalk pick, but a lot of people root for Brockman because of his backstory.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Brockman moves on through, with a win over King in the quarters. Could be very intense.
Second quarter: Hernandez moves on through, with a close win over Jackson in the quarters.
Third quarter: Hampton moves on through, with a decisive win over Perez in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Witt moves on through with a decisive win over Bell in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Ryan Mayer (Bishop Kenny – bye), Garrett Butler (West Nassau), Biddle, Jeremy Hector (Godby). Would not be surprised if Biddle and Hector win on the front, Butler has no cakewalk against William Carrel (Marianna).
WB round 2 projected: Bell, Perez, Jackson, King. Bell vs. Mayer probably the closest of the four.
WB quarters projected: Perez, Jackson. Bell could be a tough out, Jackson has a 13-8 win over King at Clay.
Semis/blood round: I mentioned Hernandez v. Brockman earlier, Hampton should move through against Witt (had a first-period fall over Witt at region duals). I think Brockman will be too much for Perez in the blood round, and Witt’s held the upper hand against Jackson — so far — as they meet in the bottom half of the blood round.

113: 1. Kyle Hopkins (2nd, Episcopal). 2. Emil Ganim (9th, Florida High). 3. Jackson Merrick (10th, Wakulla). 4. Jeremy Mahoney (8th, Fernandina Beach).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Neal Smith (13th, Marianna), Christian Villanueva (19th, Bishop Snyder) & Tristan Martinez (12th, Yulee).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Will Ashby (14th, Arnold).
First-round match worth price of admission: Merrick v. Villanueva. Two ranked kids in round 1.
My too-short take: Hopkins is the clear class of the field in the region; he’s on a mission after failing to get to states as a sophomore. Ganim and Mahoney don’t often meet; the last time they did was a year ago at regions in the quarters, when Ganim won by first-period fall.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Merrick moves on through, with a close win over Smith in the quarters.
Second quarter: Hopkins moves on through, with a decisive win over Martinez in the quarters.
Third quarter: Ganim moves on through, with a closer win over Ashby in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Mahoney moves on through, with a decisive win over Wewahitchka’s Conner Roberts in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected: Villanueva, Corban Cherry (Bay), Jacare Johnson (Westside), Lance Gardenhire (FSDB – bye). Cherry and Suwannee’s Bryson Green could be close, other two appear pretty straightforward.
WB round 2 projected: Villanueva, Ashby, Martinez, Smith. I’m intrigued by Roberts and the progress he’s made, but Villanueva’s size and experience will be tough to overcome.
WB quarters projected: Villanueva, Martinez. Good fight between Martinez and Smith, I would expect. Ashby might keep things close as well.
Semis/blood round: Hopkins will move through confidently against Merrick in the top half, and I mentioned Ganim-Mahoney earlier, but Mahoney has progressed a lot this year. Merrick’s experience will see him through in the top half of the blood round against Villanueva, and Mahoney has had the formula for success against Martinez for a season-plus now.

120: 1. Brooks Dyer (2nd, Florida High). 2. Timothy Jolicoeur (10th, Suwannee). 3. Nick Hejke (12th, Arnold). 4. Robert Iglesias (8th, Menendez).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Raymond Hatchman (11th, Wakulla), Josh Kumpf (Clay) & Reilly Gentges (Bishop Kenny).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Brendan Ferenchik (West Nassau).
First-round match worth price of admission: Jolicoeur v. Denny Vohs (Bolles), particularly if the mid-January Vohs returns to form.
My too-short take: There’s (at least) three kids that could emerge out of the top half, all three with even amounts of experience and pretty close to even amounts of ability. Dyer is the solid choice in the bottom half.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Hejke moves on through, with a very close win over Hatchman in the quarters.
Second quarter: Jolicoeur moves on through, with a close win over Kumpf in the quarters.
Third quarter: Dyer moves on through, with a decisive win over Ferenchik in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Iglesias moves on through, with a decisive win over Baker County’s Juan Torres in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected: Gentges, Colin Dutton (Rutherford), Dustin Arnold (Marianna), Orlando Trevino (North Bay Haven – bye). Dutton v. Vohs could be really tight, Gentges and Arnold should move on a bit more easily.
WB round 2 projected: Gentges, Ferenchik, Kumpf, Hatchman. Kumpf v. Arnold might be somewhat close, as might Ferenchik v. Dutton, but both Gentges and Hatchman will move through decisively.
WB quarters projected: Ferenchik, Hatchman. Ferenchik v. Gentges should be close, Hatchman should hold a significant edge over Kumpf.
Semis/blood round: Should be a good top half between Jolicoeur and Hejke, both of whom have state experience. Dyer should move through the bottom half decisively. Hejke might be a bit much for Ferenchik to overcome in the top half of the blood round, and I fully expect a battle between Iglesias and Hatchman in the bottom half.

126: 1. Matthew Owen (3rd, Wakulla). 2. Tyler Reeve (5th, Florida High). 3. Luke Davis (12th, Clay). 4. Jordan Ware (Suwannee).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Johnathan Harvey (9th, Wewahitchka), Bryce Bees (20th, Yulee), Seth Britton (15th, Westside) & Dalton Posick (Bolles).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Brian Zerr (16th, Bozeman).
First-round match worth price of admission: Reeve v. Bees and also Ware v. Britton. Winners could get out, losers will have a shot at going deep on Saturday.
My too-short take: I think the top two are pretty well set in their respective halves, but there could be up to seven kids with at least a puncher’s chance to get out in the third or fourth spots, and almost none of them would surprise me.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Reeve moves on, with a close win over Harvey in the quarters.
Second quarter: Ware moves on, with a close win over Posick in the quarters.
Third quarter: Owen moves on, with a solid win over Zerr in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Davis moves on, with a decisive win over Bishop Kenny’s Daniel Maher in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected: Bees, Britton, David Jackson (Baker County), Jacob Smith (19th, Arnold – bye). Wouldn’t surprise if Smith won in round 1. All of these should be pretty decisive victories.
WB round 2 projected: Bees, Zerr, Posick, Harvey. I’d expect all-out war between Zerr and Britton, but I think the other three move through pretty decisively.
WB quarters projected: Zerr, Posick. Both should be really great battles. Could see both go the other way.
Semis/blood round: Reeve is still ahead of Ware, if district results are any indicator, and I’ve been advised that things were close between Owen and Davis before a fall, but a fall is a fall, so I go with the chalk. That said, Ware’s athleticism (as long as his head’s right) makes him the choice in what should be a solid top half of the blood round, but Davis will be too much for Posick in the bottom half.

132: 1. Cale Hoskinson (8th, Clay). 2. Jaxon Sansouci (Suwannee). 3. Seth Weinthal (10th, South Walton). 4. Isaiah Wilson (Wakulla).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): None.
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Jaden Moseley (17th, Wewahitchka); Lonnie Bell (18th, Mosley); Bradly Kraai (West Nassau); Orion Duffy (Yulee); James Smith (Bradford).
First-round match worth price of admission: Bell v. Kraai or Moseley v. Duffy. How those go might determine a lot about the top half of the consi bracket.
My too-short take: After the top three of the top half, I think there’s some air where somebody needs to prove themselves capable of a deep run. The bottom half is very even, with really only two kids dropped back from the other six, all of whom could have good tournament runs.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Weinthal moves on, with a solid win over Wilson in the quarters.
Second quarter: Hoskinson moves on, with a decisive win over Godby’s Nigel Brown in the quarters.
Third quarter: Sansouci moves on, with a close win over Bell in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Smith moves on, with a close win over Duffy in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected: Brock Hinson (Bishop Kenny), Jarrett Ellis (Pedro Menendez), Kraai, Moseley. The Ellis v. Jeremiah O’Neal (Bay) match could be close, the others should be decisive.
WB round 2 projected: Duffy, Bell, Kraai, Wilson. Duffy over Hinson could be close, Wilson v. Moseley might be as well. Other two should be decisive.
WB quarters projected: Bell, Wilson. Duffy and Kraai could give challenges, but (particularly in Wilson’s case) schedule and room could matter a lot.
Semis/blood round: To be honest about it, the winner of the Weinthal/Hoskinson semi is your champ; the experience factor is just too great. Sansouci v. Smith is much more of a wildcard, as I have virtually no Bradford results to guide me. Weinthal will be too much for Bell in the top half of the blood round, and Wilson’s experience this season is going to be too much for Smith to overcome as well.

138: 1. Ethan Pickren (3rd, South Walton). 2. Chase Roberts (15th, Wakulla). 3. Dennis Ganim (14th, Florida High). 4. Andrew McGowan (17th, Clay).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Aston Ricks (19th, Yulee); John Schloth (Bishop Kenny).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Griffin Hebert (8th, Arnold); Julian Morris (Bolles).
First-round match worth price of admission: Roberts v. Jonathan Griffin (Mosley).
My too-short take: Pickren will dominate every part of the bracket from round 1 to final. There’s three kids that could come out of the bottom half and would not surprise me. We’ll have to see what is the best advantage, experience, tradition, schedule or room.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Pickren moves on, with a dominant win over Ricks in the quarters.
Second quarter: Ganim moves on, with a decisive win over Schloth in the quarters.
Third quarter: McGowan moves on, with a very close win over Hebert in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Roberts moves on, with a solid win over Morris in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected: Jose Ruiz (Pedro Menendez – bye), Millikin, Tyson Musgrove (Suwannee), Griffin. Millikin and Griffin should win decisively, Musgrove might get challenge from Wolfson’s Hays Lewallen.
WB round 2 projected: Morris, Hebert, Schloth, Ricks. Ricks v. Griffin could be close, and Schloth/Musgrove might be.
WB quarters projected: Hebert, Ricks. Both should have solid, if not decisive wins.
Semis/blood round: Pickren will be too strong for Ganim in the top-half semi, and while McGowan is on a great closing run, I think Roberts’ experience will see him through in a tight bottom-half semi. Ganim, I think, will edge Hebert in the top half of the blood round, but it could go into sudden victory time or deeper. McGowan should have a close if not solid win in the bottom half.

145: 1. Noah Wilson (4th, Wakulla). 2. Max Metcalf (8th, Florida High). 3. Grant Stanish (13th, Clay). 4. Connor Spossey (11th, Pedro Menendez).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Reid Hampton (12th, Episcopal); Logan Gall (Mosley).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Jaquary Pratt (10th, Suwannee); Wyatt Kirkpatrick (Rocky Bayou).
First-round match worth price of admission: Pratt v. Alex Strain (South Walton).
My too-short take: Wilson should move through the top half of the bracket with some confidence. There’s more possibilities for upsets in the bottom half, but to me, at least, Metcalf is the clear choice.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Gall moves on, with a solid win over Yulee’s Jesse Johnson in the quarters.
Second quarter: Wilson moves on, with a solid win over Hampton in the quarters.
Third quarter: Stanish moves on, with a solid win over Pratt in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Metcalf moves on, with a closer win over Spossey in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected: Jeffrey Ashby (Bolles), Kyle Roper (Bay), Strain (bye), Kirkpatrick. All the contested matches should be decisive in favor of the winners.
WB round 2 projected: Spossey, Pratt, Hampton, Kirkpatrick. Hampton might get a close match from Strain, but the others should all win decisively.
WB quarters projected: Spossey, Hampton. Spossey should have a solid win, and Hampton should get through, but it could be close against Kirkpatrick.
Semis/blood round: Wilson should win decisively over Gall in the top-half semi, while it should be a fun contest between Metcalf and Stanish in the bottom half. Spossey will also be more than Gall can probably handle in the top half of the blood round, and Stanish should use his experience advantage to pull through for a solid win over Hampton in the bottom half.

152: 1. Terrell Williams (3rd, Suwannee). 2. Micah Perdue (9th, Florida High). 3. Joey Cusick (4th, Bishop Kenny). 4. Jackson Osteen (Wakulla).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Keivontie Logan (16th, Rutherford); Cameron Frison (20th, Wolfson) Jered Mosley (Clay) & Nick Kendrick (Arnold).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): None.
First-round match worth price of admission: Frison vs. Osteen. Winner probably gets out, as I have them meeting in the top half of the blood round as well.
My too-short take: The bottom-half semi (we went chalk, with Williams’ 6-4 win over Cusick at Clay determinative) should determine the champion, but it’s the top half of the bracket that has more overall ability. It will be a test for Perdue to push through all of it and reach the final as projected.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Osteen moves on, with a very close win over Logan in the quarters.
Second quarter: Perdue moves on, with a close win over Mosley in the quarters.
Third quarter: Williams moves on, with a decisive win over Fernandina Beach’s Jeremiah Giedrys in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Cusick moves on, with a dominant win over Mosley’s William Carmichael in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected: Frison, Kendrick, Wylie Debarr (Bozeman) & Madison Melton (Godby). Melton might get a push from West Nassau’s Taison Mullins, but the others should win solidly if not decisively.
WB round 2 projected: Frison, Kendrick, Mosley, Logan. Frison and perhaps Kendrick will have close matches, but Mosley should win solidly and Logan decisively.
WB quarters projected: Frison, Logan. Both will be close; I could see both Kendrick and Mosley making these go the other way.
Semis/blood round: Perdue should move through with a solid win over Osteen in the top half, as he did at districts, while Williams — as mentioned earlier — wins close. Osteen’s experience, room and competition level sees him through over Frison in the top half of the blood round, while Cusick wins dominantly in the bottom half.

160: 1. Andrew Slade (8th, Bishop Kenny). 2. Angelo Philpot (10th, Westside). 3. Requan Works (12th, West Nassau). 4. Cole Baggett (Wakulla).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Chase Maddox (South Walton).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Noah Perdue (13th, Florida High); Caleb Ward (Mosley); Christian Cosson (Marianna).
First-round match worth price of admission: Cosson v. Kaiman Clark (Episcopal).
My too-short take: Slade will get a test in the quarters, but otherwise should roll through to the final out of the top half. Philpot’s win over Works to take District 3 last week established him as a finals contender, but he’ll have a tough semi with Perdue.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Baggett moves on, with a close win over Maddox in the quarters.
Second quarter: Slade moves on, with a closer win over Works in the quarters.
Third quarter: Perdue moves on, with a closer win over Ward in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Philpot moves on, with a solid win over Cosson in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected: Wil Dorvilus (Clay), Zack Duncan (Rutherford), Rick Garcia-Bengochea (Bolles), Clark (bye). All three hould be at least solid to decisive wins.
WB round 2 projected: Cosson, Ward, Works, Maddox. All four should win solidly, Works should have a dominant win.
WB quarters projected: Ward, Works. Cosson will give a test to Ward in the top half, but Works should win solidly, if not decisively, in the bottom.
Semis/blood round: Slade should take a bonus point at least in the top half, and it could be a close semi in the bottom half. Ward will be a tough challenge for Baggett, but Baggett should be able to get through in the top half of the blood round, and I expect Works to win the third of his four consi-side wins with a solid win in the bottom half.

