Month: February 2020

Before I spend what will be tomorrow writing about the kids who get out, I have a couple of thoughts about those who didn’t.

Maybe what happened to my boy this week has led me to write this first. By now many if not most of you (at least those who follow the Facebook page) know the story; while this story is not about him, so I won’t re-share the deets here, what happened to him has made me extra-emotional.

And he’s an athlete. Thrower. His last actual competition was a region tournament like this weekend. He didn’t have it when we went to regions in Pensacola last year. Some days, you just don’t have it. He was so angry, he didn’t even want to stay and he ALWAYS stays to mentor other kids. I liken it to kids who are so overcome by emotion that they run off the mat after a loss.

I started this piece three years ago while covering the 1A-Region 1 finals at Clay. While we are a burgeoning if not behemoth media empire now, I wanted to just stop at Wakulla Saturday (I’d been cocooned in my little space, making notes to start getting ready for the story I’ll write tomorrow). I wanted to just watch.

The intensity of the emotion, no matter the venue, never changes.

No less a philosopher than the legendary Terry Brands (of course I’m going to name-check an Iowa wrestler) said about this sport, “You get what you earn.”

That’s true, and it’s not true.

Many of these kids should be at states. One or two of them have been.

And many wrestlers have their seasons end in the consi semis. Most, thankfully, have a chance to come back and gain redemption in subsequent years. But this is the cruelest of fates for these few (and yet, always, too many), the seniors who have their high school careers end in the blood round.

It’s carnage out there. I hate it. And I can’t stop watching it.

As I’ve written before in prior versions of this story:

<<I’m never going to forget those emotions, the highs and the lows. They’re absolutely beautiful, and they’re absolutely shattering. THAT is why I cover this sport.

That’s why I feel sorrow for these kids that follow in this list, the seniors whose careers ended in the blood round on Saturday, because precious few teenagers are willing to step up and do what it takes just to even say that they are wrestlers, let alone be good enough to have a chance to find out the answers on the state stage. Precious damn few.

I know how hard they’ve worked, and, at the same time, I will never, ever truly know.>>

First a note about our new (to our coverage area, not their teams) guys that saw their careers end in the blood round. Cesar Marquez. Chase McDonough. Jeremiah Epps. Jonathan Waugh. Aaron Morris. I hoped you’d make it to The Show, even though I only started covering you this year. Many of you, I have written about even before I covered you. You mattered to your teams and you matter to me. You were great teammates to your younger guys, whom I will see longer — and see your role modeling in them.

Josh Murrell. What a beast you were at 285. Every tournament I was at, people noticed you. Talked about you. Worried abbout you. I know if your coaches had had you a little longer, you’d be wrestling #NextLevel. Might still be.

Dexter Anderson. Nobody (certainly not this so-called “expert”) expected you to get to this round. You beat two kids I thought you wouldn’t. Hold your head up with pride. You led your team this weekend.

Sean Ripley. I know you didn’t get a full season this year, and that might have helped you. Nevertheless, it took a herculean effort from a team leader to knock you out of the tournament today.

Adam Barnes. Take heart. While everyone in this story met the same fate as you, you got a chance to hoist a team region championship today, and your points toward that championship were irreplaceable. I’m sure Crowder told you that.

Tucker Reape. I thought the hiatus was three years; I learned later it was FIVE. You won a district title, you soldiered on and you helped continue the legacy of Clay district titles. Even before you took the mat this year, I knew how proud your family’s been of you.

Ontarriyus Reid. Last year, you made the miracle run and won a region title. This year? It just wasn’t meant to be. Goliath was just a little too good this year. It won’t be the last time he is, but next time — in life — you’ll be ready.

Salvador Rodriguez. New to the varsity lineup this year if not new to wrestling. You were your team’s best wrestler, every time out. I never saw you give less than 100%, every time you were on the mat, win or lose. Remember that.

Dylan Lampkin. You got better and better, it seemed like, every time I saw a result of yours come over to me. You’ve helped make Hakeem and Grayson better, and you’ve made your program better.

Trevion Demus. What an injury-free career might have had for you. We saw how much talent you’ve had right from the jump as a freshman. But you know what? You did more for the sport with your coaching and support of Brielle. Keep doing it.

Daniel McDonal. Could you have carried your team’s program in any prouder a fashion? Hardly anybody knows much about your team. But they know about you because of your quiet pursuit of excellence. You matter more than you can realize.

Ashley Saddler. I could say the same about you. You kept battling and winning, week after week, when the team results weren’t good and never got better. Easy to wrestle for a strong team. You know how hard the other thing is.

Cole Galbreath. Where did you come from? I don’t know if you wrestlers that don’t wrestle in Panama City have any idea just how hard Michael nearly obliterated Bay County programs. Cole just might have saved Bozeman. Believe that.

Joe Grelli. A lot of wrestlers talk about maturity and grace under fire. I remember when the losses were the rule and not the exception. You were graceful. Now that it’s the other way around, nothing changed in your demeanor. Clay youngsters will continue to learn a lot from you.

Wyatt Kirkpatrick. If outsiders were surprised, as I was somewhat surprised, by the surge that Rocky Bayou put on this year, that surge starts first and foremost with you. You have been the best RBCS wrestler for years and I know your teammates look to your example.

Jean Maldonaldo. I remember wondering who you were when Coach Marez started adding you to the lineup. But you kept winning and then you kept staying in the lineup. You’ve been an anchor in the Vikings’ middles ever since you arrived.

George Joanos. Kid, you just scrap like none other. Wrestling’s not as easy for you as it is for a couple of your teammates, but your opponents always knew they got a battle on their hands with you across the line.

Ethan Goodman. I thought back to last year’s blood round, with it was you moving on and your arch-rival, a 2019 graduate, staying home. If he knows what happened Saturday, I know he would send good thoughts your way. You’ve had a very solid career.

Joseph Rizzo. One of the last FPC wrestlers from the previous regime. Those two freshmen that are next to you in the lineup? They’re better, because of you. They’re better wrestlers, and they’re going to be better teammates down the road, because of you.

Kevonte Times. Two years in a row in the final six. Hard cheese, really hard. But you still have a vital role to play. There are teammates who have podiums to make this week, and you can help them get there. You did a lot for Chiles.

Austin Wheeler. Man, tough early going to your career. Tough early going. Anybody who’s had a rough go with this sport, they can look to you as proof that hard work is its own reward, because you put in a lot of it to improve so much over the last four years. Like your teammate, your team’s success isn’t possible without yours.

Gabe Guzman. You’ve been to The Show before. It’s really hard to jump from 113 to 145, though. It was necessary, but you made it work. You did everything your coaches could have asked of you, and more, over the last four years, and it hasn’t been all that easy for your team. You overcame a lot to get to this point. Remember that.

Dalton Posick. I started seeing results for you SIX YEARS AGO. First district tournament you were in, you made it out, and I was there. You should know, and your parents should know, that you are REALLY well-thought of in the community among your rival teams. That is a credit to you. It matters more than what today will.

Isaiah Clifford. You walked me in to your team’s fundraiser last April. Your coach is gutted you didn’t get out. I’M gutted you didn’t get out. It was a tough round for you guys. I’ll remember seeing you with your parents, just the three of you, nobody else in the gym, or I’m sure it at least felt that way. You’re going to be a fine young man. Clay built you, but you built Clay, too.

Reid Hampton.

This is the one I didn’t want to have to add. I see so much of my son in you. You both MADE yourself into athletes; it wasn’t graced upon you like some of your former teammates or many of your rivals. I’ve watched every single painstaking step you’ve taken, and dammit, you deserve to be in The Show, I don’t care what Brands said (just don’t tell him; I lose my Iowa membership card). You put in the time, you put in the extra time, and sometimes, life has another plan. You have laid the groundwork to be successful at anything, and when you’ve done it, later on in life, just remember I knew you first as a skinny little runt that would. not. quit. Ever.

North Florida Matmen staff report

TALLAHASSEE — It’s still too close to call just yet.

Three teams are within 10 points of first-day leader Pace at the 2A-Region 1 tournament after Friday’s wrestling, and another four are just nine back of the third-place score.

The Patriots have pushed through four wrestlers to today’s semifinal round. Matanzas, in second place with 54 points, has five semifinalists, while Columbia (six semifinalists) and Ft Walton Beach (three) are tied for third with 51 points.

Tournament co-host Lincoln (five semifinalists) is fifth with 48 points, while St Augustine stands sixth with 46 points and two semifinalists. Co-host/site host Chiles is seventh with 43 points and five semifinalists, while Mosley has four semifinalists and 42 points in eighth.

Orange Park is the only other team in the tournament with three semifinalists; the Raiders are currently ninth with 39 points. Teams with two semifinalists are Fletcher (11th, 33), Robert E. Lee (T-12th, 31), Niceville (14th, 28.5), Westside (15th, 28) and New Smyrna Beach (T-19th, 19).

Several teams have one semifinalist, led by 10th-place Gulf Breeze (36.5), followed by First Coast (T-12th, 31), Seabreeze (16th, 26), Deltona & Ponte Vedra (T-17th, 20), Pine Ridge (T-19th, 19), Milton (21st, 17), and Leon & Terry Parker (T-26th, seven).

Below follows a summary of the tournament:

106
Semifinals: Garrett Marschka (Chiles, 44-6) v Brett Millard (Columbia, 44-15); Elijah Hendley (Lincoln, 36-10) v Cole Bell (Mosley, 30-13).
Semis recap: The District 2 kids all reached the semis, with Marschka taking a 25-second pin over Ponte Vedra’s Aiden Taylor and an 8-1 win over Gulf Breeze’s Nate Weber in the quarters. Millard had two first-period pins over Lee’s Ricky Hicks (1:08) and Belleview’s Zackery Young (:32). Hendley pinned Westside’s Deshawn Reaves (1:50), then teched Seabreeze’s Kayla Nguyen, 19-3 (4:00) in the quarters. Bell also had two pins, with falls over Fletcher’s Ana Bradshaw (2:54) and Pine Ridge’s Devon Heil (:57).
WB quarters: Heil v Nguyen; Young v Weber.
WB round 2 recap: All of the back-side Saturday wrestlers were quarterfinalists. Heil pinned St Augustine’s Gabe Barro (4:57), while Nguyen pinned Hicks in 1:27. Young pinned Ft Walton Beach’s Reid Gannon in 3:53, while Weber shut out Bradshaw, 5-0.