170: 1. Garrison Kovacs (8th, Mosley). 2. Harris Barton (10th, South Walton). 3. John Maddox (12th, Marianna). 4. Raynarde Thomas (18th, Raines).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Hayden Reeves (16th, Wakulla) & Jack Pyburn (Bolles).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Chauncy Riggsby (17th, Florida High) & Nolan Scheets (Bishop Kenny).
First-round match worth price of admission: Riggsby v. Maddox.
My too-short take: At least at districts, Kovacs established himself as the wrestler to beat at regions, but District 1 is very solid at this weight, with either Barton or Maddox getting out to the final and maybe the bottom-half guy winning this time around.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Kovacs moves on, with a decisive win over Bishop Snyder’s Kennan Wilder in the quarters.
Second quarter: Reeves moves on, with a closer win over Pyburn in the quarters.
Third quarter: Barton moves on, with a close win over Thomas in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Maddox moves on, with a solid win over Scheets in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected: David Chinchilla (FSDB – bye), Luca Fiannaca (Clay), Jose Irisarri (Suwannee – bye), Riggsby. Riggsby should win decisively, Fiannaca should win but it could be closer.
WB round 2 projected: Scheets, Thomas, Pyburn, Riggsby. Riggsby might get a test in this round, the others should all win decisively.
WB quarters projected: Thomas, Riggsby. Interesting stylistic clash in the top half but should be close, Riggsby should also get past Pyburn in a solid decision.
Semis/blood round: Kovacs will get pushed by Reeves in the top-half semi, and I expect all-out war between Barton and Maddox in the bottom half. Thomas might be a bit much for a freshman to handle in the top half of the blood round, while there’ll be another close match in the bottom half between Maddox and Riggsby.

182: 1. Andrew Annand (6th, Wakulla). 2. Nathan Manning (12th, Fernandina Beach). 3. Corey Davis (11th, Marianna). 4. Blaine Howard (18th, Suwannee).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Jamari Watson (17th, Raines), Almando Martinez (Clay), Ethan Asbury (Bolles).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Jake Bingham (Arnold), Esa Farah (Bishop Kenny).
First-round match worth price of admission: Howard v. Bingham.
My too-short take: Annand has been playing second fiddle for a couple of seasons now, but this year, he should be the solid favorite to roll through the bracket, particularly in the top half. The bottom half of the bracket is a bit lighter, with Manning having the experience and, apparently, the health to make a state run.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Davis moves on, with a solid win over Watson in the quarters.
Second quarter: Annand moves on, with a solid win over Asbury in the quarters.
Third quarter: Manning moves on, with a decisive win over Godby’s Julian Green in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Howard moves on, with a closer win over Farah in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected: Dane Litzinger (Pedro Menendez – bye), Almando Martinez (Clay), Ethan Cole (North Bay Haven – bye), Bingham. Martinez should win decisively, Bingham solidly.
WB round 2 projected: Farah, Martinez, Asbury, Bingham. Farah should win decisively, but the other matches all could be quite close.
WB quarters projected: Farah, Asbury. Both should be close wins.
Semis/blood round: Annand should have a solid win in the top half of the semis, while I think it will be very tight, perhaps sudden-victory tight, between Manning and Howard in the bottom half. Davis will be too much for Farah to overcome in the top half of the blood round, while Howard should get past Asbury with a closer decision.

195: 1. John Trevor Hinsey (3rd, Wakulla). 2. Xavier Stillgess (17th, Rutherford). 3. Tommy Graden (7th, Bishop Snyder). 4. Michael Crawford (9th, Yulee).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Jordan Bell (Clay).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Uriah Giedrys (Fernandina Beach), Jonah Mercer (18th, Marianna), Carter Payne (Pedro Menendez).
First-round match worth price of admission: Hinsey v. Giedrys.
My too-short take: There’s only 12 wrestlers in the bracket, but of the ones who are here, Hinsey is going to be the solid if not overwhelming favorite. He should get a solid match from Graden in the semis, but should move on as champ, although there could be a couple of different kids from the top half who could get out to the final.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Stillgess moves on, with a solid win over Bell in the quarters.
Second quarter: Crawford moves on, with a solid win over Bolles’ Kyle Coffindaffer in the quarters.
Third quarter: Hinsey moves on, with a solid win over Mercer in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Graden moves on, with a solid win over Payne in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected: Diego Duprey (Florida High), Robert Harrell (Godby), Giedrys, Alexus Heintzelman (Mosley), all with byes.
WB round 2 projected: Payne, Mercer, Giedrys, Bell. Giedrys should have a closer win, but the others should all win decisively.
WB quarters projected: Mercer, Bell. Mercer should win solidly, Bell might have a closer win.
Semis/blood round: Stillgess takes a nail-bitingly close win in the top half, while Hinsey wins closer against Graden in the bottom half. Crawford should win a close match over Mercer in the top half of the blood round, while Graden has a solid win in the bottom half.

220: 1. Ja’Tyren Walker (6th, Godby). 2. Slade Watkins (7th, Wakulla). 3. Joe Grelli (10th, Clay). 4. Freddy Dollison (Episcopal).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Bradley Durrance (12th, Yulee), Elton Rumph (17th, Rutherford).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Casey Peppers (18th, Arnold), David Adewale (Bolles).
First-round match worth price of admission: Durrance v. Billy Duchaj (13th, Suwannee); Watkins v. Robbie Elefterion (Fernandina Beach, 19th). The losers of these matches might not get past Friday night.
My too-short take: I project a District 2 rematch in the finals — and if so Katy bar the door, because that went to ultimate-tiebreaker last week at Suwannee. I just wonder how strong Walker would be at this point with a full season of wrestling under his belt. Lots of possibles for those 3rd and 4th spots, maybe as many as eight. The two that get them are going to have to step up and take them in the heat of the moment.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Watkins moves on, with a closer win over Rumph in the quarters.
Second quarter: Dollison moves on, with a close win over Durrance in the quarters.
Third quarter: Walker moves on, with a closer win over Peppers in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Grelli moves on, with a close win over Adewale in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected: Elefterion, Duchaj, Jakius Hunt (Westside), Logan Strickland (Mosley). All should win decisively.
WB round 2 projected: Adewale, Peppers, Durrance, Rumph. Top half matches should both be close, bottom half matches should be decisive wins.
WB quarters projected: Adewale, Durrance. Both very close. Both could easily go the other way.
Semis/blood round: Watkins wins a close match in the top-half semi, while Walker takes a solid victory in the bottom half. Dollison and Adewale reprise their District 4 final in the top half of the blood round, and Adewale does have wins in this rivalry too. Grelli and Durrance reprise their District 3 in the bottom half of the blood round.

285: 1. Darius Wilkins (2nd, Wakulla). 2. Jamon Goodwine (3rd, Raines). 3. Derrick Mosley (6th, Clay). 4. Ray Bolden (7th, Westside).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Joshua Yarbrough (13th, Godby), Jonathan Heller (Bay), Grayson Pope (Yulee).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Curtis Leggett (Bishop Kenny).
First-round match worth price of admission: Heller v. Pope. Winner could make the semis & blood round, loser could go two-and-out. Depends which Pope shows up, and his coach might agree with me.
My too-short take: Wilkins went 3-2 with Goodwine in the Clay semifinals three weeks ago, and I would project another classic struggle in the final. Not sure I see anybody else make the final, but there are several possibles for third and fourth. The top half of the consi bracket is going to be really intense.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Pope moves on (assuming he wins in round 1, no sure or easy thing), with a solid win over Bolles’ Cam Neal in the quarters.
Second quarter: Goodwine moves on, with a closer win over Yarbrough in the quarters.
Third quarter: Wilkins moves on, with a closer win over Mosley in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Bolden moves on, with a closer win over Leggett in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected: Heller (bye), Joseph Carey (Arnold), Roosevelt Williams (Marianna), Kyle Burden (Rocky Bayou – bye). Both contested matches should end in decisive wins.
WB round 2 projected: Leggett, Mosley, Yarbrough, Neal. Leggett, due to short season but impressive performance within it, is a complete wildcard, even more so than Pope might be. That match could go either way by fall. The others should be decisive in favor of the projecteds.
WB quarters projected: Mosley, Yarbrough. Both should be solid, if not decisive, wins.
Semis/blood round: Goodwine is too strong for Pope in the top half semi, and same goes for Wilkins in the bottom half, but Bolden should hang on a bit longer and perhaps force a closer six-minute match. Mosley, too, should push past the top half of the blood round against Pope, while Bolden should win a closer match against Yarbrough, but neither will be easy to accomplish.

All statewide rankings as created by Brant Parsons and as updated February 26.

Curious about what Brant thinks (after all, you might like his better)? Here’s links to his four 1A previews (they’re not all out yet, we’ll update our post to reflect):

• 1A-Region 1: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/highschool/wrestling/os-sp-wrestling-region-preview-1a-1-2019-story.html
• 1A-Region 2: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/highschool/wrestling/os-sp-wrestling-region-preview-1a-2-2019-story.html
• 1A-Region 3: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/highschool/wrestling/os-sp-wrestling-region-preview-1a-3-2019-story.html
• 1A-Region 4: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/highschool/wrestling/os-sp-wrestling-region-preview-1a-4-2019-story.html

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3A-Region 1 preview

When & where: Flagler Palm Coast HS in Palm Coast. First session is set for noon Friday (as all are in all classes statewide). Saturday’s first session is set for 10 a.m., the second session typically is at the discretion of the tournament director for a mid- to late-afternoon start.
Team favorite: Fleming Island, with 13 District 1 champions and 14 finalists, will be exceptionally difficult to overcome this year. This was supposed to be a year where the Golden Eagles were building toward a 2019-20 season where they might win everything. They’re pretty close to doing that. Right now.
Can anybody challenge the Golden Eagles?: Team-wise, Fleming will enter as the favorite and should emerge with the region title, but they’ll get tests from 11-time District 3 champ Winter Springs, along with Hagerty and Freedom, in competition for the team title race.
Local outlook in a nutshell: Buchholz is still a candidate for a top-five team position, despite finishing as far back of the Golden Eagles as they did at districts. Look for Fletcher and Flagler Palm Coast to contend for top-10 positions. The remainder of the outlook will be published weight class by weight class. First thing to be said is — for most of the kids in this tournament — that this is the toughest tournament they will have been in all season. A lot of decent kids go home early. Region 1 is the deepest of the four 3A tournaments.
Print this region’s brackets here: REGION 1 BRACKETS

The key thing to remember: Prove me wrong. Or prove me right. I like either one. I’m not telling which one is better. You’ll have to figure that one out for yourself. Remember also that I want to see as many local kids get to state as possible. Keep that in mind too as you read these.

Matmen’s state qualifier predictions, sure to be wrong —

106: 1. Ryan Rowland (1st in 3A, Hagerty). 2. Hunter Herrington (11th, Fleming Island). 3. Zion Gonzalez (6th, University-Orange City). 4. Victor Altamirano (15th, Wekiva).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Joseph Lyttle (16th, Boone).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Aiden Moore (14th, Buchholz) & Lens Mathurin (13th, Freedom).
First-round match worth price of admission: Lyttle vs. Cade Eisenhut (18th, Lake Howell). Winner should make Saturday, loser projects not to.
My too-short take: Rowland is the solid choice in a bottom half that is lighter than the top half. Top quarter of the bracket should produce his finals opponent, one way or the other.
Local outlook: Key to Herrington’s tournament is getting past Gonzalez in the quarters. Do that (I don’t see that they’ve met this season), and he should make finals, as he’s wrestling very well down the homestretch. Mandarin’s Nathan Bremer is in a quarter with three ranked wrestlers and would probably face a third one even if he does win one of those two matches within the quarter. Buchholz’s Aiden Moore I have reaching the blood round and Altamirano, but that could be an under-ranking. With a solid push Saturday, he could get out. Oakleaf’s Marcus McGee has a quarter that can be worked with, but Mathurin would be too strong in the quarter and either Gonzalez or Herrington looms on Friday night on the other side. McGee needs to win that first-rounder to have a best chance for Saturday, because the top quarter of the consi bracket is not insurmountable.

113: 1. Angel Giraldo (6th, Lake Howell). 2. Riley Holton (4th, Fleming Island). 3. Gabe Rendon (10th, Oviedo). 4. Erick Rocher (13th, Freedom).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Tyler Esposito (West Port) & Ethan Garcia (Lake Mary).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Tyrese Hicks (Dr Phillips) & Jacob McCrimmon (17th, Timber Creek).
First-round match worth price of admission: Rendon v. Esposito. They could meet twice in this tournament.
My too-short take: Holton has been in big environments and stepped up big-time in most of them in his first year of starting, but I’m going to tab the region-tournament experience factor that Giraldo has. Certainly the schedules the two have wrestled does favor Holton.
Local outlook: Holton has a pretty light quarter and should get to Saturday without too much trouble; Rendon will be a tougher out in the semis. Atlantic Coast’s Eric Harper has 90 wins facing him in his quarter, so a third match Friday night would be an accomplishment. Flagler’s Joseph Rizzo has a winnable first-rounder but likely has Hicks in the quarter and (as I have it) Esposito in WB round 2. Buchholz’s Venumadhava Mirel has McCrimmon in round 1 and should get a third match in the consis, but probably is at least a year away from being a Saturday qualifier.

120: 1. Briar Jackson (2nd, Fleming Island). 2. Christian Fields (6th, Freedom). 3. Bryan Perkins (11th, Buchholz). 4. Victor Perez (Lake Howell).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Allen Maxwell (10th, Winter Springs).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Jaeden Trost (17th, West Orange), Nathan Stewart (Hagerty) and Abdiert Escobar (Oakleaf). Deep bottom half.
First-round match worth price of admission: Perkins v. Perez. Winner probably gets out, loser has solid chance to claw back into having a chance of getting out.
My too-short take: Jackson should be pretty confident with his chances throughout the weekend; there’s a bit of air in both sides of the bracket, but the bottom-quarter winner should get out to the final to join Jackson.
Local outlook: Jackson could face ranked wrestlers in the quarters and semis prior to the final. There’s room for Flagler’s Evan St Pierre to find a win, but probably on the consi half of the bracket. Perkins I have reaching the quarters, and then the locals knock each other out in the top half of the consi bracket, as I project Oakleaf’s Abdiert Escobar vs. St Pierre in WB round 2 and the winner of that getting Perkins on Saturday morning in the quarter. Escobar does have a winnable first-rounder and an outside chance at a semi.

126: 1. Dylan Kohn (3rd, Hagerty). 2. Ryan Hobson (15th, Fleming Island). 3. Alex Vazquez (20th, Lake Mary). 4. Jayden Tapia (18th, Timber Creek).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Raphael Seabra (Olympia).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Jonathan Justice (University-Orange City), Jason Schwartz (17th, First Coast) & Julian Rocher (Freedom).
First-round match worth price of admission: Vazquez v. Camron Ward (Evans).
My too-short take: Kohn is the class of the weight class, but Hobson has proven himself plenty capable during Fleming Island’s stretch run in his first year as a starter for the Golden Eagles. Pretty deep class, could see seven kids contest for third and fourth.
Local outlook: Hobson should be good at least to the semi round, where Tapia or Vazquez (or Ward) could loom there. Sandalwood’s Juvens Augustin has to contend with 105 win in his quarter; even getting a third match would be a good tournament. I have Schwartz reaching the semis and the blood round, but Timber Creek sees just a little-bit stronger schedule (though First Coast did improve theirs this year). Atlantic Coast’s Kevin Thompson has a winnable WB round 1 matchup, but Seabra or Lake Brantley’s Chris Labrecque might be too tough in WB round 2.

132: 1. Joseph Gonzalez (2nd, Hagerty). 2. Lucas Moncrief (11th, Boone). 3. Dalton Baysinger (Fleming Island). 4. Preston Barber (West Orange).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Several, but most likely are Clayton Hurley (Apopka), Logan Custred (Timber Creek) and Fernando Rodriguez (Freedom).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Jamison Harris (Mandarin).
First-round match worth the price of admission: Custred v. Hurley.
My too-short take: From a state perspective, one of the lighter brackets of the group (only two state-ranked), but there could be as many as 10 kids contesting for third and fourth. Experience and grit? Those things are going to be massive difference-makers in this bracket this weekend.
Local outlook: Baysinger proved me wrong last week, so I have him reaching the semis, where he would meet Gonzalez, Hagerty’s talented freshman, with a winnable set of matches on the back. Oakleaf’s Logan Gilbert gets Gonzalez right off the bat and then faces one of two tough customers, both of whom should be Saturday qualifiers, in WB round 1. Flagler’s Drew Dance simply must get past the first round to have a best chance for Saturday, but either way he’s probably facing either Hurley and Custred in WB round 2. Mandarin’s Jamison Harris I have winning the opener on the front and taking two wins on the back, with a potential rematch with his offseason NFWA teammate, Baysinger, in the blood round.

138: 1. Matthew Phillips (3rd, Winter Springs). 2. Dalton Williams (7th, Fleming Island). 3. Noel Soto (9th, Boone). 4. JeanVoltaire Faustin (12th, Oak Ridge).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Chase McDonough (15th, University-Orange City) & Wilnes Accius (17th, Wekiva).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Chris Cristancho (Olympia), Blane DeFord (18th, Flagler Palm Coast) & Hunter Griffin (Buchholz).
First-round match worth price of admission: DeFord v. Cristancho.
My too-short take: I suspect both Phillips and Williams will move reasonably comfortably through the draw and reach the final, although the District 4 top pair — Soto and Faustin — could provide good semifinal tests. Another bracket with seven kids that could contest for two spots.
Local outlook: McDonough in the quarters should be a good battle for Williams in the quarter, but he has the chops to reach the final and get out. Fletcher’s Tyler Dalldorf might get a third match even if he falls to Accius in round 1, but that third match might be DeFord, who should be a Saturday qualifier no matter how his match with Cristancho goes down. Griffin has a winnable first-rounder, but Soto would be next. He can make Saturday, and it might be him against DeFord for a shot at the blood round. Griffin and DeFord went 5-3 in the District 1 semi.

145: 1. Ethan Woods (2nd, Hagerty). 2. JJ Contreras (3rd, Winter Springs). 3. Gannon Janssen (4th, Fleming Island). 4. Jared Purcell (6th, Lake Mary).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Sage Croft (12th, Windermere).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): David Parkes (17th, Oakleaf); Matthew Augustave (Oak Ridge).
First-round match worth price of admission: DeAngelo Fletcher (19th, Buchholz) v. Solomon Smith (15th, West Orange). Smith won, 4-3, at region dual semifinal.
My too-short take: As light as a couple of brackets are, this one is loaded. There is a ranked wrestler that won’t get past Friday, there’s a state placer (possibly two) that will have to get to states via the wrestlebacks, so everybody better be on state mode right from the jump.
Local outlook: Janssen will have been watching film on the Lyman match he lost to Contreras, 9-3, from back in December, but he’s in a much different place now, and should definitely get to states for the first time after seeing both of his first two attempts end in injury defaults. Sandalwood’s Lavaughn Brown should get a third match on Friday, but will have to face two ranked wrestlers in order to get to Saturday, and could get a look at Oakleaf’s David Parkes. Parkes has a winnable first-rounder, but might have to battle for states through the consis, as Woods projects to be a quarterfinal opponent. Whoever loses between Smith and Fletcher Friday night could be watching from the stands on Saturday, as Janssen or Contreras is their WB round 2 opponent.

152: 1. Luke Chop (4th, Fleming Island). 2. Jonathan Rodriguez (7th, West Port). 3. Hayden McCandless (3rd, Winter Springs). 4. David Pagan (5th, Freedom).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Jordan Albrecht (Edgewater).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Nick Esposito (18th, Hagerty), William Green-Church (20th, Buchholz) & Marcus Vega (19th, Deland).
First-round match worth price of admission: Green-Church v. Vega. Both wrestlers should get to Saturday, if not the blood round.
My too-short take: I haven’t found a Chop-McCandless match from this season or from the prior two, but one thing that’s stunned me most about this season from Chop is how much progress he’s made from year-to-year. Most recent example I can think of in the north is Chop’s former teammate Jason Davis, from the 2013-14 to the 2014-15 seasons.
Local outlook: Chop’s path to at least the semifinal is pretty clear, and even should he fall in the semi, he would be the favorite for third. Fletcher’s Tyson Petrie gets McCandless in the first round, and while there may be a winnable match in WB round 1, he will probably face a ranked wrestler Friday evening in round 2. The same might be said for Lee’s Ahmahd Denmark, although he wouldn’t face a ranked wrestler in round 2, but would be facing a tough customer with Saturday on the line. As we mentioned above, Green-Church’s Saturday chances are good, no matter what happens in the first round and he should be in the final eight, if not the final six, in the weight class.

160: 1. Wyatt Forsberg (4th, Winter Springs). 2. Tanner Hill (5th, Fleming Island). 3. Kale Moore (9th, University-Orange City). 4. Zabriel Allen (13th, Seminole).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Marquis Kelly (19th, Edgewater) & Justin Ferreter (Freedom).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Tracen Ransdell (14th, Buchholz) & Mathieu Byers (Hagerty).
First-round matches worth price of admission: Kelly v. Allen & Byers v. Trevor Beck (18th, Windermere). Kelly-Allen winner has a good chance to get out, while the Byers-Beck loser may have a hard time getting to Saturday.
My too-short take: Same as at 152, I don’t see a Hill-Forsberg match contested this year (they were in different weights at Lyman and lost in the same rounds of competition, in opposite halves of the brackets, at Knockout). It’s a real tossup, but should be fun to watch. If Hill wrestles as he did at state duals, he can win this bracket.
Local outlook: Hill should run through to the finals without too many concerns; Moore in the semi could be a solid test. Fletcher’s Stone Rockhill will have to stretch himself even to get a third match in this field. Ransdell I have reaching the semis and falling to Allen in the blood round, but he’s got a decent chance to get out; he sneaks under the radar with his more-acclaimed upper-weight teammates taking the spotlight. Sandalwood’s Leonardo Alonzo should definitely get three matches, no matter how his first-rounder goes, but he’ll also have to find another level in order to get to Saturday.

170: 1. Logan Perkins (7th, Hagerty). 2. Mike Esler (10th, Winter Springs). 3. Justin Foulk (Oviedo). 4. Gavin Smith (9th, Fleming Island).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Elijah White (8th, Edgewater).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Matt Vann (11th, Buchholz); Joey Kaminski (16th, Freedom).
First-round match worth the price of admission: Vann vs. Jason Rehberg (Windermere).
My too-short take: District 3 is really strong at this weight, and either Esler or Foulk (or Smith, to be sure) can get out to the final in the top half. But Perkins is far ahead of the group in this weight class.
Local outlook: If Smith can run the gauntlet — even his first-rounder is not a pushover — and hold his nerve, he can certainly reach the finals; experience in this tournament counts, though, and Esler and Foulk have it. Fletcher’s Joel Rodriguez we will see again over the next two years, and there’s a winnable match in his quarter of the bracket, but he has to face at least two ranked kids to get out to Saturday. Vann’s bid for a state berth starts right from the jump in the opening round, with Perkins awaiting in the quarters. He should go deep into Saturday, and could stand a chance to get out if he can solve the District 3 trio. First Coast’s Devante Wyatt (12th) is probably a year away from a state run, but can win his opening round match, with a possible semifinal appearance. He would either have to go through Smith or a very experienced District 3 kid in the blood round, though.

182: 1. Jessiah Contreras (1st, Winter Springs). 2. Ethan Lopez (16th, Hagerty). 3. Anthony Breeden (6th, Fleming Island). 4. Armando Acosta (7th, Buchholz).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Zack Ross (Oviedo).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Michael Strong (Fletcher) & Jordan Grant (18th, Freedom).
First-round match worth the price of admission: Grant v. Aaron Morris (Deland).
My too-short take: Whoever emerges out of the top quarter is going to face Contreras in the final. Going to be two monster quarters with Breeden v. Lopez (Lopez won 6-4 in overtime on the first day of state duals, hence we went chalk with the pick) and Contreras v. Acosta.
Local outlook: If Breeden can find a way with Lopez, who’s quite talented in his own right, he should have an easier path in the semi and get to the finals and a shot at Contreras. Sandalwood’s Joshua Newkirk has made tremendous progress this year, but at this level getting even a third match would be an accomplishment. Acosta drew the Contreras quarter, which is unfortunate, but should certainly get out this year (we did go chalk with the place-match pick, but that is certainly a 3rd-4th match to watch). Strong has a solid shot at Saturday, which is saying something for a sophomore, and we’ll see a lot more of him over the next two seasons.

195: 1. Bobby Williams (3rd, Winter Springs). 2. Chad Nix (4th, Fleming Island). 3. Matthew Simms (2nd, Apopka). 4. Lawrence Smith-Jackson (6th, Buchholz).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Elijah Vega (16th, Deland); Colton Curtis (12th, Freedom).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Christopher Telusma (Robert E. Lee, 9th).
First-round match worth the price of admission: Vega v. Shane O’Leary (Wekiva).
My too-short take: Going to be monster matchups on the bottom half of the draw in the quarters and semis. At least one placer-level wrestler will not get out. That’s the one thing that could favor Nix, who’s got a lighter half of the bracket to move through, which could help.
Local outlook: Nix won’t have any issues getting to the final, but may have to overcome some past history (loss by fall to Williams at Lyman, hence the chalk pick) to win the championship. Fletcher’s Mathew Strong might find a rough go in this quarter, but could maybe get three matches on Friday. Smith-Jackson would get Simms in the quarters and possibly again for third. He’s got a state podium-level game and just needs to remember that through the weekend. Telusma I have getting to Saturday, and if his schedule over the last few years had given him some opportunity to see the stars of the weight class a little more often, he could be more of a threat to get out.

220: 1. Jeffrey Lascano (4th, Fleming Island). 2. Will Holt (11th, Lake Mary). 3. Nevan Burney (15th, Buchholz). 4. Nick Rehberg (Winter Springs).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Jordan Smith (13th, Seminole).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Cyrus Yousofi (West Orange), Christopher Miceli (Oviedo) & Ethan Hollenbach (17th, Fletcher).
First-round match worth price of admission: Miceli v. Yousofi. Both should go deep into the tournament Saturday.
Local outlook: Lascano might get a solid challenge prior to the final, but I think it’s his bracket for the taking, in light of the progress he’s made; it takes a truly powerhouse 220 to overpower him. Atlantic Coast’s Seth Miller might have a shot at winning a match on Friday, but it’s more likely to come in the wrestlebacks. I have Burney getting out, but Miceli is no ordinary fourth-place competitor and Burney will have to stay focused on the big prize in order to reach Kissimmee next week. Hollenbach also has a chance to get out, certainly to reach Saturday, but he would also have to stretch in the deeper rounds to nab a top-four spot.

285: 1. Curtis Ruff (1st, Seminole). 2. Matt Saint John (5th, Winter Springs). 3. Stanley Hollenbach (2nd, Fletcher). 4. Ben Moxley (7th, Lake Mary).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Nick Walker (14th, Hagerty).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Raul Gonzalez (12th, Fleming Island) & Antonio Voravong (Colonial).
First-round matches worth price of admission: Hollenbach v. Walker; Moxley v. Gonzalez. Winners probably get out, losers probably go deep into Saturday, but much harder road. Could see these matches twice this weekend.
My too-short take: The championship match probably gets decided in the semis, where we’re likely to see a 1 v 2 setup between Ruff and Hollenbach; we say that because Ruff pinned his way through districts, and it’s most likely that a District 3 wrestlers gets out of the bottom half.
Local outlook: For Hollenbach, states starts a week early, as he’ll have state-level competition in every round of the tournament. We’ve picked against him before, only to be wrong. First Coast’s Gus Martinez gets Ruff in the first round and does have a winnable WB round 1 match, but a Saturday appearance would be a very solid tournament. Mandarin’s Nick Wilbur should only get better over the next two years, particularly with off-season work, but he has Saint John in round 1 and one of two very experienced kids in the wrestlebacks. Gonzalez, who is certainly an undersized heavy (he lost a wrestleoff to Lascano for the 220 spot last fall), has nevertheless proven his mettle all season, and should get to Saturday, if not the blood round, but Moxley is a solid medal threat next week.

Curious about what Brant thinks (after all, you might like his better)? Here’s links to his four 3A previews (they’re not all out yet, we’ll update our post to reflect):

• 3A-Region 1: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/highschool/wrestling/os-sp-wrestling-region-preview-3a-1-2019-story.html?fbclid=IwAR1jiSDk0JewRelJslJHnE3Jbw49tjhxk2MYRkdNpHfkHo2ztYBr9E4je6U
• 3A-Region 2: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/highschool/wrestling/os-sp-wrestling-region-preview-3a-2-2019-story.html?fbclid=IwAR3aU-X0MQaoQx3JuXhR7pWIU2LUKbFcBgeq37wwKpwsLFahGaAR4l5b7N0
• 3A-Region 3: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/highschool/wrestling/os-sp-wrestling-region-preview-3a-3-2019-story.html?fbclid=IwAR1E41N1vbpv2ZWh94q9VEwib3kre6ohtegK7_9I9B1LVYsfYQYIu5OTpPQ
• 3A-Region 4: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/highschool/wrestling/os-sp-wrestling-region-preview-3a-4-2019-story.html?fbclid=IwAR1nrTm_CObAlegsgThXuUjojUEG7tdyotzRDdQMEdxCwRjJtB_50gt5i6o

All statewide rankings as created by Brant Parsons and as updated February 26.