113
Semifinals: Kevin Kerns (Deltona, 27-16) v Jimmy Martin (Lincoln, 33-12); Hunter Brown (Chiles, 42-7) v Wesley Carlisle (Orange Park, 18-23).
Semis recap: Kerns reached the semis behind pins over Middleburg’s Jeffrey Parker (2:36) and Niceville’s Ethan Pinto (:31), while Martin pinned Belleview’s Mark Willis (:37) and then teched First Coast’s Ian Loschinskey, 16-1 (4:16). Brown had two pins in 100 seconds, falling Matanzas’ Henson White (:45) and Fletcher’s Ryden Ashmoe (:55), while Carlisle advanced to the quarters by forfeit, where he took down Englewood’s Raequan Staples, 13-10.
WB quarters: Parker v Willis; Loschinskey v Pinto.
WB round 2 recap: Parker won twice to get to Saturday, with a fall over Ponte Vedra’s Julian Villegas (2:44) and 5-4 win over Staples. Willis also won twice, pinning Gulf Breeze’s Elijah Johnson (1:21) and then knocking off Ashmore, 7-2. Loschinskey reached Saturday with a 3-minute fall over Pace’s Jacob Hobbs, while Pinto did not have an opponent and moved into the consi quarters with a bye.

120
Semifinals: Derrick Lancero (Pace, 49-4) v Jace Engberg (New Smyrna Beach, 41-12); Brandon Mallin (Ft Walton Beach, 38-14) v Ethan Goodman (Matanzas, 35-10).
Semis recap: Lancero bonus-pointed through Friday, with a fall over Columbia’s Jayden Thomas (1:29) and a 12-2 major over Seabreeze’s Kobe Baert, while Engberg pinned Fletcher’s Josh Daltro (:36) and pushed past Orange Park’s Davon Bailey, 11-7, in the quarters. Mallin knocked off Middleburg’s Riley Girgis, 5-2, and majored St Augustine’s Wilson Nguyen, 23-10, while Goodman got to the quarters with a bye, then falled Lincoln’s Adam Barnes (5:23).
WB quarters: Barnes v Nguyen; Bailey v Baert.
WB round 2 recap: The quarterfinalists all bounced back on the back side, as Barnes pinned Westside’s Olleon Hickmon (2:02) and Nguyen edged Tate’s Daniel McGaha, 10-9, in the top half. On the bottom half, Bailey shut out Girgis, 11-0, while Baert knocked off Niceville’s Noah Tritz, 12-5.

126
Semifinals: Michael Shannon (New Smyrna Beach, 43-5) v Weston Burbidge (Ft Walton Beach, 39-17); Nolan Zirgibel (Leon, 22-2) v Shaun Culbreth (Matanzas, 48-4).
Semis recap: Shannon got to the semis with a second-period fall over Orange Park’s Durrionte Myrick (3:00) and then knocked off Gulf Breeze’s Colson Elliott, 8-1, in the quarters. Burbidge had two pins, falling Fletcher’s Gabriel Daltro (5:23) and St Augustine’s Jordan Levy (2:34), while Zirgibel had two 6-minute wins over Deltona’s Carlos Pineda (10-2) and Tate’s Marcus Virgin (7-2). Culbreth falled Middleburg’s Ryan Browning (1:02), then came back to defeat Pace’s Ethan Billhimer, 6-4.
WB quarters: Billhimer v Daltro; Jamal Burkes (Robert E Lee) v Elliott.
WB round 2 recap: Billhimer bounced back with a 29-second pin over Westside’s Nathan Williams, while Daltro had two wins on he back over Columbia’s Cooper Mote (15-8) and Virgin (8-6 in sudden victory). Burkes also won twice on the back, with a 3-2 round-1 win over Pineda and fall over Levy in 3:55. Elliott qualified for the second day with a 7-1 decision over Ponte Vedra’s Stephen Kowitski.

132
Semifinals: Ian Daily (Gulf Breeze, 15-1) v Nick Hejke (Mosley, 53-7); Jayden Pinto (Niceville, 37-13) v Ian McGuigan (Columbia, 48-8).
Semis recap: Both Daily and Hejke had two pins on the top half of the front side, with Daily pinning Middleburg’s Gabe Burch (:52) and St Augustine’s Christian Jackson (2:37). Hejke’s falls came in the first period, over Ft Walton Beach’s Darius Brundidge (:23) and Deltona’s Jacob Swanson (1:50). Pinto would bonus-point through, with a fall over Chiles’ Alex Adkins (5:28) and 13-3 major in the quarters over New Smyrna Beach’s Justis Chandler. McGuigan took decisions over Pace’s Atticus Waters (6-0) and Matanzas’ George Joanos (13-6).
WB quarters: Joanos v Chandler; Adkins v Waters.
WB round 2 recap: Joanos pinned Burch (3:39( and Chandler falled Fletcher’s Kaden Solomon (2:03) in the top half. Adkins won twice, with a forfeit and an 8-6 win over Swanson, while Waters had pins over Westside’s Donovan White (2:48) and Jackson (3:33).

138
Semifinals: Jaylan Griffin (Mosley, 35-7) v Olufemi Egberongbe (Chiles, 39-10); Alex McGuigan (Columbia, 50-11) v Carlos Quintanal (St Augustine, 26-13).
Semis recap: Griffin pushed through decisions over Lee’s Ty’juan Jones (8-1) in the first round and over Gulf Breeze’s Dylan Lawrence, 8-2, in the quarters. Egberongbe did the same in the second quarter, with 8-6 wins over Fletcher’s Tyriek Caldwell (round 1) and Milton’s Brandon Nicholson (in sudden victory in the quarters). McGuigan also had two 6-minute wins, over Stanton’s Gabriel Navarro (10-3) and Pace’s Seth O’Gara (10-0), while Quintanal took down Ft Walton Beach’s Martin Muniz, 10-5, and then pinned Orange Park’s Vincent Walker (4:21) in the quarters.
WB quarters: Jones v Sam Russo (Matanzas); Nicholson v Alex De Almeida (Ponte Vedra).
WB round 2 recap: Jones had two wins on the back, with a fall over Deltona’s Zane Hair (2:42) and 10-5 win over Walker, while Russo also had two wins in the consis (7-2 over Caldwell, 9-4 over O’Gara). Nicholson came back with a 7-0 shutout over New Smyrna Beach’s Hunter Childress, while De Almeida won twice (11-8 over Muniz, 13-2 over Lawrence).

145
Semifinals: Logan Gall (Mosley, 49-7) v Griffin Wilder (Matanzas, 24-6); Cameron Broughton (Orange Park, 43-1) v Josiah Mossor (First Coast, 37-1).
Semis recap: After a late fall (5:49) over Lee’s Jeramiah Stevens, Gall needed to go double-overtime to turn back Niceville’s Keane Creager, 6-5, in the quarters. Wilder pinned Gulf Breeze’s Kelly Scanlon (2:14) and then shut out Fletcher’s Tyson Petrie, 4-0, in the quarters. Broughton had two pins over Stanton’s Liam Salem and Ft Walton Beach’s Malachi Santiago (:38), while Mossor turned back Middleburg’s Dalton Falana (13-9) and St Augustine’s Gabriel Galloza (7-4).
WB quarters: Galloza v Santiago; Petrie v Creager.
WB round 2 recap: The quarterfinalists all rallied back in the consis, with Galloza pinning Stevens (4:42) and Santiago pinning Columbia’s Thomas Greene (3:57) in the top half. In the bottom half, Petrie majored Seabreeze’s Nik Crossman, 11-3, while Creager teched Falana, 17-2 in 5 minutes.

152
Semifinals: Hayden Yanni (St Augustine, 30-9) v Obie Smith (Columbia, 44-9); Joel Rodriguez (Fletcher, 25-4) v Noel Alicea (Matanzas, 25-12).
Semis recap: Yanni powered through to two wins, with decisions over Lee’s Savion Johnson (7-5) and Ft Walton Beach’s Jean Maldonaldo (8-6 in sudden victory). Smith had second-period pins over Tate’s Chad Luckey (3:01) and Terry Parker’s Tijuan Boyance (2:22), while Rodriguez had a first-round fall (3:06) over Belleview’s Eric McLaughlin and a 6-5 win in the quarters over Pace’s Joseph Cortez. Alicea needed just 87 seconds to reach the semis, with falls over Englewood’s Rasean Rayam (:32) and Mosley’s Jonathan Griffin (:55).
WB quarters: Griffin v Cortez; McLaughlin v Maldonaldo.
WB round 2 recap: In the top half, Griffin came back with a 6-2 win over Gainesville’s Nicholas Hanson, while Cortez falled Seabreeze’s Brock Roberts in 2:16. On the bottom portion, McLaughlin survived a wild 11-10 decision over Boyance, while Maldonaldo came through with a 10-7 win over district rival Garret Rudick of Gulf Breeze.

160
Semifinals: Daniel McDonal (Milton, 35-6) v Ahmahd Denmark (Robert E Lee, 35-3); Ashley Saddler (Terry Parker, 34-9) v Victor Lipsey (Seabreeze, 49-8).
Semis recap: McDonal bonus-pointed through Friday, with a fall over Englewood’s Sam Howard (4:53) and a 13-4 major over Matanzas’ Tristian Williams in the quarters, while Denmark max-pointed, with a forfeit and then a fall (1:42) over Columbia’s Preston O’Quinn. Saddler took six-minute wins over Pace’s Brody Andrews (13-4 major) and Mosley’s Kaydon Lester (8-3), while Lipsey took decisions over Middleburg’s Alex Nayfack (5-1) and Ft Walton Beach’s Caleb Tourgee (5-4 in double-overtime).
WB quarters: Cayden Bevis (Lincoln) v Clint Griffin (St Augustine); Andrews v Ethan Baur (Ponte Vedra).
WB round 2 recap: Each Saturday consi-side wrestler won twice on the back on Friday. Bevis falled Howard (:16) and then knocked off Tourgee, 12-7, in round 2, while Griffin had a forfeit and then pinned Lester in 4:02. Andrews took pins over New Smyrna Beach’s Braden Sullivan (1:30) and O’Quinn (3:49), while Baur falled Nayfack (2:18) and overcame Williams, 1-0, in the second round.