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1A-Region 2 preview

When & where: The Master’s Academy, Oviedo. First session is set for noon Friday (as all are in all classes statewide). Saturday’s first session is set for 10 a.m., the second session typically is at the discretion of the tournament director for a mid- to late-afternoon start.
Team favorite: Lake. Highland. Prep. Next?
Can anybody challenge the Highlanders?: No. Next?
Local outlook in a nutshell: I think Palatka will get a few kids to Saturday — their lowers are too solid not to get some that far — but from there, it’s going to come down to experience and grit, and those are values that are tough to predict from a distance. There are a couple of kids that are state-capable in the Panther lineup. Interlachen has just one wrestler in the tournament, and him getting to Saturday, given the draw he has, will be difficult. Keystone Heights is in its first year of post-season competition this year, and this tournament will be a stern test and learning experience for the Indians.

Print this region’s brackets here: REGION 2 BRACKETS

The key thing to remember: Prove me wrong. Or prove me right. I like either one. I’m not telling which one is better. You’ll have to figure that one out for yourself.

Matmen’s state qualifier predictions, sure to be wrong —

106: 1. Danny Nini (1st in 1A, Lake Highland Prep). 2. Brandon Cody (15th, The Master’s Academy). 3. Keith Germain (Weeki Wachee). 4. Jamey Bruner (10th, Atlantic).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Wesley Dallas (Palatka); Heaven-Leigh Jackson (Hernando).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Anthony Edwards (14th, Space Coast).
First-round match worth price of admission: Edwards v. Ezra Yoder (Villages).
My too-short take: We should have a District 7 finals rematch in the final here, one way or the other. There’s quite a bit of play in the bottom half of the consis, where any one of three kids could emerge out and take third (Jackson and Dallas as well as Germain; Jackson did have a win in hand at districts).
Local outlook: I have Dallas as a dark horse. If he can overcome Bruner in the quarterfinals, his road to states gets a little easier, because I think the top half of the consis is a bit more open to get out. Going through the bottom half is going to be harder. We’ll see Keystone Heights eighth-grader Jason Bowden, hopefully, for a few years yet, but this year the road is going to be a tough one and even getting a third match on Saturday would be an accomplishment.

113: 1. Jake Wohltman (1st, Lake Highland Prep). 2. Jacob Tihoni (16th, Satellite). 3. Jonathan Britton (7th, Hernando). 4. Jonathan Dominguez (6th, Nature Coast).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Dominick Scaffedi (11th, Weeki Wachee).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Ryan Vite (Space Coast.
First-round match worth price of admission: Scaffedi v. Isaac Montalvo (Atlantic).
My too-short take: Wohltman won’t be pushed too hard in this bracket; I chose Tihoni on the experience factor as much as anything else, particularly given that there was some shuffle in the District 6 order of things. To me, the semi between Wohltman and Britton is the real final.
Local outlook: No locals in the weight class.

120: 1. Billy Gould (6th, Hernando). 2. Preston Walls (7th, Lake Highland Prep). 3. Azizbek Rustamiy (Atlantic). 4. James Nguyen (Bishop Moore).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Ontarius Reid (Palatka) & Lane Beck (Weeki Wachee).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Seth Brown (15th, Leesburg).
First-round match worth price of admission: Rustamiy v. Brown. Winner, I believe, gets out.
My too-short take: I really don’t want to go chalk here, because I’m sure Walls has probably watched film on this match with Gould — which they had at state duals, which Gould won by a point — about a dozen times this week and one thing every team in Florida knows by now, you will not out-prepare a Highlander.
Local outlook: I have Reid as a dark horse and reaching the semis and blood round. Getting to the semis isn’t the hardest part; Reid has a nice quarter to work with and should be able to get to Saturday on the front. LHP in the semis is another matter, and my concern once it goes over to the blood round, kids with a deeper schedule, like that wrestled by Bishop Moore, often have the advantage. There’s a good chance Reid gets out, but not a slamdunk chance.

126: 1. Nic Bouzakis (1st, Lake Highland Prep). 2. James Creech (14th, Villages). 3. J Lisk (16th, Hernando). 4. Keyshaun Taylor (Leesburg).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): James Fournier (Weeki Wachee) & Austin Carter (12th, Titusville).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Drevon Wallace (19th, Palatka).
First-round match worth price of admission: Fournier v. Alexander Tomesko (Bishop Moore).
My too-short take: Always take the chalk with Bouzakis. ALWAYS. Four possibles out of the top half to reach the final.
Local outlook: I have Wallace reaching the quarters, falling to Lisk there, and then making his way through to the blood round, where there would be a rematch of the District 5 final with Taylor. Wallace, to me, is the best on the Panther side, and is due for a state appearance. Palatka just has to amp up its schedule, though, because schedule might carry Lisk through, and Wallace will have a tough consi quarter against Space Coast even before Taylor. Like Reid, a chance Wallace gets out, but not a slamdunk chance. Keystone Heights’ Isabella Hanna will be doing well to get a third match Friday.

132: 1. Vincent Menozzi (2nd, Lake Highland Prep). 2. Michael Watson (13th, Cocoa Beach). 3. Michael Brown (17th, Hernando). 4. Cameron Rima (18th, Villages).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Rafael Lopez (Satellite) & Cole Vedder (Weeki Wachee).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Tristen Carbonell (Bishop Moore).
First-round match worth price of admission: Brandon Lewis (Palatka) v. Avante Chamble (Atlantic).
My too-short take: Menozzi has been a capable competitor ever since getting varsity time for LHP; bottom half of the bracket is stronger, with three possibilities for getting out.
Local outlook: Lewis, just a freshman, could be the kick-start to revitalizing the Panthers’ program, which has struggled for numbers despite a really nice nucleus of lower-weight juniors. No matter what happens in the round of 16 or quarters, I think he’s a Saturday qualifier, but even reaching the blood round will require beating kids with longer resumes who’ve been in this arena before. We will see him again. I have Interlachen’s Elijah Miller getting three matches, but he could see Lewis or Weeki Wachee’s Cole Vedder in WB round 2 Friday night, and that’s a tall order.

138: 1. Justin Rivera (1st, Lake Highland Prep). 2. Josh Pritz (4th, Hernando). 3. Billy Fetzner (10th, Nature Coast). 4. James Clark (Cocoa Beach).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Roderick Bruce (10th at 132, Crystal River) & Michael Squires (Space Coast).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): None.
First-round match worth price of admission: Jeremiah Epps (Atlantic) v. William Watkins (Titusville).
My too-short take: Rivera is going to dominate this bracket. The winner between Fetzner and Clark will for sure get out, and maybe both do. Solid top half, but Pritz is top of that group.
Local outlook: I think Palatka’s DJ Nealy could get three matches, but it might depend on winning that first-rounder against Central, Brooksville’s Caleb Wood. A loss to Wood means facing Satellite’s Jaiden Rittenhouse, a fourth-place finisher, but District 8 was particularly solid at that weight and Rittenhouse has beaten some good people. If Nealy wins round 1, he has a chance to make Saturday, but I have Villages advancing past him Friday night (of course, with full Palatka results from that event I might make a different call).

145: 1. Chris Rivera (1st, Lake Highland Prep). 2. Boston Tafelski (8th, Hernando). 3. Solen Sheppard (3rd, Gulf). 4. Jason Amato (13th, Space Coast).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Devin Hernandez (Bishop Moore) & Caleb Middelton (Rockledge).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): None.
First-round match worth price of admission: Hernandez v. Jeremiah Funk (Cocoa).
My too-short take: Rivera is going to dominate this bracket. The semi between him and Sheppard might be the real “final.” Tafelski won’t be touched on the top half, but those he goes through should do some damage in the consis.
Local outlook: If either Keystone Heights’ Dylan Page or Palatka’s Colby Poupore gets a third match, it will be an accomplishment. Both kids will get a taste of what they’ll need to work on; the experience level required just to get to Saturday at regions, let alone getting out, is not somewhere they’re at just yet, but it’s in their hands to change that starting this off-season.

152: 1. Dominic Isola (3rd, Lake Highland Prep). 2. Bronson Tafelski (8th, Hernando). 3. Ethan Hatcher (14th, Villages). 4. John King (15th, Rockledge).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Landon Coleman (Atlantic), Tyler Swingle (17th, Cocoa Beach), Jason Dutton (Gulf).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Gavin Wheeler (10th, Bishop Mooe), Taiyo Kirby (Satellite).
First-round match worth price of admission: There’s two good ones up top, but I’ll go with Swingle v. Dutton.
My too-short take: One of the stronger brackets in terms of depth. Isola wins it, Tafelski 2nd, that’s chalk. But so many possibilities are out there for the taking. Kirby winning District 8 makes this even more intriguing. There’s seven kids that could contend for third and fourth.
Local outlook: Like Page at 145, Keystone Heights’ Caleb Crawford would be doing very well to get a third match; his chances are a little better than Page’s, given that he’s probably looking at a sub-.500 wrestler in WB round 1, but Keystone needs to widen its competitive base in year 3 as a program, which I’m sure it will start to do, for its kids to compete at the region level.

160: 1. Cameron Monzadeh (2nd, Lake Highland Prep). 2. Ryan Cody (5th, The Master’s Academy). 3. Joey Smith (15th, Rockledge). 4. Jacob Carbonell (14th, Bishop Moore).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Andrew Esser (Crystal River).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Julio Escobar (Cocoa).
First-round match worth price of admission: Esser v. Kenny Tynan (Space Coast).
My too-short take: Monzadeh shouldn’t be stretched by anybody, but the bottom half doesn’t look too intimidating; his quarterfinal might be the best match before the final. As deep as 152 is, this bracket really comes down to four kids.
Local outlook: Eastside’s Ethan Anderson has a chance to win a match in the first round, or again in WB round 1, but I am not sure how solid a chance he has to get to Saturday. The better shot he has on that front is to beat Titusville’s Joseph Robinson in the round of 16 so that he can get into the second consi quarter. Then it might be possible.

170: 1. Hunter Brinkman (4th at 182, Lake Highland Prep). 2. Fernando Valdez (8th, Hernando). 3. Joe Scherer (7th, Satellite). 4. Isaiah Strong (17th, The First Academy).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Marcus Santos (13th, Space Coast).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Brian Strickland (Weeki Wachee).
First-round match worth price of admission: Strong v. Greg Williams (Cocoa).
My too-short take: Brinkman has a lot of losses (13), but he also has seen competition none of the rest of the region, and a lot of kids in the state in any class, have seen. I expect a close final, but I also expect the LHP training to pull Brinkman through.
Local outlook: Best chance for Keystone Heights’ Steven Reinhart to get a third match Friday is to win his first one. Reinhart is facing a fellow sub-.500 wrestler in the round of 16. I do feel, though, that it’s going to be a two-match tournament and experience on which to build for the future.

182: 1. Kai Bele (1st at 170, Lake Highland Prep). 2. Liam Harris (5th, The Master’s Academy). 3. Devicq Thompsen-Alexander (3rd, Rockledge). 4. Alex Espinal (9th, Hernando).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Tyler Godfrey (Crystal River).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Christopher Spellman (17th, Nature Coast).
First-round match worth price of admission: Klebert Charles (Weeki Wachee) v. Delcory Allen (Leesburg).
My too-short take: Wow, that ought to be a fun semifinal between Bele and Thompsen-Alexander. Thompsen-Alexander’s a tremendous athlete, but there’s a reason that Bele is already a Division I commit to, arguably, one of the strongest programs in the Southeast. Still, though, it’s a state final-level match stuck in a region semifinal.
Local outlook: Eastside’s Amir Bilal is in a tough quarter, with Spellman as a first-rounder, Thompsen-Alexander in the quarters. He could get a third match if he can beat Villages’ Jaden Markus in WB round 1, but that would most likely be Godfrey in WB round 2. Not great options for getting out to Saturday.

195: 1. Logan Andrew (1st, Lake Highland Prep). 2. Charles Alexander (2nd, Rockledge). 3. Jason Schmidt (5th, Weeki Wachee). 4. Peter Sagorski (20th, Cocoa Beach).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Jacob Forbes (14th, The First Academy) & Mason St John (11th, Villages).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Choogy Morris (10th, Satellite).
First-round match worth price of admission: Schmidt vs. John Butcher (Atlantic).
My too-short take: Another deep weight class, with at least five and maybe six kids that could take a run at third or fourth, and yet at the same time, one almost has to go chalk with the final. We could see this final play out again next week in Kissimmee.
Local outlook: Keystone Heights’ Gabe Adams would be doing well to get a third match, given the quarter he’s in, with Schmidt, Morris and Butcher in the same quarter. It’s been a bit of a refrain, but it bears repeating, that the experience Adams will gain from seeing this competitive level will give him much information with which to work in order to get better in 2019-20.

220: 1. Matt Kaplan (4th, Lake Highland Prep). 2. Jordon Love (9th, Rockledge). 3. Qwenton Coney (8th, Hernando). 4. Brian Henderson (Crystal River).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Decaon Straube (Weeki Wachee) & Enzo Benkiran (16th, The First Academy).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Robert Ware (Titusville) & T-Jay Mitchell (Space Coast).
First-round match worth price of admission: Kaplan vs. Jacob Buehrig (Hudson). Two state-ranked kids in round of 16.
My too-short take: I don’t think Kaplan is going to have a massive amount of worry in getting through the bracket, but a semi against Coney and final against Love would get him ready for states next week. Coney is probably the solid choice for third, but fourth could come down to one of three kids and the competitive levels they’ve faced this season to get ready for battles such as this one.
Local outlook: Eastside’s Afi McNeal has a chance to get a third match even if he loses his first-rounder with Mitchell, but a win over Mitchell could get him an outside shot at Saturday, the way the bracket breaks down. I think it’s a very slim shot, but it’s not impossible. Key, though, would be beating Mitchell in the round of 16, and that’s going to be tough to do.

285: 1. DeAudre Thomas (5th, Rockledge). 2. Brandon Dynia (7th, Crystal River). 3. Jesse Sorensen (8th, Central). 4. Sam Fleming (Hernando).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Francisco Tobar (Lake Highland) & Michael Marotta (Nature Coast).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Jared Jackson (14th, Atlantic) & Joshua Graham (13th, Villages).
First-round match worth price of admission: Thomas v. Jahkiye Facey (11th, Weeki Wachee). Another match with two state-ranked kids.
My too-short take: Tobar easily pinning both Graham and Jackson gives me pause about knocking him out of the front side of the bracket in the quarters, but Fleming does have an earlier win in hand (albeit a sudden-victory one). The winner of that quarter could get out to state. Despite bracket seeming somewhat light, Thomas could face four state qualifiers in the process of winning it.
Local outlook: Both Palatka’s Ethan Johnson and Eastside’s Zantavion Rushing (particularly Rushing) will do very well to get a third match. Rushing’s quarter has 92 wins and three state-ranked kids in it. Johnson could maybe get to WB round 2 as there’s a probable sub-.500 opponent in WB round 1, but then he could be looking at Tobar or Fleming.

All statewide rankings as created by Brant Parsons and as updated February 18.

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BOWLING GREEN, KY — Two Matmen area-alumni, like their NJCAA counterparts, will be competing in the NAIA national tournament on Friday in Des Moines, IA.

Cumberland (TN)’s Kaz Maia (Flagler Palm Coast ’16) and Southeastern’s Jason Davis (Fleming Island ’17) both received at-large berths for the tournament.

Maia, who joined the Phoenix team in January, took fourth at the Mid-South Conference tournament, competing at 149 pounds. He decisioned Life’s Mason Calvert, 11-8, in the quarters, then lost by fall to Cumberlands (KY)’s Tres Leon by fall in 3:23. After majoring Brewton-Parker’s Dean Esquibel, 12-2, in a match that essentially gave him a shot at nationals, Maia fell to Calvert, 5-4, in the third-place match.

Davis took sixth at 184 in that same tournament, with a quarterfinal 3-1 win in sudden victory over Lindsey Wilson’s Lucas Miozza. He then fell in double-overtime, 4-2, to Maia’s teammate, John Olivieri. In the consi semis, Davis took a 6-0 defeat against Cumberlands KY’s Max Emerson, then fell in double-overtime, 11-8, to Campbellsville’s Aaron Mosley. Davis is currently ranked 12th at 184 by Intermat.

Last Chance Open: At Ames IA (Iowa State) on February 17, Northwestern freshman Michael DeAugustino (Flagler Palm Coast ’18) won the 125-pound bracket while competing for the Chicago Regional Training Center. After a bye in the quarters, DeAugustino won by medical forfeit in the semis over Iowa State’s Alex Mackall, then decisioned another Iowa State wrestler, Corey Cabanban, 7-4, in the championship round. DeAugustino was one of three NU wrestlers to win for CRTC.

GPAC Championships: At Orange City IA on February 16, Briar Cliff placed second in the eight-team conference meet, with 130.5 points. Scott Dollison (Episcopal ’16) placed fifth at 285 pounds, with a 2-2 record. Dollison fell to Morningside’s Phil Rasmussen, 9-1, in the quarters, but then falled Hastings’ Daniel Gonzalez in 7:37, in sudden victory, to earn a place finish. After losing by fall to teammate Matt Wilke (1:51) in the consi semis, Dollison pinned Midland’s Alton Johnson in 1:02 for fifth place.

The Citadel 20, Davidson 18: At Charleston SC on February 20, the visiting Wildcats won more matches (5-4), but had only one bonus-point win, while all four Bulldogs won by bonus. One of the Davidson winners was Noah Satterfield (Marysville OH ’15, family lives in Ponte Vedra Beach area), who took a 6-2 decision at 174 over The Citadel’s Cooper Youngblood.

Newberry 19, Limestone 17: At Gaffney SC on February 14, the Wolves (coached by Clay & Newberry alum Cy Wainwright) clinched the inaugural South Atlantic Conference Carolinas championship thanks to a Patton Gossett fall at 285. Brandon Dickman (Creekside ’18) started at 197, at least a weight up from his natural weight, taking an 11-6 loss to the Saints’ Clif-Steven Decius.

NEWA Futures Invitational: At Hartford CT on February 17, Norwich’s Dominic Cerillo (Niceville ’17) was 0-2, competing at 133. Cerillo fell in the round of 16, taking an 11-4 loss to Springfield’s Jarred Tolotti. Cerillo then fell in WB round 1 to Wesleyan’s Kasim Khan.

Coker 26, Liberty 21: At Hartsville SC on February 14, the Cobras (assistant coached by University Christian & Coker alum Robert Parland) won five of six weights between 125 and 165 to take the dual, with bonus points in four of those six (pins at 133, 141 and 157, tech fall at 125).

Iowa 35, Wisconsin 2: At Madison on February 17, in a dual meet that saw both teams take subtractions of team points, the Badgers (coached by Bolles & Iowa State alum Chris Bono) had just one win in the dual, a 1-0 win from Trent Hillger at 285. Iowa had six wins by bonus points in the dual.

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North Florida Matmen staff report

Editor’s Note: OK, so we kind of got behind with this one feature. We don’t know if we’re going to catch up, or how exactly we’re going to catch up, but we are going to give it a shot over the next few days.

MASON CITY, IA — Two Matmen-area alumni will be particpating in Friday’s NJCAA national tournament in Council Bluffs, IA.

Representing Iowa Lakes Community College will be 149-pound Tracy Davis (Fleming Island ’16) and 165-pound Tyrone Jones (Matanzas ’18). At the regional tournament on February 10, Jones placed fourth and Davis fifth in their respective weight classes.

At 165, Jones won a pigtail match by fall over host North Iowa Area’s Xavier Judge, in 1:03. He then took two subsequent losses to place fourth, falling to Iowa Central’s Travis Willers (2:19) in the semis, then, after a bye, dropped a 7-2 decision to Ellsworth’s Khanden Howse in the third-place match.

At 149, Davis was 0-2 in taking fifth, with a 15-0 loss by tech fall to Iowa Western’s Melvin Hernandez in a pigtail match and a loss by fall in 4:59 in the consi semis to Iowa Central’s Yarhoski Aldiva.

Newberry Open: Four Matmen-area alumni participated in the Newberry Open, hosted by Newberry College (coached by Clay alum Cy Wainwright) on February 9.

At 125, Southeastern’s Zack Branning (Flagler Palm Coast ’15) took sixth, with a 2-3 record. Branning lost in the quarters to third-place Ryan More of Virginia Tech, 5-2, but bounced back for a podium spot with wins over teammate Esau Bazilme (former Osceola HS wrestler), 5-2, in WB round 2 and a 17-0 tech over Newberry’s Zach Valentine in the consi quarters. Branning then fell in the consi semis to Presbyterian’s Jacob Brasseur (5-1) and in the fifth-place match to Reinhardt’s Walker Byrd (3-2).

At 184, Newberry’s Brandon Dickman (Creekside ’18) was 2-2, with a third-period fall in the round of 16 over Queens University’s Jacob Balmas (6:57), falling to runnerup Zech Rives of Southeastern, 11-5, in the quarters. Dickman took a medical forfeit over Clemson’s Noah Wright in WB round 2, but then fell one match short of a place finish with a 3-2 loss to fifth-place Cameron Butler of Lindsey Wilson, in the WB quarters. Dickman also competed in Newberry’s 47-0 dual win over Queens on February 7, winning by forfeit at 197.

At 141, Central Florida’s Justin Trinh (Ridgeview ’16) was 1-2, opening with a 13-4 major over Newberry’s Michael Land. He then lost to fourth-place Reid Stewart of Presbyterian, 4-1, in the quarters and to fifth-place Devinaire Hayes of Queens University, 8-1, in WB round 2.

For some reason, the brackets on Trackwrestling were not completed at 165, where the University of Florida’s Alonzo Davis (Raines ’18) competed. Davis had a win over unattached wrestler Bryce Frutos, 9-5, and lost to Lindsey Wilson’s Bryce Hoffman, 3-2, in the quarters. No WB round resuls were available.

WCWA Nationals: At Marietta, GA, at the Cobb Civic Center, Life placed 12th as a team and Zoe Wight (Gulf Breeze ’14) was 3-2 in the tournament. Wight won her first match with a 10-4 decision over Jamestown’s Joy Muniz, then fell in the round of 16 to King’s Ashlynn Ortega, 8-1. The consis saw Wight won twice — 7-3 over Menlo’s Marilyn Garcia and 11-0 over Eastern Oregon’s Dempsi Talkington — before falling, 9-8, to Simon Fraser’s Sara Brinkac.

Southeast Wrestling Conference: Brackets were not readily available on Track or FloArena, so information on only Huntingdon was available. The Hawks were fifth i nthe tournament, as Matmen alumni Joseph Pearson (Ft Walton Beach ’17) was second at 285 and Cody Dixon (Ft Walton Beach ’15) third at 194.

Pearson won two matches by decision before losing by fall in the 285 finals, while Dixon was 3-1, with two techs (including in the third-place match), a decision and a loss by decision in the semis at 184.

UNC-Pembroke 33, Greensboro 12: At Greensboro on February 13, the visiting Braves won five straight matches between 165 and 285 to break open the dual. One of UNC-Pembroke’s winners was Kaleb Warner (Columbia ’15), who pinned Greensboro’s Ryan Dominique in 3 minutes, one of the Braves’ two falls on the night.

Pittsburgh 31, Davidson 6/Appalachian State 43, Davidson 0: At Davidson, NC, on February 9, the hosts won just two weights, both by decision, at 133 and 157. At 174, Davidson’s Noah Satterfield (Marysville OH ’15, family lives in Ponte Vedra Beach area) took a loss by tech fall (21-6 in 6:02) to the Panthers’ Gregg Harvey. On February 12, the Wildcats lost to Appalachian State, giving up seven losses by bonus point. Satterfield started the dual for Davidson, taking a 13-4 loss by major to App State’s Thomas Flitz.

Coe 44, Dubuque 6/Dubuque 43, Simpson 6: At Cedar Rapids, IA, on February 8, the visiting Spartans won just one match (285), by fall. At 174, Dubuque’s Delmontae Davis (Westside ’17) lost by tech fall, 17-0, to the hosts’ Jake Voss. Then, on February 13 at home, the Spartans hammered out eight wins, five of those by forfeit. Davis picked up one of those forfeits at 174 for the Spartans.

Wisconsin 17, Illinois 16 (criteria): At Madison on February 10, the Badgers — ranked 14th at the time — overcame a 16-9 deficit to win the dual, with Trent Hillger (285) winning with a 16-5 major and Jens Lantz (5-4 at 133), Cole Martin (7-1 at 149), Evan Wick (9-3 at 165) and Beau Breske (4-2 at 197 in sudden-victory time) took decisions. “I think what you’re going to see in our guys is fight. No matter how overwhelmed they are, no matter where they come from, they’re going to fight for us,” Wisconsin coach Chris Bono (Bolles & Iowa State alum) said.

King 24, Coker 18: At Bristol, TN, on February 10, the visiting Cobras (with assistant coaching by University Christian and Coker alum Robert Parland) won four matches, led by Bret Shurina’s fall at 157, a win by forfeit for Corey Christie (165) and decisions from Christopher Poland (5-2 at 133) and Marco Mason (7-2 at 184).

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North Florida Matmen staff report

LYNN HAVEN — The 2010s have not been kind to Mosley when it comes to district-level traditional tournament competition.

8th in 2A-District 1 in 2012. 9th in 2013. 8th in 2014. 8th in 2015. 3rd in the Dolphins’ first year in 1A-District 1, in 2016. 8th two years ago. 7th last year.

So it wasn’t quite a worst-to-first situation Saturday when Mosley edged past Arnold, 143-137.5, to win the 1A-District 1 title and, in so doing, defend the home mat. But it was close enough to it.

The 1A Dolphins qualified 10 of their 11 wrestlers for Friday’s 1A-Region 1 tournament, hosted by South Walton, with two champions, two runners-up, five thirds and one fourth on Saturday.

Arnold moved through nine wrestlers to regions, with two champions, three runners-up, two thirds and two fourths.

Marianna held off South Walton, 121-112, for third place. The 1A Bulldogs qualified eight wrestlers out, with two champions, one runnerup, four thirds and one fourth, while the Seahawks pushed six through, with three champs, two runners-up and one fourth.

Rutherford was fifth, with 78.5 points and five qualifiers (three champs and two fourths), while Bay was sixth at 59 points, also with five qualifiers (one champ and four fourths).

Wewahitchka edged North Bay Haven, 53-50, for the seventh spot. The Gators moved three to regions (one champ, one runnerup, one third).

Meanwhile, the Buccaneers also got three wrestlers out to South Walton, all of them runners-up.

Rocky Bayou Christian was ninth, with 41 points to Bozeman’s 37. Both the Knights and Bucks qualified out one runnerup, one third and one fourth each.

A complete tournament recap follows:

106 — Arnold top-seeded senior Tanner Brockman (13th in 1A, 56-11) won his first district championship in his first post-season appearance. Brockman pinned his way through the six-person bracket, with a semifinal pin (:35) over Marianna freshman William Carrel (pigtail fall in 1:48 over Wewahitchka’s Justin Johnson) and then fall in the finals over North Bay Haven eighth-grader Lucas Biddle (34-13) in 2:24 for the title. Biddle had two pins in reaching the final, falling South Walton’s Brett Canut (5:20) in the pigtails and pinning Mosley freshman Cole Bell (3:00) in the semis. Bell (28-28) came back for third with two pins of his own, pinning Johnson in 1 minute in the consi semis and then Carrel (12-25) in 42 seconds for third place. Carrel punched his South Walton ticket with a fall in 4:44 over Canut in the consi semis.

113 — Marianna second-seeded senior Neal Smith (17th, 13-8) won his second district championship (won last year as well) and will make his fourth region appearance after finishing second in 2017 and third in 2016. Smith won three times in a seven-person bracket, with a pigtail fall (:17 over South Walton’s Elden Roberts), semifinal major (15-4 over Wewahitchka eighth-grader Conner Roberts) and an 8-4 win in the finals over Arnold junior Will Ashby (14th, 46-18). Ashby got to the final with a 53-second fall over Bay freshman Corban Cherry, while Cherry and Roberts had pigtail wins to reach the semis (Cherry 12-7 over Rocky Bayou’s Luke Latham, Roberts in 1:04 over Rutherford’s Jacob Latham). The Lathams advanced in WB round 1 (Luke with a bye, Jacob by fall in 2:39 over Elden Roberts), but it would be Conner Roberts (10-4) that would come back for third, with pins in 2:37 over Luke Latham in the consi semis and 41 seconds in the third-place match over Cherry (9-9). Cherry punched his South Walton ticket with a 37-second fall over Jacob Latham.

120 — Arnold top-seeded freshman Nicholas Hejke (12th, 53-10) won his first district championship after finishing second last year for Bozeman, with two first-period falls in a five-person bracket. Hejke falled Marianna junior Dustin Arnold (pigtail 12-10 winner in sudden victory over Bay’s Brandon Hermes) in 1:18 in the semis, then pinned North Bay Haven senior Orlando Trevino (13-7) in 1:28 to take the title. Trevino reached the final with a semifinal pin in 2:38 over Rutherford sophomore Colin Dutton. Arnold (19-11) came back for third with a bye in the consi semis and 28-second fall over Dutton (25-14) in the third-place match. Dutton punched his South Walton ticket with a 22-4 tech (4:52) over Hermes in the consi semis.