170
Semifinals: Rett Maritato (Ponte Vedra, 42-14) v Quenteen Robinson (Matanzas, 36-3); Joseph Rice (Columbia, 37-19) v Angelo Philpot (Westside, 46-4).
Semis recap: Maritato won by DQ in the first round over Chiles’ Kevonte Times, then pinned Gulf Breeze’s Hunter Dupont (2:31) in the quarters. Robinson had an 18-second fall over Niceville’s Jared Dieters, then pushed past First coast’s DeVante Wyatt, 10-5, in the quarters. Rice picked up two pins over Lee’s Vincente Waugh (3:46) and Pine Ridge’s Dylan Oglesby (2:50), while Philpot had two pins in a combined 1:42, over Middleburg’s Brayden Weaver (1:09) and Choctaw’s Samuel Santos (:33).
WB quarters: Times v Noe Pena (Mosley); Wyatt v Dupont.
WB round 2 recap: In the top half, both wrestlers won twice on the back, as Times had two pins in 57 seconds over Belleview’s Shaun Young (:47) and Santos (:10), while Pena also had two pins over Dieters (1:27) and Oglesby (1:31). Wyatt bounced back from the quarterfinal loss with a 15-3 major over Waugh, while Dupont powered past Weaver, 14-7.

182
Semifinals: Jacob Moore (Orange Park, 35-2) v Wyatt Yown (Lincoln, 25-15); Kyle McGill (Chiles, 42-3) v Jonathan Waugh (Pine Ridge, 14-6).
Semis recap: Moore falled Westside’s John Merritt (2:34) in the first round, then edged Ft Walton Beach’s Patrick Adams, 3-2, in the quarters. Yown picked up two pins over Englewood’s Darryl Sam (1:31) and St Augustine’s Ryan Murphy (3:49), while McGill did the same over Lee’s Keshawn Waters (3:18) and Matanzas’ Sean LeBeau (2:31). Waugh pinned Tate’s Jacob Turner (2:00) and then won by medical forfeit over Fletcher’s Stone Rockhill.
WB quarters: Merritt v Sam; Murphy v Adams.
WB round 2 recap: Both Merritt and Sam won twice on the consi half of the bracket on Friday. Merritt pinned New Smyrna Beach’s Dale Edwards (1:36) and then won by forfeit in the second round, while Sam had pins over Choctaw’s Gamaliel Harris (1:28) and LeBeau (1:58). Murphy bounced back with a fall over Waters (3:15), while Adams needed a 53-second fall over Mosley’s Isaac Hall to get to Saturday.

195
Semifinals: Gabe Jacobs (Pace, 52-0) v Austin Wheeler (Chiles, 38-10); Tanner Washburn (Lincoln, 37-6) v Sean Ripley (Niceville, 10-4).
Semis recap: Jacobs had first-period falls over Westside’s Terrance Alexander (1:21) and Mainland’s Doug Dittmer (1:15), while Wheeler bonus-pointed through the day, with an 11-1 major over Belleview’s Nathan Halstead and fall over Gulf Breeze’s Julian McCully (1:35). Washburn pinned Matanzas’ Vincent Iuliano (1:21), then edged Ft Walton Beach’s Eddie Alexis, 8-7, in the quarters, while Ripley took pins over Fletcher’s Michael Strong (2:52) and Seabreeze’s Caiden Patton (4:44).
WB quarters: Patton v Alexis; McCully v Dittmer.
WB round 2 recap: The quarterfinalists all came back for consi-side wins, with Patton powering past Columbia’s Shawn Raggins, 8-6, and Alexis falling First Coast’s Hakeem Culberson (1:36) in the top half. On the bottom half, McCully pinned Ponte Vedra’s Harlan Nikolov (2:53), and Dittmer pinned Strong in 4:31.

220
Semifinals: Wyatt Dillon (Pace, 49-5) v Ethan Hollenbach (Fletcher, 19-1); Craig Harper (Robert E Lee, 33-9) v Kaleb Williams (Ft Walton Beach, 33-10).
Semis recap: Dillon won by fall twice over Englewood’s Melvin Wiggins (1:52) and over Lincoln’s Omarion LaRoach (3:18), while Hollenbach took decisions over Niceville’s Ramsey Kidder (7-1) and Leon’s Josh Seabrooks (8-3). After a 9-2 round-1 win over Crestview’s Kennard Madden, Harper pinned Orange Park’s James McArthur in 5:48 in the quarters, while Williams had a fall (4:25 over First Coast’s Grayson Peterson) before finding a takedown in sudden victory for a 3-1 win over Deltona’s Ethan Chiu.
WB quarters: Chiu v D’angelo Baker (Pine Ridge); Madden v Peterson.
WB round 2 recap: Chiu escaped in the ultimate-tiebreaker for a 3-2 win over Seabreeze’s Nathan Boyd, while Baker had two wins on the back (3-1 in sudden victory over Kidder, fall in 3 minutes over McArthur). On the bottom half, Madden and Peterson both won twice, with Madden taking pins over Matanzas’ Pete Grimm (1:59) and Seabrooks (2:08), while Peterson falled Mosley’s Logan Strickland (:56) and then won by a 4-2 decision over LaRoach.

285
Semifinals: Cam Goodenow (Pace, 43-5) v Tyler Moss (Lincoln, 37-4); Ray Bolden (Westside, 37-2) v Jaycob Jones (Columbia, 34-9).
Semis recap: After winning by medical forfeit in the first round, Goodenow reached the semis with a fall over First Coast’s Dylan Lampkin (2:40). Moss had two pins over Ft Walton Beach’s Spencer Mackenzie (1:14) and Fletcher’s Toby Matson (2:41), while Bolden won by forfeit and then pin over Milton’s Alec Cavazos (2:41). Jones had two pins over Crestview’s Rolando Hernandez (1:20) and Matanzas’ Robert Elder (4:35).
WB quarters: Elder v Cavazos; Reese Sheehan (Orange Park) v Lampkin.
WB round 2 recap: Both Elder and Cavazos bounced back after quarterfinal losses, with Elder pinning Deltona’s Nathan Hatch (3:39) in a matchup of District 4 rivals, and Cavazos falling fellow District 1 rival Mackenzie in 1 minute. Sheehan had a forfeit and then pinned Matson in 3:25, while Lampkin pinned Hernandez in 1:50.

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North Florida Matmen staff report

ORANGE PARK — 13 in the first day. 13 through the first day.

Fleming Island had a couple of tiny hiccups in the first day of competition in the 3A-Region 1 tournament at home, but the Golden Eagles have all 13 of their wrestlers still alive in the tournament heading into today’s second day.

Fleming had just two contested losses on Friday, by a combined total of three points, getting 10 wrestlers through to the semifinals. Just one more win, on either side of the bracket, and those 10 are through. The three wrestlers already in the consis need two wins today.

Flagler Palm Coast stands third after the first day, with 65 points, two back of runnerup Timber Creek, with four semifinalists, while Buchholz is in fifth, with 52 points and four semifinalists of its own. Hagerty rounds out the top five, with 60 points in fourth.

Seminole has three semifinalists and the Noles are currently in ninth place, with 39 points. Creekside (7th place, 41 points) and Oakleaf (11th, 35) each have two in the semis, while University (Orange City) (12th, 32.5) and Forest (T-23rd, 11) each have one.

The rest of the coverage area in 3A is either fighting out of the consis or are done after the first day. Bartram Trail leads that group, in 13th place with 31 points. Sandalwood is 16th (20), Nease 20th (15), West Port T-23rd (11), DeLand T-26th (10) and Mandarin 28th (nine).

Below follows a recap of the eight remaining wrestlers in each weight class:

106
Semifinals: Kole Hannant (Flagler Palm Coast, 42-11) v Trenton Dominguez (Timber Creek, 45-9); Jakob Zawosky (Forest, 31-3) v DJ Perez (West Orange, 30-8).
Semis recap: Hannant advanced with a fall over Apopka’s Tamarion Kendrick (1:52) in round 1 and a 5-2 win over Bartram Trail’s Ethan Vugman in the quarters. Dominguez bonus-pointed through both Friday rounds, with a fall over Oakleaf’s Denzell Keeton (1:33) and a 12-0 quarterfinal major over Colonial’s Tyreque Pringle. Zawosky picked up two first-period pins over Wekiva’s Maurice Beasley (1:45, rd 1) and University-Orlando’s Tiana Marcillo (:57, quarters). Perez won by fall twice, over DeLand’s Kellen Chapman (3:47) and Creekside’s Andrew Feeks (2:34).
WB quarters: Kendrick v Grady Bryant (University-Orange City); Pringle v Vugman.
WB round 2 local recap: Bryant won twice on the back, with a 5-1 round-1 decision over Keeton and 15-second fall over Marcillo, while Vugman bounced back from the quarterfinal loss with a fall over Chapman (1:55).

113
Semifinals: Hunter Herrington (Fleming Island, 34-7) v Victor Altamirano (Wekiva, 25-4); Venumadhava Mirel (Buchholz, 30-11) v Fernando Dominguez (Timber Creek, 39-10).
Semis recap: Herrington picked up bonus in both rounds, with wins over Ocoee’s Nathan Ramirez (fall in 1:56, rd 1) and Seminole’s Corry Sanchez (12-4, quarters). Altamirano had pins over Mandarin’s Devin Foster in round 1 (4:30) and over Flagler’s Joseph Rizzo in the quarters (1:52). Mirel needed just 68 seconds to advance, with pins over Hagerty’s Jacob Genao (:55, rd 1) and Bartram Trail’s Michael Moore (:13, quarters). Dominguez pinned West Port’s Frangello Baltodano (3:55) in the first round, but had to battle to get past Nease’s Trevion Demus, 9-7, in the quarters.
WB quarters: Demus v Moore; Rizzo v Sanchez.
WB round 2 recap: Demus came back in the consis with a 6-2 win over Oviedo’s Stewart Reynolds, while Moore falled Lake Mary’s Jeremy Goodman in 2:05. Rizzo needed just 25 seconds to pin Windermere’s Ticiano Brito, while Sanchez pinned West Orange’s Lorenzo Perez in 1:55.

120
Semifinals: Ryan Hobson (Fleming Island, 44-19) v Gabe Rendon (Oviedo, 37-5); Cesar Marquez (Seminole, 4-1 in post-season) v Jason Shaw (Hagerty, 34-7).
Semis recap: Hobson bonus-pointed into the semis, with a 36-second fall over UOC’s Malique Hargett and 10-2 major over Timber Creek’s Jacob McCrimmon. Rendon also bonus-pointed through (pin over Lake Brantley’s Emmanual Sardoba-Gracia, 17-0 tech over Sandalwood’s Hunter Milner). Marquez had pins over Creekside’s Hunter England (2:20) and Evans’ Dionysos Dix (1:40), while Shaw had first-period falls over Colonial’s Brandon Vargas (1:45) and Flagler’s John Hald (1:59).
WB quarters: Hald v Dix; England v Marcus McGee (Oakleaf).
WB round 2 local recap: Hald came back in the consis with a 13-4 major over Hargett, while McGee — who forfeited to Hald in the first round — picked up a pair of consi-side wins over Colonial’s Brandon Vargas (10-0 major) and McCrimmon (5-2) in the second round.