126 — Wewahitchka top-seeded senior Johnathan Harvey (10th, 40-8) won his first district championship after finishing second in 2018, third in 2016 and second in 2015 for the Gators. Harvey pinned South Walton freshman Ryan Kurfirst (pigtail fall in 5:00 over Marianna’s Jayson Kyle) in the semis of a five-person bracket, then pushed past Bozeman senior Brian Zerr (18th, 41-15), 3-2, in the finals. Zerr falled Arnold sophomore Jacob Smith (20th) in 1:58 in the semis. Smith (19-7) would come back for third with two falls, punching his South Walton ticket with a consi-semi pin in 1:32 over Kyle, then falling Kurfirst (6-20), who had a bye in the consi semis, in 37 seconds for third.

132 — South Walton top-seeded senior Seth Weinthal (12th, 38-11) won his second district championship (won last year, also at 132) and will make his fourth region appearance after placing second in 2017 and third in 2016 for the Gators. Weinthal had three first-period falls in an eight-person bracket, pinning Bozeman’s Dylan Crawford (:40) in the quarters, Bay sophomore Jeremiah O’Neal (:58) in the semis and then Wewahitchka junior Jaden Moseley (26-19) in 1:06 for the title. Moseley, the 3 seed at 132 after spending most of the year down at 120, bonus-pointed his way into the final with a 46-second fall in the quarters over Arnold’s Spencer Korol and a 15-7 major over second seeded Mosley senior Lonnie Bell. O’Neal (:34 quarterfinal pin over Marianna’s Hunter Monday) and Bell (:38 quarterfinal pin over North Bay Haven’s Helmut von Knoblauch) both got to the semis. Monday (:20 over Crawford) and Korol (10-3 over von Knoblauch) advanced out of WB round 1, but it would be Bell (33-22) that took third, with an 11-6 consi-semi win over Monday and 57-second fall over O’Neal (19-23) in the place match. O’Neal punched his South Walton ticket with an 11-0 major over Korol.

138 — South Walton top-seeded senior Ethan Pickren (3rd, 47-1) won his fourth district championship and second with South Walton (won last year; also in 2016 and 2017 with Arnold). Pickren pinned his way through a five-person bracket, with a 21-second semifinal fall over Bozeman sophomore Kincade Lassiter (pigtail pin in 1:19 over Marianna’s Trett Phillips) and a fall in 3:03 in the final over Arnold senior Griffin Hebert (7th, 58-5). Hebert reached the final with a third-period tech over Mosley junior Jonathan Griffin (16-1 in 5:57). Griffin (29-20) came back for third with two pins, punching his South Walton ticket with a 36-second fall over Phillips in the consi semis and then fall in 2:28 over Lassiter (2-17), who had a bye in the consi semis, for third place.

145 — Mosley second-seeded junior Logan Gall (31-23) won his first district championship after placing third for the Dolphins a year ago. Gall decisioned Rocky Bayou junior Wyatt Kirkpatrick (pigtail fall in 1:54 over Arnold’s Trevyn Slik), 5-1, in the semis, then won by fall in the final over South Walton junior Alex Strain (17-15) in 4:36. Strain reached the finals with a pigtail fall over Marianna’s Ethan Heinemann (:48) and semifinal pin over Bay top-seeded junior Kyle Roper (1:07). Kirkpatrick (23-8) came back for third, pushing through decisions over Heinemann (8-2 in consi semis) and over Roper (23-13), 4-2 in sudden victory, for third place. Roper punched his South Walton ticket with a 53-second fall over Slik in the consi semis.

152 — Rutherford top-seeded senior Keivontie Logan (38-7) won his second district championship (also won in 2018) after placing third in 2017 for the Rams. Logan had two wins in a six-person bracket, with an 8-6 semifinal win over Arnold sophomore Nick Kendrick (pigtail fall in 1:07 over South Walton’s John Lopez), then coming back for a 59-second fall in the finals over Mosley junior William Carmichael (8-4). Carmichael reached the final with a pigtail fall in 1:09 over Marianna’s Cody Lewis and 11-6 semifinal win over Bozeman freshman Wylie Debarr. Debarr (16-7) came back for third with a fall in 1:59 in the consi semis over Lopez, then shut out Kendrick (40-28), 10-0, in the third-place match. Kendrick punched his South Walton ticket with a 50-second fall over Lewis in the consi semis.

160 — South Walton third-seeded sophomore Chase Maddox (28-20) won his first district championship after taking second in 2018. Maddox won three times in a seven-person bracket and faced the rest of the region-qualifying list along the way, pinning his way through the draw with falls over Rutherford sophomore Zach Duncan (1:41, pigtails), over Marianna sophomore Christian Cosson (2:25, semis) and then pinning Mosley senior Caleb Ward (37-12) in 4:50 for the title. Ward reached the final with a semifinal pin in 2:43 over Arnold’s Max Gaylord (pigtail win by DQ over Bozeman’s Chase Wyzard), while Cosson reached the semis with a 19-second fall over Rocky Bayou’s Jaden Scruggs. Wyzard (bye) and Duncan (fall over Scruggs in 1:56) advanced out of WB round 1, but it would be Cosson (26-19) that would take third. Cosson edged Wyzard, 7-6, in the consi semis and falled Duncan (16-14) in 1:31 for third place. Duncan punched his South Walton ticket with a 10-6 decision over Gaylord in the consi semis.

170 — Mosley top-seeded senior Garrison Kovacs (9th, 50-12) won his first district championship after placing third a year ago. Kovacs scored max points for his team in both of his matches within a six-person bracket, with a fall in 5:57 over Bay senior Cameron Butler (pigtail pin in 1:58 over North Bay Haven’s Hunter Malone) in the semis and medical forfeit win in the finals over South Walton senior Harris Barton (11th, 18-5). Barton advanced to the final with a pigtail pin in 1:11 over Arnold’s Stephen Watson, then survived a wild sudden-victory semifinal win over Marianna junior John Maddox, 14-12. Maddox (10th, 43-8) would come back for third, with pins in the consi semis over Malone (1:45) and over Butler (18-25) in 3:33 for third place. Butler punched his South Walton ticket with a 47-second fall over Watson in the consi semis.

182 — Marianna top-seeded junior Corey Davis (12th, 38-5) won his first district championship after placing third a year ago. Davis pinned his way thorugh a five-person bracket, needing just 1:01 of mat time to do it, with a semifinal pin over Mosley sophomore James Hall (pigtail fall in 4:54 over Bozeman’s Dalen Peacock) in 40 seconds and a 21-second pin in the final over North Bay Haven junior Ethan Cole (30-16). Cole reached the final with a semifinal pin in 1:21 over Arnold junior Jake Bingham. Bingham (13-7) would rally from that loss by taking third with two pins of his own in 1:01, punching his South Walton ticket with a 19-second fall in the consi semis over Peacock and a 42-second fall over Hall (4-14), who had a bye in the consi semis, for third place.

195 — Rutherford second-seeded sophomore Xavier Stillgess (20-8) won his first district championship after finishing second last year, with two wins in a three-person bracket. Stillgess pinned Mosley junior Alexus Heintzelman (4-3) in 2:19 in the semis, then turned back Marianna senior Jonah Mercer (18th, 35-13), 5-2, in the final. Mercer got a bye into the finals, while Heintzelman got that same bye in the third-place match.

220 — Rutherford second-seeded sophomore Elton Rumph (33-11) won his first district championship after finishing third last year, with two bonus-point wins in a six-person bracket. Rumph falled Rocky Bayou junior Jacob Perry (pigtail fall in 1:08 over Marianna’s Lawson Jackson) in 44 seconds in the semifinals, then cruised to a 13-1 major in the title match over Arnold senior Casey Peppers (11th, 49-10). Peppers reached the final with a 57-second fall in the semis over Mosley junior Logan Strickland (41-second pigtail pin over Bozeman’s David Hagans). Strickland (5-10) would come back for third, with pins over Jackson (:43) in the consi semis and over Perry (8-11) in 1:22 for third place. Perry punched his South Walton ticket with a 42-second pin over Hagans in the consi semis.

285 — Bay top-seeded junior Jonathan Heller (30-13) won his first district championship after finishing second last year for Rutherford, pinning his way through a six-person bracket. Heller falled Marianna junior Roosevelt Williams (pigtail fall in 4:50 over Mosley’s Daniel Bockstege) in 35 seconds in the semis, but then had to go into the third period to pin Rocky Bayou sophomore Kyle Burden (6-6) in the championship match. Burden reached the finals with pins over North Bay Haven’s Jonathan Serbest (2:00, pigtails) and Arnold sophomore Joseph Carey (2:46, semis). Williams (9-17) came back behind two pins for third, falling Serbest (2:01) in the consi semis and Carey (23-11) in 3:48 for third place. Carey punched his South Walton ticket with a 52-second consi-semi pin over Bockstege.

Complete brackets for this tournament and all other contested 1A brackets can be found here. Region pairings for Friday’s Region 1 tournament at South Walton can be found here.

All statewide rankings as created by Brant Parsons and as updated February 18.

Find us on Facebook at North Florida Matmen or on Twitter at @NorthFLAMatmen.

Learn more about south Georgia’s scene! Check out our affiliated site at http://sgamatmen.wordpress.com

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North Florida Matmen staff report

FT WALTON BEACH — It’s been three years since a Reggie Allen-coached team last won a district championship.

But it only took one season for Allen to turn things around at Pace.

The Patriots have perennially contended for the top spot in 2A-District 1, but turned to Allen at the start of the season. Saturday, their faith in him paid off, as Pace cruised out to the district team title with 210 points, 62 points ahead of a resurgent Ft Walton Beach side.

Pace qualified 13 wrestlers to Friday’s Region 1 meet at Chiles, with five champions, four runners-up, two thirds and two fourths.

Ft Walton Beach pushed past last year’s team champion, Gulf Breeze, with 148 points on nine qualifiers (two champions, one runnerup, three thirds and three fourths).

The 2A Dolphins also had nine qualifiers, with two champions, three runners-up, one third and three fourths.

Niceville was just 2.5 points back of Gulf Breeze in fourth, with 137.5 points and nine qualifiers of its own (one champion, two runners-up, five thirds and one fourth).

Choctaw headed up the bottom half of the table, with 84 points and five qualifiers (one champ, two runners-up, one third and one fourth). Crestview took sixth on 72.5 points, with two champions and two fourths.

Tate was seventh, with 70 points on four qualifiers (one of each medal type), while Milton took eighth with 31 points and two qualifiers (one runnerup and one third).

Below follows a complete recap of all eligible qualifiers and competitors in the event:

106 — In a five-person bracket, Gulf Breeze top-seeded freshman Brandon Walls (31-12) won his first district championship with a semifinal pin (:36) over Ft Walton Beach sophomore Reid Gannon (pigtail 18-9 major over Pace’s Natalie Lugo) and 9-2 decision in the finals over Choctaw freshman Deagan Kilpatrick (30-16). Kilpatrick reached the finals with a semifinal pin (1:24) over Niceville senior Grace Moore. Moore (29-17) punched her Chiles ticket with a pin over Lugo (2:15) in the consi semis and took third with a pin in 2:13 over Gannon (8-13) for third place. Gannon had a bye in the consi semis.

113 — Another five-person bracket saw Choctaw junior David Tambula (33-14) take his first district championship after finishing fourth in 2018. Tambula, the third seed, pinned Gulf Breeze freshman Max Kronlage in 4:50 in the semis, then overcame Pace freshman Atticus Waters (26-13), 9-3, for the championship. Waters reached the finals with a semifinal pin over Niceville sophomore Noah Tritz (9-5 pigtail win over Crestview’s Javan Alto). Tritz (20-11) would come back for third place with a bye in the consi semis and fall over Kronlage (29-12) in 3:57 for third. Kronlage punched his Chiles ticket with a 49-second fall over Alto in the consi semis.

120 — A full eight-person bracket saw top-seeded Pace junior Derrick Lancero (36-8) win his first district championship and earn some revenge for the previous year in the process. Lancero won three times for his bracket, with a quarterfinal pin (2:19 over Crestview’s Nathan Behr), semifinal tech (15-0 in 5:42 over Gulf Breeze freshman Logan Merritt) and 10-6 decision in the final over Ft Walton Beach sophomore Brandon Mallin (20th, 26-18), who’d majored Lancero, 13-0, in last year’s 2A-District 1 semis. Mallin got to the final with a quarterfinal pin (2:58 over Niceville’s Ethan Bueno) and semfiinal tech (19-4 in 6:00). Merritt got to the semis with a 32-second fall over Choctaw’s Ethan Pfhul, while Pfhul (2:25 over Behr) and Bueno (:48) won in WB round 1. Merritt (8-14) would take fourth with a 36-second fall over Bueno and then loss by fall in 4 minutes in the third-place match, while Pfhul lost by fall in 1:53 in the consi semis.

126 — In a six-person bracket reduced to five by a forfeit out of competition, second-seeded Gulf Breeze junior Kelly Scanlon (41-16) won his first district championship. Scanlon pinned his way through the draw with a 35-second version in the semis, then falled Pace senior Tyler Tran (34-11) in 3:04 in the final. Tran got to the final with a semifinal pin (1:19) over Ft Walton Beach sophomore Weston Burbidge (pigtail fall in 4:55 over Niceville junior Jay Pinto). However, Pinto (2-1 as reported) wasn’t done despite the early bounce into the consis, with a 10-6 consi-semi win and then getting revenge in the third-place match, with a pin in 3:18 over Burbidge (27-14).

132 — A seven-person bracket led to top-seeded Pace junior Ethan Billhimer (17th, 42-6) winning his first district championship after taking second at 145 in 2018 and second at 182 in 2017. Billhimer pinned his way through the draw, with a semifinal fall (:14) over Crestview’s Karter Watson (pigtail fall in 5:26) and then a second first-period pin in 1:56 in the title match over Gulf Breeze senior Michael Walls (16-3). Walls pinned his way into the final, with a quarterfinal fall (1:35) and semifinal version (3:20) over Ft Walton Beach’s Jarrod Hamilton. Watson and Hamilton both had pigtail falls to reach the semis, with Watson’s in 5:26 and Hamilton’s in 3:07 over Niceville’s Ty Hawkins. Watson (23-17) would finish fourth, punching his Chiles ticket with a consi-semi pin in 1:57 before losing by fall in 18 seconds in the third-place match. Hamilton fell in the consi semis by fall in 3:20.