126
Semifinals: Kamdon Harrison (Hagerty, 38-10) v Diego Solorzano (Lake Mary, 33-6); Joseph Parker (Winter Park, 31-7) v Jayden Tapia (Timber Creek, 48-4).
Semis recap: After a fall over Flagler’s Brendan Buckles (1:03), Harrison held off Fleming’s Riley Holton, 2-0, in the quarters. Solorzano bonus-pointed through Friday, with an 11-3 major over Seminole’s Ethan Gorospe and fall over Colonial’s Dominique Pringle (3:46). Parker also had two bonus-point wins (15-5 over UOC’s Jonathan Justice, 10-second fall over Apopka’s Jalen Moliere), while Tapia had pins over Forest’s Chase Cook (3:20) and Creekside’s Michael Galiani (4:44).
WB quarters: Buckles v Gorospe; Justice v Holton.
WB round 2 recap: In the top half, Buckles and Gorospe both won twice in the consis, with Buckles taking pins over Lake Brantley’s Mark Nashed (:54) and Galiani (5:31), while Gorospe falled Oakleaf’s Kevin Gilley (2:19) and Moliere (2:21). Justice also had two wins, with a 14-12 decision over Bartram’s Trevor Tagarelli and fall over Pringle (4:36), while Holton shut out Windermere’s Justin Pinto, 14-0, after his quarterfinal loss.

132
Semifinals: Isaac Padgett (Fleming Island, 39-16) v Andrew Dance (Flagler Palm Coast, 40-8); Clayton Hurley (Apopka, 23-1) v Alex Vazquez (Lake Mary, 42-5).
Semis recap: Padgett and Dance both had two pins Friday, with Padgett falling DeLand’s Noah Falk (2:45) and Hagerty’s Traevis Saint Louis (2:20), and Dance taking pins over Bartram Trail’s Preston Pena (3:04) and Winter Park’s Kevin Dominguez (1:25). Hurley falled Timber Creek’s Azriel Tiburclo (:59) and took down Oakleaf’s Trevor Owens, 9-3, in the quarters, while Vazquez teched West Orange’s Conner Smith (19-3) and majored Buchholz’s Kason Nichols, 8-0.
WB quarters: Nichols v Owens; Dominguez v Nolan Anderson (Creekside).
WB round 2 local recap: Nichols bounced back in the consis with a fall over Evans’ Tyran Schanck (5:32), while Owens pinned Pena in 2:07. Anderson had two wins on the back, with a 6-1 win in round 1 over Smith and fall (2:37) over Saint Louis.

138
Semifinals: Dalton Williams (Fleming Island, 37-3) v Ransom Randolph (Apopka, 41-8); Kyle Peacock (Flagler Palm Coast, 40-5) v Chris Labrecque (Lake Brantley, 31-6).
Semis recap: Williams opened with a 16-1 tech over Lake Howell’s Johnathan Adams, then pinned Evans’ Jagdesh Persaud in 2:31, while Randolph had pins over West Port’s Tyler Pinkowski (2:53) and University (Orlando)’s Abel Marcano (4:42). Peacock majored West Orange’s Juan Sanchez, 19-5, and then decisioned Sandalwood’s Lavaughn Brown, 13-8, in the quarters, while Labrecque falled University (Orange City)’s Cooper Braden (5:59) and majored Timber Creek’s Logan Custred, 17-4.
WB quarters: Custred v Brown; Marcano v Jalon Lumar (Nease).
WB round 2 local recap: Brown falled Oakleaf’s Logan Gilbert in 39 seconds in the consis, while Lumar had two victories on the back, with a fall over Braden (4:25) and an 11-8 round 2 decision over Persaud.

145
Semifinals: Gannon Janssen (Fleming Island, 58-5) v Marcus Patrick (Oviedo, 42-5); Blane DeFord (Flagler Palm Coast, 48-5) v Blake Watts (Hagerty, 29-11).
Semis recap: Janssen needed just 1:49 to reach the semis, with pins over Timber Creek’s Dominic Acosta (1:25) and University (Orange City)’s Chase McDonough (:24) in the quarters. Patrick falled Sandalwood’s Jermell McCall (:45)and then majored West Port’s Bryce Dodge, 21-7, in the round of eight. DeFord had two pins in 1:59, with falls over Colonial’s Christopher Sito (1:10) and Bartram Trail’s Stephen Farris (:49), while Watts won by medical forfeit over Nease’s Andrew Ryan, then pushed past West Orange’s Michael Nepywoda, 8-7, in the quarters.
WB quarters: Nepywoda v Farris; Brett Moses (Lake Mary) v McDonough.
WB round 2 local recap: Farris came back from the loss to DeFord with a 29-second pin over McCall, while McDonough got to Saturday with a tech fall over Buchholz’s Timothy Bowen, 15-0.

152
Semifinals: Tanner Hill (Fleming Island, 54-8) v Phillip Carstens (Lake Howell, 24-7); David Parkes (Oakleaf, 39-8) v Dylan Kohn (Hagerty, 43-5).
Semis recap: Hill had two pins on Friday, with falls over Buchholz’s Liam Buchanan (2:42) and Oviedo’s Luca Vizzarri (1:42). Carstens also had two pins, falling Ocoee’s Eric Gilreath (2:23) and Flagler’s Timothy King (3:24). Parkes falled UOC’s James Houck (2:21), then pushed past West Orange’s Solo Smith, 3-2, in the quarters, while Kohn had techs over Lake Brantley’s Joey Henkhaus (22-6) and West Port’s Theo Massilon (15-0).
WB quarters: Buchanan v Smith; Noah Hesse (Lake Mary) v Vizzarri.
WB round 2 local recap: After a forfeit in the first round of consis, Buchanan got through to Saturday with a 6-3 decision over Massilon.

160
Semifinals: Luke Chop (Fleming Island, 55-7) v Winter Park’s Quentin Reeves (20-8); Hunter Brown (Creekside, 30-12) v Jared Purcell (Lake Mary, 45-1).
Semis recap: After a forfeit into the quarters, Chop took down Hagerty’s Ryan Cody, 4-1, to get to Saturday on the front side of the bracket. Reeves had two pins over Flagler’s Marcelo Gonzalez (1:42) and Bartram Trail’s John McNames (:03). After falling Apopka’s Cory Cardosa (:50) in the first round, Brown won by forfeit over Timber Creek’s Carson Rick in the quarters, while Purcell had falls over West Port’s Joseph Paci (2:32) and Sandalwood’s Joshua Brown (3:43).
WB quarters: Joshua Brown v Rick; McNames v Cody.
WB round 2 local recap: Brown got to Saturday with a fall over Buchholz’s Max Szabo (2:45), while McNames pinned University (Orange City)’s Kellan Flanary in 2:17.

170
Semifinals: Gavin Smith (Fleming Island, 48-10) v Logan Perkins (Hagerty, 36-8); Matthew Vann (Buchholz, 46-13) v Luther Casimir (Apopka, 29-3).
Semis recap: In the top half, both Smith and Perkins had two pins, with Smith falling Oviedo’s David Rojo (2:20) and Colonial’s Jalen Mathis (1:14), while Hagerty pinned Creekside’s Josh Benavides (1:32) and Flagler’s Garrick Schwarz (2:50). Vann’s two pins both were in the first period over Evans’ Michley Andrezil (1:20) and Oakleaf’s Onjel Caraballo (1:40), while Casimir opened with a 16-0 tech over UOC’s Aaron Liberti, then pinned Timber Creek’s Zach Hanks in 1:17 in the quarters.
WB quarters: Rojo v Caraballo; Ghazi Alkadry (Winter Park) v Mathis.
WB round 2 local recap: Caraballo was the only area winner in the final round of the day, majoring Benavides by a 19-6 count in the second round.

182
Semifinals: Jalen Hines (Creekside, 36-5) v Ethan Lopez (Hagerty, 31-3); Armando Acosta (Buchholz, 46-1) v Austin Parker (Winter Park, 29-5).
Semis recap: Aftera a forfeit into the quarters, Hines falled West Orange’s Elias Funk in 1:07. Lopez took a tech fall over Nease’s Mario Powers (16-0) and falled Seminole’s William James (1:46), while Acosta had first-period pins over Wekiva’s Simeon McKell (1:18) and Timber Creek’s Shamai Powell (1:32). Parker won by fall over Mandarin’s Tony Carter (:50) in the first round and over Colonial’s Seth Suvak (4:20) in the quarters.
WB quarters: Suvak v Powers; Nick Janssen (Fleming Island) v Carter.
WB round 2 local recap: After a round-1 win by forfeit, Powers pinned Powell in 3:41 to get to Saturday. Janssen, who’d forfeited his opener, then had pins over McKell (2:34) and James (1:13) to move through, while Carter falled Forest’s Alvont Graham (1:30) and Funk (:16) to get out.

195
Semifinals: Jeffrey Lascano (Fleming Island, 41-7) v Kelton Law (Ocoee, 26-4); Jason Martin (Buchholz, 41-11) v Dakota Phillips (Lake Mary, 39-6).
Semis recap: Lascano had six-minute wins over Lake Brantley’s Justice Pratt (14-1) and DeLand’s Aaron Morris (2-1), while Law pinned Mandarin’s Royal Felton-Norman (:52) and then downed University-OC’s Ethan Lasher, 4-3, in the quarters. Martin had first-period pins over Lyman’s James Fodor (1:59) and Creekside’s Bryan Fortay (1:53), while Phillips did the same, with pins over Forest’s Jacob Pratt (:56) and Oakleaf’s Isiah Schevchook (:28).
WB quarters: Bertilus Bornelus (Hagerty) v Dyllan Bueter (Timber Creek); Lasher v Morris.
WB round 2 local recap: Lasher came back from the narrow loss, with a 12-1 major over Colonial’s Sean Henderson in WB round 2, while Morris falled Wekiva’s Orane Clark in 3:06 to move onward.

220
Semifinals: Chad Nix (Fleming Island, 58-1) v Christian Kennick (University-Orange City, 30-7); Jordan Smith (Seminole, 5-0 in post-season) v Luther Johnson (Wekiva, 24-9).
Semis recap: After an 11-second pin over Colonial’s Nathaniel Gayle, Nix won by forfeit in the quarters. Kennick falled Oviedo’s Malachi Williams, then came back to push through a 2-1 win over Ocoee’s Korey Karbowsky. Smith falled Hagerty’s Landon Revis in 1:51 in the first round, then took down Apopka’s Ralph Sanchez, 5-2, in the quarters, while Johnson had a pair of decisions (11-8 over Oakleaf’s Jason Mitchell and 5-4 over Timber Creek’s Shamir Nelson).
WB quarters: Nelson v Sanchez; Karbowsky v Nevan Burney (Buchholz).
WB round 2 local recap: Burney, who’d forfeited to Nix in the quarters after an opening-round pin in 1:18 over Winter Park’s Joshua Ayala, then won on the consi side with a 4-1 decision over Mitchell.

285
Semifinals: Josh Murrell (Oakleaf, 45-7) v Curtis Ruff (Seminole, 5-0 in post-season); Lawrence Stubbs (Wekiva, 24-3) v Jacob Donaldson (Lake Mary, 38-4).
Semis recap: In the top half, both Murrell and Ruff won by first-period falls, with Murrell pinning Forest’s Kaleb Thompson (1:28) and Ocoee’s Jordan Phillips (:49). Ruff falled Bartram Trail’s Ryan Piersza (:53) and Timber Creek’s Daniel Garcia (1:33). After a bye, Stubbs knocked off Fleming’s Raul Gonzalez, 4-3, while Donaldson falled Apopka’s Sheldan Flowers (:50) and then downed Flagler’s AJ Cinelli, 7-3, in the quarters.
WB quarters: Cinelli v Gonzalez; Garcia v Phillips.
WB round 2 local recap: Both Cinelli and Gonzalez advanced to Saturday with pins, as Cinelli falled Thompson in 53 seconds and Gonzalez pinned Piersza in 2:30.

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North Florida Matmen staff report

CRAWFORDVILLE — Nobody’s in The Show yet.

But Wakulla and Clay both put 10 wrestlers within one match of Kissimmee on Friday, setting the stage for an epic second-day battle in the 1A-Region 1 tournament at Wakulla HS.

The War Eagles and Blue Devils each have 10 semifinalists and have out-distanced the rest of a 30-team field, with 92 and 89 points, respectively.

Bolles holds a slight lead over Yulee and Suwannee for third place, with 58.5 points to the Hornets’ 57 and the Live Oak Bulldogs’ 54.5. Bolles has four wrestlers in the semis, while Yulee has three and Suwannee five.

Florida High (7th place, 43 points) has five in the semis, while Raines (9th, 33) has four. Episcopal (10th, 32.5 points), Marianna (T-11th, 32) and University Christian (19th, 16.5) each have two.

Of the teams with one semifinalist, sixth-place Bishop Kenny ranks highest, with 44 points. Ridgeview (8th, 36), West Nassau (13th, 31), South Walton (15th, 22), Godby (16th, 20), Bozeman & Fernandina Beach (T-17th, 17), Rocky Bayou Christian (21st, 13), Rutherford (25th, eight) all also have one semifinalist.

Teams fighting out of the consis in the top 20 are Arnold (T-11th, 32), Baker Cty (14th, 25) and Bay (20th, 14).

Below follows a recap of the eight remaining wrestlers in each weight class:

106
Semifinals: Brody Boehm (Suwannee, 32-25) v Jacob Witt (Bolles, 35-8); Maverick Rainwater (Clay, 19-9) v Jayce Paridon (University Christian, 44-9).
Semis recap: Boehm bonus-pointed through the first two rounds, with a round-1 tech over Yulee’s Duhan Lewis (15-0 in 2:32), and a 13-4 major over Ridgeview’s Blake Pu in the quarters. Witt teched South Walton’s Brett Canut (15-0 in 2:14), then falled Episcopal’s Scott Busey in the quarters (1:28). Rainwater had a 52-second fall over Rutherford’s Elijah Stillgess, then pushed past Wakulla’s Julian Harvey, 4-2, in the quarters. Paridon didn’t give up a point Friday, teching Wewahitchka’s Justin Johnson (18-0 in 4 minutes) and then majoring West Nassau’s Blayden Tharpe, 13-0, in the quarters.
WB quarters: Porter Beach (Arnold) v. Harvey; Busey v Pu.
WB round 2 recap: Beach won twice on the back after a 5-0 loss to Pu, with pins over Lewis (3:47) and Tharpe (4:12). Harvey came back in the consis to pin South Walton’s Brett Canut (2:44), while Busey knocked off Bishop Kenny’s Allan Bustos, 7-5. Pu bounced back with a 13-2 major over Johnson.

113
Semifinals: Dalton Huckelberry (Clay, 28-18) v DaQuan King (Raines, 51-3); George Hernandez (Wakulla, 52-7) v Egan Gustilo (University Christian, 49-6).
Semis recap: Huckelberry teched Marianna’s William Carrel (15-0 in 5:44), then took a first-period fall (1:29) over West Nassau’s Jackson Holcomb in the quarters. King had two pins, falling Rocky Bayou’s Owen Parry (2:33) in the first round and Suwannee’s Foster Swain (4:43) in the quarters. After an 18-second fall over Wolfson’s Liam Strange in the first round, Hernandez had to push past Bishop Kenny’s Ryan Mayer, 4-3, in the quarters, while Gustilo pinned Baker County’s Thomas Torres (1:03) in the first round and decisioned Episcopal’s Christian Ryan, 15-8, in the quarters.
WB quarters: Ryan v Mayer; Swain v Holcomb.
WB round 2 recap: Ryan bounced back with a fall over Marianna’s William Carrel (1:36), while Mayer pinned Bolles’ Bryson Hubbard in 3:39. Swain falled Bozeman’s Logan Jamison (4:04), while Holcomb falled South Walton’s CJ Inman in 13 seconds to get to Saturday.

120
Semifinals: Joe Jackson (Episcopal, 31-13) v Raymond Hatchman (Wakulla, 47-11); Kyle Hopkins (Raines, 39-5) v Luke Davis (Clay, 32-13).
Semis recap: Jackson got to the semis with a fall over Wolfson’s Andrew Harbin (1:57) and then a 9-5 quarterfinal win over Arnold’s Will Ashby. Hatchman had two pins, falling Bay’s Jamie Balmeceda (:56, round 1) and Bishop Snyder’s Christian Villanueva (2:47, quarters). Hopkins pinned Ridgeview’s Robby Morris (:43) in the first round and Baker Cty’s Shane Bullard (2:27) in the quarters, while Davis falled Fernandina Beach’s Caden Kubatzke (1:34) and then teched Suwannee’s Xander Kirkland, 15-0, in 5:32.
WB quarters: Kirkland v Balmeceda; Villanueva v Ashby.
WB round 2 recap: Kirkland falled Godby’s John Breaux (:58), while Balmeceda shut out Bullard, 13-0, after a forfeit win in WB rd 1. Villanueva pinned Morris (1:52) in the bottom half of the round, while Ashby pushed past district rival Conner Roberts of Wewahitchka, 9-8.

126
Semifinals: Jae T Thaxton (Wakulla, 24-15) v Tyler Reeve (Florida High, 30-4); Timothy Jolicoeur (Suwannee, 54-8) v Matthew Rodriquez (Ridgeview, 61-0).
Semis recap: After opening with a 15-11 first-round win over Clay’s Josh Kumpf, Thaxton shut out Episcopal’s Ben Helton, 9-0, in the quarters. Reeve had two pins over Bolles’ Denny Vohs (:23) in the first round and Fernandina Beach’s Jeremy Mahoney (3:52) in the quarters, while Jolicoeur falled Wolfson’s Max Lewallen (3:44) in round 1 and pushed past Bishop Kenny’s Sebastian Deara, 10-3, in the quarter. Rodriquez also had two pins, falling Baker Cty’s David Jackson (:49) in the first round and Yulee’s Tristan Martinez (3:31) in the quarter
WB quarters: Kumpf v Deara; Mahoney v Jackson.
WB round 2 recap: Kumpf rallied from the round-1 loss to Dart with two wins, decisioning Arnold’s Spencer Korol (11-5) and falling Martinez (4:02), while Deara bounced back with an 8-6 decision over Vohs. Mahoney falled Lewallen in 2:08, while Jackson picked up a pin in 2:31 over Helton.

132
Semifinals: Canyon Dart (South Walton, 29-21) v Matthew Owen (Wakulla, 50-3); Jaxon Sansouci (Suwannee, 38-11) v Brooks Dyer (Florida High, 15-5).
Semis recap: After a forfeit in the round of 16, Dart took down Bishop Kenny’s Brock Hinson, 6-2, in the quarters. Owen also had a forfeit in the round of 16, pinning Episcopal’s Noah Meyer in 35 seconds to reach the semi. Sansouci had two decisions, grinding out wins over Wewahitchka’s Jaden Moseley (7-2) in the first round and Yulee’s Bryce Bees (6-4) in the quarters. Dyer, meanwhile, won by tech twice without giving up a point, teching North Bay Haven’s Helmut vonKnoblauch (16-0 in 1:49) and Bolles’ Dalton Posick (15-0 in 3:01).
WB quarters: Posick v Shawn Tahir (Ridgeview); Meyer v Sebastian Gonzalez (Ed White).
WB round 2 recap: Posick came back with a 12-5 decision over Clay’s Aiden Mayo, while Tahir had a forfeit in round 1 and fall (4:51) over Yulee’s Bryce Bees. In the bottom half of the consis, Meyer pinned Moseley in 2:43, while Gonzalez edged Hinson, 3-2.

138
Semifinals: Dylan Johns (Yulee, 36-10) v Roberto Cuartero (Bishop Kenny, 31-11); Tyson Musgrove (Suwannee, 37-18) v Tyson Riley (Bolles, 32-9).
Semis recap: Johns bonus-pointed into the semis, with wins over Wakulla’s Jackson Merrick (fall in 2:36) in the round of 16 and North Bay Haven’s Michael Esquivias (12-4) in the quarters. Cuartero found a takedown in sudden victory for a 12-10 win over Florida High’s Emil Ganim in the round of 16, then falled Clay’s Luke Boree (5:22) in the quarters. After a first-round bye, Musgrove shut out Ridgeview’s Ian Finnorn, 5-0, in the quarters, while Riley pinned Bozeman’s Kincade Lassiter (1:47, rd of 16) and West Nassau’s Bradley Hulett (3:43, quarters) to reach the semis.
WB quarters: Hulett v Ganim; Boree v Esquivias.
WB round 2 recap: Hulett came back in the consis with a fall over Merrick (:35), while Ganim bounced back from the OT loss with pins over South Walton’s Ryan Kurfirst (:45) and Finnorn (1:28). Boree pinned Bay’s Kyle Roper (2:45), while Esquivias came back with a 3-2 win over Lassiter.