138 — A full bracket saw third-seeded Niceville junior Keane Creager (29-8) emerge for his first district championship after finishing second in 2018. Creager pinned his way into the finals, with versions in the quarters (:42 over Choctaw’s Eli Devoid) and semis (3:04 over Pace’s Seth O’Gara) before pushing past Gulf Breeze junior Dylan Lawrence (37-11), 4-2, for the title. Lawrence also had two pins prior to the final, in :56 and 3:16, respectively. O’Gara reached the semis with a quarterfinal pin (1:25 over Crestview’s Jacob Allen), while Ft Walton Beach’s Canyon Dart lost, 10-0, in the quarters. Dart and Devoid would reach the consi semis with wins in WB round 1 (Dart with a 52-second fall, Devoid 9-8 over Allen). But it would be O’Gara (33-13) that would rally back for third, behind pins over Dart (49 seconds) in the consi semis and again in 1:27 for third. Devoid would fall in the consi semis as well, by an 8-1 count.

145 — Another seven-person bracket (originally full but dropped to seven due to a forfeit) was resolved with top-seeded Ft Walton Beach senior Carlos Bogan (15th, 32-7) winning his second district championship and first as a Viking after winning for Choctaw in 2018. Bogan pinned or teched his way through the draw, with a 21-4 (2:35) tech in the quarters, a semifinal pin (2:56) over Crestview sophomore Malachi Santiago (advanced with 28-second quarterfinal pin) and fall in 1:36 in the championship match over Gulf Breeze senior Calvin Malo (47-12). Malo reached the finals with pins over Niceville’s Luis Gallego (1:22 in quarters) and Pace sophomore Joseph Cortez (3:58 in the semis). Cortez advanced to the semi with a forfeit in the quarters, while Gallego got to the consi semis behind that same forfeit. Cortez (33-16) came back for third with a consi-semi fall in 1:50 and 10-5 third-place win over Santiago (18-17). Santiago punched his Chiles ticket with a 16-1 tech (3:28) over Gallego.

152 — A six-person bracket (originally seven, dropped due to a forfeit) went Pace top-seeded senior Kishma Davis’ way, as Davis (9th, 47-2) won his first district championship after taking third in 2017. Davis took an 18-4 major in the semis over Ft Walton Beach sophomore Caleb Tourgee, then powered past Niceville senior Collin Lentz (16th, 37-8), 8-5, for the championship. Lentz bonus-pointed his way into the finals, with a pigtail pin over Crestview’s Rowan Gomez (1:36) and 15-6 major in the semis over Choctaw senior Logan Myers (17th). Tourgee won by pin in the pigtails over Gulf Breeze’s Sean Jones (2:30). Myers (56-7) would come back for third with a consi-semi pin over Jones (2:26) and medical-forfeit win in the third-place match over Tourgee (24-13), who punched his Chiles ticket with a consi-semi pin in 2:18 over Gomez.

160 — Pace top-seeded senior Nate Golmon (2nd, 43-1) dominated a full bracket to win his second district championship and first for the Patriots after winning in 2018 and placing second in 2016 for Tate. Golmon pinned or teched his way through the tournament, with a quarterfinal pin (1:41 over Gulf Breeze’s Mason Bourgeois), semifinal tech (15-0 in 4:16 over Ft Walton’s Corban Ferguson) and fall in the finals in 3:03. Ferguson and Choctaw’s Hunter Pelfrey reached the semis with pins, Ferguson in 3:16 over Niceville sophomore McCoy Lamb and Pelfrey in 1:13 over Crestview’s Layne Franks; Pelfrey would then lose by fall in 2 minutes in the semis. Lamb and Franks would win WB round 1 matches (Lamb in :53 over Bourgeois, Franks in 2:22). Ferguson (16-10) came back for third with a consi-semi pin over Franks (2:38) and a medical forfeit in the third-place match over Lamb (11-8), who punched his Chiles ticket with a 21-8 major over Pelfrey in the consi semis.

170 — In a five-person bracket, top-seeded Ft Walton Beach junior Eddie Alexis (39-10) won his first district championship after not getting out of the consi rounds in his first two attempts. Alexis pinned his way thorugh the bracket, with a semifinal pin (1:28) over Niceville senior Matthew Murphy (pigtail fall in 1 minute over Pace sophomore Brody Andrews) and pin in 5:58 in the finals over Choctaw senior Paul Roberts (21-6). Roberts reached the final with a 56-second fall over Gulf Breeze’s Phillip Frazetta in the semis. Murphy (15-10) came back for third with a forfeit in the consi semis and 17-2 tech (5:00) over Andrews (16-22) in the place match. Andrews punched his Chiles ticket with a fall in 2:09 in the consi semis over Frazetta.

182 — In a six-person bracket, as Matmen foreshadowed in our preview of the district, Pace top-seeded senior John Gunther (15-0) returned to the lineup to win his first district title after finishing second in 2018 and fourth in 2017. Gunther pinned Ft Walton Beach sophomore Kaleb Williams (pigtail fall in 2:39 over Choctaw’s Samuel Santos) in 34 seconds in the semis and then overcame Niceville junior Sean Ripley (19th, 33-12), 9-6, for the title. Ripley got to the finals with two pins over Crestview’s CJ Banks (1:42 in pigtails) and Gulf Breeze senior Austin Earle (3:43 in the semis). Williams (35-15) had two pins on the back for third, falling Banks (1:36) in the consi semis and Earle (37-12) in 46 seconds for third. Earle punched his Chiles ticket with a pin in 4:29 over Santos in the consi semis.

195 — In a six-person bracket, Pace second-seeded sophomore Wyatt Dillon (20th, 36-9) reached the finals with a semifinal pin in 4:28 over Gulf Breeze’s Samuel Rosenbalm (pigtail fall in 1:58 over Crestview’s Mathew Sharp), then lost a wild finals match, 15-12. Ft Walton Beach’s Patrick Adams (29-21), who reached the semis with a pigtail pin in 3:01 over Choctaw senior Aiden Savage and then lost by fall in 3:20 in the semis, came back for third with pins in 1:40 over Sharp in the consi semis and 2:25 over Savage (22-25) in the third-place match. Savage punched his Chiles ticket with a fall in 4:15 over Rosenbaum in the consi semis.

220 — Crestview top-seeded junior Kennard Madden (26-13) won his first district championship after falling in the consi semis last year, pinning his way through the draw without going past the first period. Madden had a quarterfinal pin in 1:21, falled Pace sophomore Michael Poole (:26) in the semis and won by fall in 1:22 in the finals. Poole and Gulf Breeze’s Bryson Wick got to the semifinals with quarterfinal wins (Poole 10-7 over Niceville junior Ramsey Kidder, Wick by fall in 1:59 over Choctaw’s Michael Barton), with Wick losing by fall in the semis (:43), while Ft Walton Beach’s Spencer Mackenzie lost by fall in the quarters (1:47). Despite the quarterfinal loss, Kidder fought all the way back to third with three back-side pins: 1:10 in WB round 1 (Mackenzie took a 12-10 decision over Barton also in that round), 2:27 over Wick in the consi semis and gained revenge for the quarterfinal loss with a pin in 3:57 over Poole (22-22) for third place. Poole punched his Chiles ticket with a 14-3 major over Mackenzie in the consi semis.

285 — In a three-person bracket, Crestview senior Weston Tew (4-2) won his first district championship after finishing second in 2017. Tew falled Gulf Breeze junior Cameron Anderson in 44 seconds in the semis and then pinned Pace sophomore Cam Goodenow (25-16) in 1:52 for the championship. Goodenow advanced to the finals with a bye and Anderson (16-10) took third place with that same bye.

Editor’s Note: Not all eligible qualifiers and competitors could be completely recapped due to two teams within the district missing regular-season results not submitted to Matmen. Matmen will accept those results, or win-loss records for the events that are missing, even after the end of the season. If received prior to kickoff of region competition at Chiles, those two teams will be fully recapped next weekend.

Complete brackets for this tournament and all other contested 2A brackets can be found here.

All statewide rankings as created by Brant Parsons and as updated February 18.

Find us on Facebook at North Florida Matmen or on Twitter at @NorthFLAMatmen.

Learn more about south Georgia’s scene! Check out our affiliated site at http://sgamatmen.wordpress.com

Please support our independent journalism by going here and donating to our website: https://www.gofundme.com/north-florida-matmen

By SHANNON HEATON
North Florida Matmen

JACKSONVILLE — Not every reign is destined to go on forever.

And although Bishop Kenny put on a stellar hosting effort Saturday at the 1A-District 4 traditional tournament, the short-handed Crusaders could not overcome Bolles’ full lineup, as the Bulldogs did just enough in the finals to wrest away the team trophy, outpointing BKHS, 188-186.

“Just a gradual process of trying to get better, trying to get everyone healthy and down to weight. It helps when you have all 14 weights filled,” Bulldogs coach Matt Morris said.

“It was fun, and it was tight. Finals were back and forth, ebb and flow, and I didn’t think we had it. I thought we had lost by two. But it’s going to be great to have another week of practice with the whole team.”

Bolles got 13 through to Friday’s Region 1 meet at South Walton, with four champions, four runners-up, four thirds and one fourth.

Bishop Kenny, with no 145, 195 or 220, still nearly came all the way back in the final round, winning five district titles, with four runners-up, one third and one fourth, to qualify all 11 wrestlers the Crusaders brought Saturday on to regions, but their bid for a sixth consecutive district title fell just short.

“We had a bunch of championships, kids doing what they were doing. We had kids peaking at the right time, but we just fell short. It’s a shame; a bitter pill to swallow,” Kenny coach Paul Schloth said. “Congrats to the Bolles kids and staff; I always enjoy wrestling with Matt (Morris).”

Pedro Menendez took third, qualifying 10 wrestlers out and scoring 123 points behind two champions, one runnerup, five thirds and two fourths.

“We had 14 guys quit this year, nine had never seen a mat before this year. Coming from not competing at all in duals and tournaments to third here and taking 95% of the guys to regionals, I think it’s great,” Falcons coach Kevin Leonard said. “Hopefully that will help us with retaining kids from year to year.”

Episcopal was well clear of the rest of the group in fourth place, scoring 90.5 points as the Eagles qualified six out to regions, with two champions, three runners-up and one fourth.

Wolfson, with 47 points, was fifth (one runnerup, one third and two fourths), while Bradford was sixth with 42 (one champ, one third and one fourth) and Florida Deaf & Blind seventh with 35 (one runnerup, one third and two fourths).

Below follows a complete recap for all eligible competitors in the tournament:

106 — Bolles freshman Jacob Witt (16th in 1A, 29-11) won his first district championship after finishing second in 2018. Witt had a major and decision in taking the title, with a 10-2 win over FSDB junior Rey Suero (pigtail win by fall over Wolfson’s Andrew Harbin in 3:08) in the semis and then pushing past Episcopal sophomore Joseph Jackson (17th, 28-10), 9-5, for the championship. Jackson advanced to the final with a 6-0 semifinal win over Bishop Kenny sophomore Ryan Mayer. Mayer (2-1 as reported) came back for third, punching his South Walton ticket with a fall in 1:41 in the consi semis over Harbin, then pinning Suero (1-2 as reported) in 4:04 for third place.

113 — Episcopal junior Kyle Hopkins (2nd, 30-2) pinned or teched his way through the tournament for his third district title after finishing second in 2016. Hopkins teched Wolfson senior Keayon Gray (pigtail fall in 1:36 over Bolles’ Mac Walters), 17-2, in the semis, then falled FSDB sophomore Lance Gardenhire (16-10) in 2:55 for the championship. Gardenhire reached the finals with an 8-0 major over Bishop Kenny sophomore Will Weinbecker. Gray (2-1 as reported) came back for third with a bye in the consi semis and then falled Weinbecker (1-2 as reported) with a pin in 2:05 for third place. Weinbecker had punched his South Walton ticket with a fall in the consi semis over Walters.

120 — In a four-person bracket, Menendez senior Robert Iglesias (9th, 2-0 as reported) won his first district title and qualified for regions for the fourth time, after finishing second in 2017 and 2018, with a third in 2016. Iglesias pinned his way through the bracket, with a 40-second fall in the semis over FSDB sophomore Ty Snow and then fall in the championship over Bishop Kenny senior Reilly Gentges (1-1 as reported) in 1:28. Gentges advanced to the final with a 14-2 major in the semis over Bolles freshman Denny Vohs (24-13), who came back for third place with a fall in 2:28 over Snow (2-6).

126 — With six in the bracket, Bolles junior Dalton Posick (26-10) pushed through with two wins for his first district title and fifth region appearance (second in 2018, third in 2017, fourths in 2015 and 2016), falling Wolfson freshman Max Lewallen (1:21, pigtail 6-3 win over Episcopal’s Noah Meyer) in the semis, then coming back from a 2-1 deficit late to turn back Bishop Kenny junior Daniel Maher (1-1 as reported), 6-2, in the title match. Maher advanced to the final with a semifinal pin in 1:40 over Pedro Menendez freshman Logan Meehan (pigtail fall over FSDB’s Josh O’Connor in 1:27). Meehan (3-1 as reported) won by fall twice on the back side to claim third, falling Meyer in 2:18 in the consi semis and then pinning Lewallen (2-2 as reported) in 5:15 for third place. Lewallen punched his South Walton ticket with a pin over O’Connor in 3:12 in the consi semis.

132 — Bishop Kenny junior Brock Hinson (1-1 as reported) reached the finals with a 3-1 semifinal win over FSDB’s Ajani Zahira (pigtail fall in :34 over Wolfson’s Aakash Thornton), but then lost in the finals in 1:34. After a semifinal loss by fall (1:37), Pedro Menendez junior Jarrett Ellis (pigtail fall in 3:14 over Bolles’ Skylar Malone) pinned his way back to third, with a 51-second fall over Thornton in the consi semis and pin in 2:13 in the third-place match over Malone (5-4). Malone punched his South Walton ticket with a fall over Zahira in 2:58 in the consi semis.

138 — Bolles junior Julian Morris (9-5) won his first district title after thirds in 2016 and 2017. Morris pinned his way into the finals, with falls over Wolfson senior Hays Lewallen (1:54) in a pigtail match and over Menendez sophomore Jose Ruiz (3:09) in the semis. Morris then stopped Bishop Kenny senior John Schloth (1-1 as reported), 7-1, for the championship. Schloth reached the final with a 45-second pin over Episcopal’s Will Thompson. Ruiz (1-1 as reported) came back for third with a bye in the consi semis and 12-8 decision over Lewallen (1-2 as reported) in the third-place match. Lewallen punched his South Walton ticket with a fall in 2:21 over Thompson in the consi semis.

145 — Pedro Menendez sophomore Connor Spossey (14th, 2-0 as reported) won his second district championship in a three-person bracket, with a 51-second fall in the semis over Bolles eighth-grader Jeffrey Ashby, then holding off Episcopal junior Reid Hampton (11th, 22-10), 10-5, in the championship match. Hampton had a bye into the finals and Ashby (5-3) had a bye in the third-place match.