145
Semifinals: Wyatt Kirkpatrick (Rocky Bayou Christian, 26-4) v Dennis Ganim (Florida High, 19-9); Noah Wilson (Wakulla, 50-3) v Dominic Martin (Clay, 27-14).
Semis recap: Kirkpatrick falled Wolfson’s Gavin Hill (3:03) and then pushed past Suwannee’s Caleb Parsons, 8-6, in the quarters. Ganim majored Bishop Kenny’s Daniel Maher (10-1) and took down Ridgeview’s Gabe Guzman, 9-6, in the quarters. Wilson had two first-minute pins over Paxon’s Jared Aten (:58) and Bolles’ Julian Morris (:50), while Martin falled South Walton’s Ashton Nunes (1:11) and then decisioned Marianna’s Ethan Heinemann, 7-2, in the quarters.
WB quarters: Heinemann v Maher; Guzman v Parsons.
WB round 2 recap: Heinemann pinned West Nassau’s Gibreen Ahmad (1:44), while Maher had two wins on the back, falling North Bay Haven’s Jonathan Yates (2:37) and decisioning Morris, 7-4, in the top half. Guzman came back with a fall over Bay’s Trenton Wood (1:38), while Parsons knocked off Yulee’s Jesse Johnson, 9-4.

152
Semifinals: Aston Ricks (Yulee, 43-7) v Chase Roberts (Wakulla, 44-4); Reid Hampton (Episcopal, 36-9) v Cale Hoskinson (Clay, 44-6).
Semis recap: Ricks had a pair of pins, falling Bolles’ Skylar Malone (3:19) and Arnold’s Nick Kendrick (5:36), while Roberts matched the two-pin feat, with pins over Bozeman’s Bradley Garner (:38) and Wolfson’s Cameron Frison (3:07). Hampton pinned Bishop Snyder’s Jamil Johnson (1:17) and then teched Florida High’s Liam Hawkes (15-0 in 4:10), while Hoskinson also had two pins, both in the first period, with falls over Bishop Kenny’s Barrie Snyder (1:15) and Rocky Bayou’s Calvin Wells (:55).
WB quarters: Malone v Hawkes; Frison v Kendrick.
WB round 2 recap: Malone won twice on the back, with pins over Baker Cty’s Branden Bradley (2:55) and Wells (2:57), while Hawkes had a 15-second fall over Garner. In the bottom half, Frison came back to pin South Walton’s John Lopez (1:59), and Kendrick falled Suwannee’s Austin Howard in :22.

160
Semifinals: Micah Perdue (Florida High, 26-11) v Cole Baggett (Wakulla, 54-7); Chase Maddox (Marianna, 37-10) v Tucker Reape (Clay, 13-10).
Semis recap: Perdue picked up a pair of first-period pins over Bishop Snyder’s Clayton Beasley (1:38) and Arnold’s Max Gaylord (1:42), while Baggett falled Bolles’ Jackson Brill (1:01) and then edged West Nassau’s Requan Works, 6-5, in the quarters. Maddox also won by decision in the quarters, 7-5 over Yulee’s Isaiah Shook, after pinning Baldwin’s Johnatan Santiago (1:13), while Reape took decisions over Baker Cty’s Clayton Dennison (8-3) and Bishop Kenny’s Carter Wood (6-1).
WB quarters: Wood v Shook; Works v Dennison.
WB round 2 recap: Wood bounced back with an 11-6 win over Episcopal’s Brennan Doherty, while Shook took down Brill, 9-6, in the top half. Works came back with a fall over Santiago (1:50), while Dennison had two wins, falling Bay’s Caleb Pippin (1:20) and decisioning Gaylord, 6-3.

170
Semifinals: John Maddox (Marianna, 42-6) v Jeremiah Giedrys (Fernandina Beach, 35-10); Jayvon Brown (Wakulla, 37-8) v Raynarde Thomas (Raines, 43-5).
Semis recap: Maddox had second-period pins over Yulee’s Collin Sewell (2:41) and Rutherford’s Chad Allgood (2:50), while Giedrys falled Suwannee’s Dustin Wood (5:31) in the first round and found a takedown in sudden victory over Clay’s Isaiah Clifford for a 5-3 win. Brown had first-period falls over Bishop Kenny’s Paul Barakat (1:33) and Rocky Bayou’s Jaden Scruggs (1:00), while Thomas had falls over Godby’s Thomas Branson (:37) and South Walton’s Chase Maas (1:32).
WB quarters: Sewell v Wood; Clifford v Branson.
WB round 2 recap: After a bye into round 2, Sewell falled Maas in 15 seconds, while Wood had two contested wins (fall in :26 over Anderson’s Walter Anderson, 9-2 decision over Scruggs). Clifford bounced back from the OT loss to pin Barakat in 1:32, while Branson falled Allgood in :06.

182
Semifinals: Jackson Osteen (Wakulla, 39-8) v Jordan Bell (Clay, 27-11); Blaine Howard (Suwannee, 26-5) v Ethan Asbury (Bolles, 20-8).
Semis recap: Osteen had a pair of first-period falls, pinning Raines’ Christian McNair (:39) and University Christian’s Jackie Dinh (1:42), while Bell also had two pins, with falls over North Bay Haven’s Jackson Savell (:52) and Marianna’s Christian Cosson (5:22). Howard falled Bishop Kenny’s Mike Bagan (:22) and Ridgeview’s Spencer Robertson (2:28), while Asbury pinned Rutherford’s Marco Mejia (1:08) and Yulee’s Keleb Reddish (3:16).
WB quarters: Dylan Garner (South Walton) v Kolby Kidd (Fernandina Beach); Cosson v. Toby Kinghorn (Baker Cty).
WB round 2 recap: Garner had pins over McNair (1:56) and Reddish (3:00) on the back, while Kidd falled Savell (2:07) and pushed past Robertson, 7-5, in round 2. Cosson had just the one consi-side match, pinning Bagan in 1:35, while Kinghorn pinned Mejia (:54) and Dinh (1:50) to get to Saturday.

195
Semifinals: Xavier Stillgess (Rutherford, 35-9) v Marcus Haigler (Florida High, 15-7); John Trevor Hinsey (Wakulla, 50-3) v Joe Grelli (Clay, 24-11).
Semis recap: Stillgess had a pair of pins over Paxon’s Matthew Brunelli (:26) and Godby’s Julian Green (5:00), while Haigler, after a first-round bye, found a takedown in sudden victory for a 7-5 win over Raines’ Jamari Watson. Hinsey also had a bye, then pinned Yulee’s Joseph Michel in :52, while Grelli had falls over Baker Cty’s Conner South (3:45) and Arnold’s Tyler Lewis (1:04).
WB quarters: Lewis v Michel; Watson v Green.
WB round 2 recap: Lewis falled Brunelli in 2:25, while Michel received a bye in round 2. Watson came back in the wrestlebacks with a fall over South Walton’s Noah Gabbard (1:38), while Green needed double-overtime to knock out South, 7-5.

220
Semifinals: Jack Pyburn (Bolles, 41-7) v Jackson Rowell (West Nassau, 29-11); Bradley Durrance (Yulee, 38-10) v Garrett Tyre (Clay, 42-14).
Semis recap: Pyburn had a pair of first-period pins, with falls over Marianna’s Roosevelt Williams (1:31) and Bishop Kenny’s Kevin Thallemer (1:03), while Rowell had a forfeit into the quarters, where he pinned Godby’s Robert Harrell in 1:57. Durrance falled Bay’s Dexter Anderson (1:23) and Wakulla’s Slade Watkins (3:25), while Tyre had pins over Baker Cty’s Garrett Cain (:52) and Arnold’s Justin Harry (2:48).
WB quarters: Harry v Angel Lecointe (Bishop Snyder); Anderson v Thallemer.
WB round 2 recap: Harry bounced back on the consi side, with a fall over Williams (4:17), while Lecointe had a forfeit win and then took down Watkins, 4-1, in WB round 2. Anderson took two falls in the bottom half over Wolfson’s Shydeim Deas (1:29) and Harrell (:27), while Thallemer falled Ed White’s Larry McCurdy in 4:47.

285
Semifinals: Cole Galbreath (Bozeman, 33-8) v Joshua Yarbrough (Godby, 18-2); Jamon Goodwine (Raines, 44-2) v Derrek Mosley (Clay, 38-3).
Semis recap: Galbreath falled Suwannee’s Cayden Williams (1:32) and Wolfson’s Tavion Ford (1:48), while Yarbrough falled South Walton’s Andrew Thompson (:15), then edged Ed White’s Salvador Rodriguez, 2-1, in the quarters. Goodwine had a forfeit into the quarters, but then needed to go double overtime to overcome Wakulla’s Jayven Hearns, 2-1. Mosley falled Yulee’s Darquill Brown (2:56), then decisioned Baker Cty’s Jaqrez Elliott, 7-3, in the quarters.
WB quarters: Curtis Leggett (Bishop Kenny) v Hearns; Rodriguez v Brown.
WB round 2 recap: Leggett won twice on the back side, with a fall over Williams (2:26) and double-overtime win over Elliott, 4-3. Hearns bounced back from the loss to Goodwine with a fall over Bolles’ Cam Neal (3:45), while Rodriguez pinned Rocky Bayou Christian’s Kyle Burden in 1:42. Brown had two pins on the back, with falls over Arnold’s Tanner Lewis (3:26) and Ford (1:13).

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North Florida Matmen staff report

MELBOURNE — Both Atlantic and Palatka are in line for potential top-five team finishes after the first day of 1A-Region 2 wrestling on Friday.

The Sharks stand fourth and Panthers fifth in the 31-team tournament, hosted by Palm Bay. Atlantic has six semifinalists and two in the wrestlebacks, with 56 points, while Palatka has two semifinalists and two in the wrestlebacks, with 38 points.

Lake Highland Prep holds a 15-point lead over host Palm Bay and also Hernando, 98.5-83.5.

For Atlantic, Jamey Bruner (120), Jeremiah Epps (138), Avante Chamble (145), David Arcieri (160), Michael Sklare (220) and Jared Jackson are all in the semis. One win for them, on either side of the bracket, gets them into The Show.