152 — Bishop Kenny senior Joey Cusick (6th, 2-0 as reported) won his second district championship after placing second in 2017 and third in 2016, pinning his way through the bracket. Cusick falled Episcopal junior Robert Jackson (pigtail fall in 1:34 over Menendez’s Alex Binkiewicz) in 17 seconds in the semifinals, then pinned Wolfson junior Cameron Frison (1-1 as reported) in 2:25 in the championship match. Frison falled Bolles sophomore Luke Selmont (pigtail fall in :57) in 49 seconds to reach the finals. Selmont (11-8) came back for third place with two pins, falling Binkiewicz in 2:23 in the consi semis and 2:15 in the third-place match over Jackson (9-17). Jackson punched his South Walton ticket with a pin in 1:34 in the consi semis.

160 — Bishop Kenny senior Andrew Slade (8th, 2-0 as reported) won his fourth district championship (2015, 2017 and 2018) in his fifth finals appearance (2nd in 2016) and sixth district tournament. Slade pinned his way through the bracket in a four-person bracket, with a 24-second fall in the semis over Pedro Menendez junior Layne Fender and fall in 1:28 over Episcopal freshman Kaiman Clark (11-8) in the title match. Clark downed Bolles senior Rick Garcia-Bengochea, 4-2, in the semis in order to reach the final. Garcia-Bengochea (21-15) pinned Fender (0-2 as reported) in 52 seconds for third place.

170 — Bishop Kenny senior Nolan Scheets (2-0 as reported) won twice in a three-person bracket for his first district championship, with a 15-second fall in the semis over FSDB 7th-grader David Chinchilla, then overcoming Bolles freshman Jack Pyburn (24-13) with a 9-3 decision in the final. Pyburn had a bye into the finals and Chinchilla (0-3 as reported) had a bye in the third-place match.

182 — Bishop Kenny Esa Farah (2-0 as reported) won his first district championship, with a fall in the semis over Menendez sophomore Dane Litzinger (1:54), then edging Bolles sophomore Ethan Asbury (25-16), 2-1, for the championship. Asbury reached the finals with a bye and Litzinger received a bye in the third-place match.

195 — In a two-person bracket, Bolles senior Kyle Coffindaffer (7-5 as reported) hit a head throw for a fall in 21 seconds and his first district championship, pinning Pedro Menendez senior Carter Payne (0-1 as reported).

220 — After finishing 1 match short of regions in 2016 and 2017, Episcopal senior Freddy Dollison (25-5) won his first district championship. Dollison needed just 38 seconds to pin Menendez junior Gavin Storch (pigtail fall in 53 seconds over FSDB’s Leo Baxajay), then staved off all challenges in the final against Bolles sophomore David Adewale (27-13), taking a 7-4 decision. Adewale reached the final with pins over Wolfson’s Devin Collins (:37) in the pigtail and 1:06 in the semis. Storch (3-1 as reported) came back with two pins for third, falling Collins (:58) in the consi semis and again in 1:56 for third place. Baxajay was one match short of regions, losing by fall in 1:54.

285 — Bishop Kenny junior Curtis Leggett (2-0 as reported) won his first district championship, pinning his way through the bracket. Leggett falled Wolfson’s Ernest Soles in 44 seconds in the semis, then pinned Bolles sophomore Cam Neal (9-9) in 2:40 for the title. Neal had two pins of his own, with falls in the pigtail (1:40) and agains in the semis over Pedro Menendez freshman Lucas Millar (1:13). Millar (0-2 as reported) came back for fourth, with a bye in the consi semis and loss by fall in 2:10 in the third-place match. Soles lost by fall in the consi semis, in 1:42.

Editor’s Note: Not all eligible qualifiers and competitors could be completely recapped due to missing regular-season results not submitted to Matmen. Matmen will accept those results, or win-loss records for the events that are missing, even after the end of the season.

Complete brackets for this tournament and all other contested 1A brackets can be found here.

All statewide rankings as created by Brant Parsons and as updated February 18.

Find us on Facebook at North Florida Matmen or on Twitter at @NorthFLAMatmen.

Learn more about south Georgia’s scene! Check out our affiliated site at http://sgamatmen.wordpress.com

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By SHANNON HEATON
North Florida Matmen

JACKSONVILLE — In the question of whether firepower is a stronger asset than weight-class coverage, the answer came through crystal clear Saturday at the 2A-District 3 traditional tournament.

Experience trumps all. And Orange Park’s experienced wrestlers saw the Raiders through to a return to the top of the heap in 2A-District 3, as contested at Terry Parker HS.

Orange Park held off Englewood, 161-140, for the team title, as both teams moved 10 wrestlers through on a day at a tournament where every team in the field got at least five wrestlers out to Friday’s 2A-Region 1 meet at Chiles.

“A lot of it comes down to experienced kids setting the tone for us and the younger kids following their lead,” Raiders coach Justin Daniels said. “We have kids that have high goals for themselves and when the younger kids see that those kids make it, they believe they can set those goals, too.

“We still struggle in some situations, because we have new kids that aren’t quick with their shots and quick to readjust shots, but we’re getting more confident in shooting and controlling the pace on top.”

Orange Park had three champions Saturday, with four runners-up, one third and one fourth, sending 10 of its 11 kids to Chiles.

Englewood qualified 10 of 12 Saturday, with two champions, four runners-up, two thirds and two fourths. Not bad for a team that struggled to find qualifiers in the very recent past.

“We’ve gotten kids out and gotten kids excited for the sport again,” Rams coach Joseph Stetzer said. “We started out with `let me show you’ what the sport is about and now kids have learned what will work for them. They’ve found success, which will help with retaining kids in the program.”

Ridgeview finished third with 122 points. The 2018 district champions had the most individual weight-class titles this year (four), qualifying seven wrestlers out, with two runners-up and one fourth.

“I just told them all to believe in their stuff and whatever happens, happens,” Pangthers coach Bart Rodriquez said. “Kids are working hard for it and want to get to the next round. Just keep fighting, and we’ll be proud of your effort, whatever the result.”

Host Terry Parker edged Middleburg for fourth, with 98 points to the Broncos’ 93. Both got seven wrestlers out to regions, with the Braves taking two titles, one runnerup, three thirds and one fourth.

Middleburg qualified everyone it brought Saturday, going 7-for-7, with three champs, two thirds and two fourths.

Stanton finished sixth with 64 points and seven qualifiers (two runners-up, two thirds, three fourths), while Ed White moved five wrestlers onward, with 61 points behind one runnerup and four thirds.

Below follows a complete recap of eligible competitors, qualifying or otherwise, at Saturday’s tournament:

106 — In a four-person bracket, Ridgeview sophomore Matthew Rodriquez (2nd in 2A, 47-0) needed just 1:21 to claim his third district title and second with the 2A Clay County Panthers, with falls in the semis over Englewood sophomore Rayquan Staples (:12) and a pin in the finals in 1:09. Middleburg freshman Riley Girgis (30-12), who lost 9-0 in the semis, came back to take third with a 9-7 sudden-victory decision over Staples (21-15).

113 — In a four-person bracket, Ridgeview junior Gabe Guzman (8th, 42-2) won his second district title after finishing third in 2017, with a pin in the semis (:40) over Terry Parker senior Amber Goodbread and 6-4 decision in the championship match over Orange Park sophomore Davon Bailey (17th, 29-5). Bailey advanced to the final with a medical-forfeit win in the semis over Stanton sophomore Jack Walsh, and Goodbread (17-37) did the same in the third-place match against Walsh (9-11).

120 — In a three-person bracket, Englewood freshman Ricardo Resto-Rivera (15-17) got a bye into the finals, where he falled Ridgeview freshman Clay Propes (13-24) in 5:59 for the title. Propes pinned Stanton sophomore Artin Rezael in 36 seconds in the semis; Rezael (12-21) received a bye in the third-place match.

126 — In another three-person bracket, Ridgeview freshman Shawn Tahir (9-7) needed just one win to take the title, with a bye into the finals, where he pinned Englewood junior Hunter Padgett (7-6) in 3:12 for the bracket win. Padgett advanced to the finals with a fall in 3:25 in the semis over Stanton sophomore Matthew Mock (6-20), who received a bye in the third-place match.

132 — In a four-person bracket, Orange Park senior Dean Ganci (20th, 34-6) won twice for his second district title, winning by fall in the semis (3:56) and then taking an 8-1 decision in the final over Englewood senior Dairo Guerra (25-11). Guerra got to the finals with a fall in 2:45 over Ridgeview freshman Logan Champion in the semis. Champion (15-19) lost by fall in 4:50 in the third-place match.

138 — Middleburg senior Storm Mercado (16th, 30-3) got through four other competitors to win his first district title after finishing second in 2018 and fourth in 2016. Mercado pinned Stanton senior Gabriel Navarro (frontside pigtail pin over Terry Parker’s Danielle Farmer in 2:35) in 3:59 in the semis, then controlled the action in the final over Orange Park junior Cameron Broughton (15th, 29-10) with a 9-2 decision. Broughton reached the final with a pin in 2:50 in the semis over Englewood freshman Lynden North. North (32-8) came back for third with two wins on the back, first a fall in 1:34 over Farmer in the consi semis, then taking a 10-3 decision over Navarro (31-16) for third. Farmer was 0-2 in the tournament.

145 — In the fullest bracket thus far (six), Middleburg senior Chris Burch (18th, 26-8) won his third title, with a 9-5 semifinal win over Terry Parker junior Tijuan Boyance (pigtail win by fall in :53 over Ridgeview’s Isaac Gaeta) and 11-3 major in the finals over Stanton sophomore Grant Kelsey (31-13). Kelsey reached the final with a 38-second semifinal pin over Orange Park junior Arlo Wilson (pigtail win by fall in 3:04 over Englewood’s Ernest Rodriguez). Boyance (14-10) came back for third with a 9-4 consi-semi win over Rodriguez and 17-7 major in the third-place match over Wilson (15-12). Wilson punched his Chiles ticket with a fall in 1:16 over Gaeta. Gaeta and Rodriguez were both 0-2 in the tournament.

152 — Middleburg senior Bryce Williams (14th, 21-6) won his third district title, with a fall in 1:15 in the semis over Orange Park junior Vincent Walker (pigtail win by 16-7 major over Stanton’s Liam Salem), then decisioning Ridgeview senior Reed Propes (20th, 33-11), 5-1, for the bracket win. Propes reached the final with a 54-second pin over Terry Parker senior Lonnie Sanders. Walker (12-11) came back for third, with a bye in the consi semis and 10-8 third-place win over Sanders (24-16). Sanders punched his Chiles ticket with a fall in 4:13 over Salem, who was 0-2 in the tournament.

160 — Terry Parker junior Ashley Saddler (37-13) won his first district title, with three wins in a full seven-person bracket. Saddler falled Ridgeview’s Rae Barger (:53) in a pigtail match, then decisioned Middleburg sophomore Alex Nayfack, 9-4, in his closest match of the tournament, and took an 11-2 major in the finals against Englewood sophomore Sam Howard (23-13). Howard also had two prior wins, both by fall (1:17 in pigtail over Stanton’s Khoi Nguyen, 3:09 in semi). Nayfack (19-26) would finish fourth, punching his Chiles ticket with a 14-7 win over Nguyen, then losing by fall in the third-place match, in 3:43. Orange Park’s William Evans was 1-2 in the tournament, with a backside fall over Barger (4:28), then losing by fall in 38 seconds in the blood round, while Barger and Nguyen were each 0-2.

170 — Orange Park junior Jacob Campbell (5th, 44-1) won his second district title, reaching the finals for the third time for the Raiders. Campbell pinned his way through a full bracket, with falls in the semis (3:33) and again in the championship match (5:35) over Englewood junior Jordan Mitchell (30-11). Mitchell had two prior pins, with falls over Middleburg freshman Ethan Larsen (5:04) in the quarters and Terry Parker’s Estaban Lenhardt (pigtail pin in 2:45 over Ridgeview’s John Tiedeman) in the semis (1:31). Larsen (7-7) would win three times on the spin for third, with pins over Tiedeman (19th, 4:29) in WB round 1, 2:12 in the consi semis and 2:26 over Stanton junior Avery Debelen in the third-place match. After a pigtail loss by fall, Debelen punched his Chiles ticket with a 13-8 decision over Lenhardt in the consi semis. Lenhardt was 1-2 in the tournament, while Tiedeman was 0-2.

182 — In a four-person bracket, Terry Parker senior Landon Dains (4th, 59-0) won twice for his second district title and fourth region appearance after finishing second in 2017 and fourth in 2016. Dains needed just 15 seconds to fall Englewood junior Shammy Augustin and then turned back Orange Park junior Jacob Moore (5th, 35-3), 7-4, for the title. Moore reached the finals with a fall in 1:42 over Middleburg sophomore Chris Conaway, while Augustin (11-15) pinned Conaway (9-16) in 57 seconds for third place.

195 — Orange Park freshman Julian Moore (22-6) won his first district title, bonus-pointing his way through the tournament, with a pigtail fall (2:23) over Englewood junior Eric Moore, semifinal pin in 3:30 and 14-4 major in the championship match over Stanton junior Charles Woo (29-19). Woo reached the final with a semifinal pin in 5:07 over Terry Parker’s Emily Mills. Moore (10-13) punched his Chiles ticket with a consi-semi pin over Mills (1:38) and then lost by fall (2:35) in the third-place match.

220 — Ridgeview senior Od’juan Whitfield (28-5) won his first district title after finishing one match short of the 3A-Region 1 tournament for Oakleaf in 2017. Whitfield pinned his way through the draw, with falls in the pigtail (:18 over Englewood’s Darryl Sam), 4:14 in the semis and 1:55 in the championship match over Terry Parker senior Ben Sabella (26-5). Sabella reached the finals with a 42-second pin over Orange Park sophomore Jonothan Garcia. Garcia (12-13) punched his Chiles ticket with a consi-semi pin in 1:48 over Sam and then lost by fall in 1:34 in the third-place match.

285 — In a three-person bracket, Englewood senior Chris Lands (8-3) won his second district title after placing fourth in 2017. Land received a bye into the finals, where he pinned Orange Park sophomore Reese Sheehan (16-12) in 1:03. Sheehan got to the final with a fall in 1:36 over Terry Parker junior Marquis Walton (2-5), who received a bye in the third-place match.

Editor’s Note: Not all eligible qualifiers and competitors could be completely recapped due to missing regular-season results not submitted to Matmen. Matmen will accept those results, or win-loss records for the events that are missing, even after the end of the season.

Complete brackets for this tournament and all other contested 2A brackets can be found here.

All statewide rankings as created by Brant Parsons and as updated February 18.

Find us on Facebook at North Florida Matmen or on Twitter at @NorthFLAMatmen.

Learn more about south Georgia’s scene! Check out our affiliated site at http://sgamatmen.wordpress.com

Please support our independent journalism by going here and donating to our website: https://www.gofundme.com/north-florida-matmen