Palatka’s semifinalists after the first day were Drevon Wallace (126) and Brandon Lewis (132).

Keystone Heights is T-19th, with 14 points and two wrestlers in the wrestlebacks. Pedro Menendez is 23rd with 11 points, led by semifinalist Connor Spossey (170). FSDB is 26th, with five points and one wrestler left in the wrestlebacks, while Lake Weir is T-28th, with four points and one in the wrestlebacks.

Below follows a recap of the first day, with all semifinalists and local wrestlers’ performances noted:

106
Semifinals: Tyler Rodier (Hernando, 37-18) v Tyler Perrow (Palm Bay, 53-2); Alexander McMiller (Satellite, 32-13) v Ethan Rivera (Lake Highland, 14-1).
Local recap: Palatka’s Mikade Harvey had a first-round forfeit win, then fell to Rodier, 11-4, in the quarters. In the second round of wrestlebacks, Harvey falled Central, Brooksville’s Colson Mackay-Johnson (3:53) and will face Zephyrhills Christian’s Talon Maple in the quarters.

113
Semifinals: Shaver Jackson (Palm Bay, 43-12) v Anthony Edwards (Space Coast, 41-8); Gage Persons (Citrus, 24-8) v Elijah Lusk (Merritt Island, 44-2).
Local recap: Atlantic’s Bernie Alvarez opened with a second-period fall over Bishop Moore’s Anthony Meyer (3:24), but then lost by fall to Jackson (2:21) in the quarters. In WB round 2, Alvarez pinned Wesley Chapel’s Kevin Mesquita (2:12), and will face Lake Highland’s Josh Boykin in the quarters.

120
Semifinals: Jamey Bruner (Atlantic, 19-5) v Keyshaun Taylor (Leesburg, 38-6); David McClelland (Lake Highland, 18-4) v Billy Day (Cocoa Beach, 43-12).
Local recap: Bruner had a pair of first-period falls over Wesley Chapel’s Caleb Hall (1:25, round 1) and Rockledge’s Cameron Furnari (1:48, quarters) to get to the semis. Palatka’s Ontarriyus Reid is alive in the consis, after a round-of-16 fall over Nature Coast’s Corbin Hager (3:23) and quarterfinal loss by pin to McClelland (1:48). Reid turned back Space Coast’s Ryan Vite, 11-5, in WB round 2, and will face Weeki Wachee’s Dominick Scaffedi in the quarters. Keystone Heights’ Samuel Ulsch (losses by fall to Zephyrhills Christian’s Javier Lopez & Space Coast’s Ryan Vie) and FSDB’s Lance Gardenhire (losses by fall to Weeki Wachee’s Scaffedi & Citrus’ Jacob Reynolds) were both 0-2 and did not compete further.

126
Semifinals: Drevon Wallace (Palatka, 38-12) v Danny Nini (Lake Highland, 29-7); Billy Gould (Hernando, 38-14) v Rocco Senia (Palm Bay, 51-5).
Local recap: Wallace reached the semis in 61 seconds of wrestling, with pins over Villages’ Brett Wilke (:28) in the opening round and Cocoa’s Ronald Theilacker (:33) in the quarters. Atlantic’s Tyler Livingston and Pedro Menendez’s Gavin Rosario were both 1-2 and eliminated from competition in the wrestlebacks. After a loss by fall (1:00) to Leesburg’s Seth Brown, Livingston pinned Merritt Island’s Jeremiah Johnson (:55) but then lost by fall to Weeki Wachee’s Lane Beck (4:09). Rosario lost by fall on the front to Citrus’ Kobe Rosario (:32), but came back to pin Hudson’s Tyler Hearld (2:04) before losing by fall to Theilacker (1:55) in WB round 2. FSDB’s Ty Snow (losses by fall to Nini & Space Coast’s Dylan Rivera) was 0-2 and did not compete further.

132
Semifinals: Brandon Lewis (Palatka, 38-14) v Michael Watson (Cocoa Beach, 38-7); William Kennedy (Lake Highland, 8-5) v Dominick Carter (Palm Bay, 47-13).
Local recap: Lewis reached the semis without giving up a point, shutting out Central, Brooksville’s Gabriel Daniels (14-0 in round 1) and Bishop Moore’s Cade Eisenhut, 2-0, in the quarters. Atlantic’s Azizbek Rustamiy and FSDB’s Sean Meyers are both still alive in the consis. Rustamiy decisioned Zephyrhills’ Jaiden Martinez (4-0); after a loss by tech to Kennedy (16-1 in 4:59), he then decisioned Citrus’ Jesse Pounders, 4-1, and will face Central, Brooksville’s Gabriel Daniels in the quarters. Meyers took a front-side 8-2 loss against Zephyrhills Christian’s Caleb Gaskin, but then falled Crystal River’s Josh Neal (:55) and Eisenhut (3:29) to reach the quarters, where he’ll face Hernando’s Michael Brown. Pedro Menendez’s Logan Meehan injury-defaulted in the first round and did not compete further.

138
Semifinals: Jeremiah Epps (Atlantic, 36-8) v Michael Squires (Space Coast, 39-3); Noah Dovin (Merritt Island, 37-9) v Chris Rivera (Lake Highland, 28-6).
Local recap: Epps bonus-pointed his way into the semis, with wins over Rockledge’s Gregory Mitchell (16-7 major in round 1) and Central, Brooksville’s Caleb Wood (fall in 46 seconds). Palatka’s Dre Nealy was 1-2 and was eliminated Friday late afternoon. After losing by fall to Dovin (5:31) on the front, Nealy pinned Crystal River’s Jayden Jobe (1:50), but then lost by fall to Nature Coast’s Jaxson Morris (1:16) in round 2. Pedro Menendez’s Alex Binkiewicz (losses by fall to Squires & Citrus’ Maxal Simpson) and FSDB’s Joshua O’Connor (losses by major to Palm Bay’s Braden Baxter and Zephyrhills Christian’s Gage Flanagan) were both 0-2 and did not compete further.

145
Semifinals: Avante Chamble (Atlantic, 4-0 in post-season) v Jack Dinberg (Palm Bay, 35-5); Jeremiah Funk (Cocoa, 35-10) v Justin Rivera (Lake Highland, 29-3).
Local recap: Chamble took decisions over Rockledge’s Connor Justice (14-8, round 1) and Bishop Moore’s Antonio Bundy (3-2, quarters). Lake Weir’s Grant Kincannon (losses by fall to Dinberg & Citrus’ Logan Simpson), Pedro Menendez’s Jose Ruiz (loss by fall to Funk, medical forfeited to Hernando’s Justin Fabela) and Palatka’s Adaris Medina (losses by fall to Cocoa Beach’s James Clark-Herndon & Central, Brooksville’s Peyton Chancey) were all 0-2 and did not compete further.

152
Semifinals: Gavin Wheeler (Bishop Moore, 42-9) v Billy Fetzner (Hernando, 36-12); Noah Castillo (Lake Highland, 20-4) v Cameron Komat (Palm Bay, 49-9).
Local recap: Lake Weir’s Dean Marquis is alive in the consis after a 2-1 Friday. After decisioning Nature Coast’s Caleb Murray, 5-3, in the round of 16, Marquis lost by fall (:31) in the quarters to Wheeler. He rallied with a 10-1 major over Citrus’ Jessiah Cobo in WB round 2 and will face Villages’ Kevin Coon in the quarters. Pedro Menendez’s Nathaniel Luckadoo (losses by fall to Cypress Clark, Wesley Chapel’s Jonathan Cardona and Merritt Island’s Slater Beard) was 0-2 and did not compete further.

160
Semifinals: David Arcieri (Atlantic, 38-10) v Dominic Isola (Lake Highland, 29-4); Josh Pritz (Hernando, 30-5) v Anthony Holden (Palm Bay, 43-12).
Local recap: After a first-round bye, Arcieri falled Nature Coast’s Jose Flores in 3:44 in the quarters. Keystone’s Sheppard Wingate had a 2-1 day; on the front, Wingate pinned Bishop Moore’s Jonathan Hooper (1:51), but then lost by tech fall (21-6 in 4:12) to Holden in the quarters. He then won by forfeit in WB round 2 and will face Weeki Wachee’s Aidan Mayberry in the quarters. Palatka’s Samuel Lafferty was 1-2 and was eliminated. After a front-side loss by fall to Crystal River’s Johnathan Bruce (:47), Lafferty won by fft in round 1 of the consis, but then lost by fall to Cocoa’s Troy Sawyer (1:54) in round 2. Pedro Menendez’s Jared Howard (losses by fall to Isola & Weeki Wachee’s Aidan Mayberry) was 0-2 and did not compete further.

170
Semifinals: Connor Spossey (Pedro Menendez, 43-4) v Ethan Hatcher (Villages, 53-3); Austin McCombs (Hernando, 19-9) v Bailey Flanagan (Lake Highland, 33-5).
Local recap: Spossey had a pair of first-period falls, pinning Cocoa Beach’s Christian Taylor (1:06) and Zephyrhills Christian’s Robert Keldie (1:55). Atlantic’s Noah Anderson was 1-2 and was eliminated. After a front-side tech-fall loss (16-0 in 3:49) to Satellite’s Michael McCarthy, Anderson pinned Master’s Academy’s Dustin Jonas (1:59) before losing by fall to Rockledge’s Khalil Mitchell (2:46) in WB round 2.

182
Semifinals: Delcory Allen (Leesburg, 36-9) v Matthew Lewis (Palm Bay, 53-9); Maddox Romain (Hernando, 37-19) v Hunter Brinkman (Lake Highland, 25-7).
Local recap: Keystone Heights’ Eliyah Cole had a 2-1 day and is alive in the consis. On the front, Cole pinned Cocoa’s Derrick Green (:30) in the first round, losing by fall to Allen (4:30) in the quarters. Cole then knocked out Atlantic’s Christian Henry in WB round 2, with a fall in 1:29, and will face Citrus’ Blake Coleman in the quarters. Henry had lost on the front to Merritt Island’s Colby Fisher (pin in :39), but falled Nature Coast’s Donovan Healy (1:50). Pedro Menendez’s Dane Litzinger (13-12 loss to Space Coast’s Allen Wasmund, loss by fall to Bishop Moore’s Daniel Flatch) was 0-2 and did not compete further.

195
Semifinals: Jahree Holmes (Palm Bay, 48-8) v Easton Tobia (Lake Highland, 18-7); Christopher Spellman (Hernando, 38-12) v Daylyn Randolph (Merritt Island, 38-5).
Local recap: Palatka’s Jack Tilton was the only area wrestler to win a match Friday, with a front-side fall over Master’s Academy’s Christopher Pacheco (:21) before falling to Holmes (loss by pin in 3:38) and Zephyrhills Christian’s Elijah Austin (4:22). Atlantic’s John Wyman (losses by fall to Tobia and Cypress Creek, Wesley Chapel’s JoVanni Addison), Keystone Heights’ Steven Raab (losses by fall to Villages’ Mason St John & Rockledge’s Torianno Macklin) and Pedro Menendez’s Logan Parham (losses by fall to Bishop Moore’s Jacob Suggs & Austin) were all 0-2 and did not compete further.

220
Semifinals: Michael Sklare (Atlantic, 3-0 in post-season) v Matt Kaplan (Lake Highland, 26-9); Qwenton Coney (Hernando, 34-6) v Devon Krajewski (Rockledge, 60-2).
Local recap: After a bye into the quarters, Sklare needed just 58 seconds to secure his battle to get into states, with a fall over Hudson’s William Akossou-Harvey. Keystone Heights’ Gabe Adams (losses by fall to Villages’ Nic Heise & Zephyrhills’ Theotis Smith) and Palatka’s Lane Heuer (injury default to First Academy’s Jacob Forbes, with no further competition) were both 0-2 and did not compete further.

285
Semifinals: Jared Jackson (Atlantic, 3-0 in post-season) v Malik Jones (Zephyrhills Christian, 28-0); Francisco Tobar (Lake Highland, 16-12) v Jordan Love (Rockledge, 61-1).
Local recap: Jackson reached the semis with a 5-2 round-1 decision over Nature Coast’s Michael Marotta and fall in the quarters over Cocoa’s Hunter Gfell (3:00). Palatka’s Marlon Williams was 1-2 and was eliminated from the tournament. After a front-side loss (pin in 5:46) to Zephyrhills’ Dajuan McCullough, Williams pinned Astronaut’s Austin Johnson (2:32) before losing by fall to Palm Bay’s Carlos Gerardino (2:05). Keystone Heights’ Cody Saley (losses by fall to Hernando’s Sam Fleming and Leesburg’s Jordan Willie) was 0-2 and did not compete further.

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1A-Region 1 preview

When & where: Wakulla HS, Crawfordville. 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 going to be a very closely-watched tournament. Is Wakulla still on top in a tournament environment? I think they should be, but I found it interesting that Clay outpointed the War Eagles at the Clay Rotary three weeks ago. But, this is regions. Either way, Wakulla/Clay or Clay/Wakulla, these are the top two teams. Yulee and Suwannee should be top-five, barring a significant setback for either team across chunks of the lineup, and Bolles, Arnold and Florida High should battle it out for the fifth spot.
Print brackets for this tournament here: REGION 1 PAIRINGS

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 (other than the round of 16), 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. Jacob Witt (Bolles, 8th). 2. Julian Harvey (Wakulla, 7th). 3. Jayce Paridon (University Christian, 9th). 4. Brody Boehm (Suwannee, 12th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Blake Pu (Ridgeview); Scott Busey (Episcopal).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Maverick Rainwater (Clay, 18th); Blayden Tharpe (West Nassau).
First-round match worth price of admission: Boehm v Duhan Lewis (Yulee).
My too-short take: The gap between Witt, Harvey and Paridon is pretty tiny. I think Witt has a better path to the final, of the three of them, as Harvey and Paridon have to battle through each other after both have some pretty solid quarters.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Boehm moves on through, but he’ll get a battle from Pu in the quarters.
Second quarter: Witt moves on through with a win past Busey in the quarters.
Third quarter: An early Wakulla-Clay battle, with Harvey holding the upper hand over Rainwater in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Paridon moves on through, with a win over Tharpe in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Lewis, Brett Canut (South Walton – bye), Allan Bustos (Bishop Kenny), Justin Johnson (Wewahitchka – bye). Lewis and Bustos will get good fight from District 1 opponents Porter Beach (Arnold) and Elijah Stillgess (Rutherford), respectively.
WB round 2 projected: Tharpe, Rainwater, Busey, Pu. The Tharpe-Lewis round 2 matchup should be the closest of the four.
WB quarters projected: Rainwater, Pu. Both will be good ways to kick off Saturday.
Semis/blood round: I think Witt should be good against Boehm in the top half, but I’ve wavered on Harvey-Paridon. That could be a really solid match. Boehm should push past Rainwater, while Paridon will be too much for Pu in the bottom half consi semi.

113: 1. Egan Gustilo (University Christian, 4th). 2. DaQuan King (Raines, 3rd). 3. George Hernandez (Wakulla, 5th). 4. Dalton Huckelberry (Clay, 14th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Lucas Biddle (Arnold); Foster Swain (Suwannee).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Ryan Mayer (Bishop Kenny); Christian Ryan (Episcopal).
First-round match worth price of admission: Swain v Bryson Hubbard (Bolles).
My too-short take: While King’s got an easier path to states, I think the constant work Gustilo has been doing for years is going to stand him in good stead this weekend. Hernandez, too, has the chops to make a region title run as well.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Huckelberry moves through, but will have a battle with Biddle in the quarters.
Second quarter: King should have few issues making the semis, with a win over Swain in the quarters.
Third quarter: Hernandez advances to the semis, with a win over Mayer in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Gustilo moves on through, with a win over Ryan in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: William Carrel (Marianna); Hubbard; Liam Strange (Wolfson); CJ Inman (South Walton). Closest match should be Inman over Baker Cty’s Thomas Torres.
WB round 2 projected: Ryan, Mayer, Swain, Biddle. I like Ryan-Carrel to be a barnburner.
WB quarters projected: Mayer, Biddle. Mayer should not have too many issues with Ryan, but Biddle might have a good battle with Swain.
Semis/blood round: King has the easier of the two semis; I expect all-out war between Gustilo and Hernandez. Huckelberry should rally past Mayer in the top half of the blood round, because Clay will need him to qualify out, while Hernandez should move through in the bottom half over Biddle.

120: 1. Kyle Hopkins (Raines, 7th). 2. Raymond Hatchman (Wakulla, 6th). 3. Luke Davis (Clay, 5th). 4. Xander Kirkland (Suwannee, 8th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Brendan Ferenchik (West Nassau, 20th); Will Ashby (Arnold); Joe Jackson (19th, Episcopal); Christian Villanueva (Bishop Snyder).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): None.
First-round match worth price of admission: Kirkland v Conner Roberts (Wewahitchka).
My too-short take: The deeper half of the bracket is the top one, but the champion is likeliest to come out of the bottome half. Hopkins is only third in the region, but in my mind he’s still the top choice until he’s not.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Jackson reaches the semis, but I expect a very tight match with Ashby in the quarters.
Second quarter: Hatchman moves through decisively, with a win over Ferenchik in the quarters.
Third quarter: Hopkins advances with a pair of bonus-point wins, including over Rutherford’s Colin Dutton in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Davis moves through, but it’ll be a war with Kirkland in the quarters, one they could repeat in the third-place match.
WB round 1 projected winners: Andrew Harbin (Wolfson); Villanueva; Shane Bullard (Baker Cty); Roberts. Closest match should be Villanueva against Bay’s Jamie Balmeceda.
WB round 2 projected: Kirkland; Villanueva; Ferenchik; Ashby. Villanueva v Dutton should be the closest of the group.
WB quarters projected: Kirkland; Ferenchik. Ferenchik v Ashby, I expect, is going to be the closer of the two matches that start up Saturday.
Semis/blood round: Hatchman should move past Jackson in the the top half, and while Davis will give good fight, Hopkins’ offense will be too strong. Kirkland will be too much for Jackson in the top half consi semi, while Davis should get past Ferenchik.

126: 1. Matthew Rodriquez (Ridgeview, 2nd). 2. Tyler Reeve (Florida High, 3rd). 3. Timothy Jolicoeur (Suwannee, 13th). 4. Spencer Korol (Arnold).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Jeremy Mahoney (Fernandina Beach, 16th); Josh Kumpf (Clay, 20th).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Sebastian Deara (Bishop Kenny, 17th); Tristan Martinez (Yulee, 18th).
First-round match worth price of admission: Kumpf v Jae Thaxton (Wakulla). Another early-round Clay-Wakulla battleground matchup.
My too-short take: Rodriquez dominated the 2A-Region 1 bracket for two years, and while Jolicoeur and Reeve won’t be dominated, I’m not sure either can get past him in either the semis or the final.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Korol advances to the semi, but it won’t be easy against Kumpf in the quarters.
Second quarter: Reeve gets two good tests, but advances to the semi with a win over Mahoney.
Third quarter: Jolicoeur advances through, with a win over Deara in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Rodriquez rolls into the semis, with a win over Martinez in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Thaxton; Denny Vohs (Bolles); Max Lewallen (Wolfson); David Jackson (Baker Cty). Lewallen v Rocky Bayou’s Luke Latham should be a very good match.
WB round 2 projected: Martinez; Deara; Mahoney; Kumpf. The Kumpf-Jackson match should be the closest of the group.
WB quarters projected: Deara; Mahoney. Kumpf won’t go down easy against Mahoney, though.
Semis/blood round: Reeve and Rodriquez should both collect a bonus point, at least, on the front side; Korol finds a way in a great top half consi semi with Deara, while Jolicoeur faces down Mahoney in what should be a tight decision either way.

132: 1. Matthew Owen (Wakulla, 1st). 2. Brooks Dyer (Florida High, 3rd). 3. Bryce Bees (Yulee, 9th). 4. Dalton Posick (Bolles).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Canyon Dart (South Walton); Aiden Mayo (Clay).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Jaxon Sansouci (Suwannee, 10th); Jaden Moseley (Wewahitchka).
First-round match worth price of admission: Sansouci v Moseley. Winner could have a chance to wrestle for state on Saturday.
My too-short take: We’ll see an all-District 2 final in the weight class; Owen has had great battles with Reeve over the years, and I see nothing different with Dyer as an all-Tally area region final.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: In a matchup of wrestlers that should both make the blood round, Mayo pushes past Dart in the quarters.
Second quarter: Owen advances to the semis, with a win over Ridgeview’s Shawn Tahir in the quarters.
Third quarter: Bees moves on to the semis, with a win over Sansouci in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Dyer advances to the semis, with a solid win over Posick in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Brock Hinson (Bishop Kenny); Noah Meyer (Episcopal); Moseley; Sebastian Gonzalez (Ed White). Hinson over Marianna’s Dustin Arnold should be the best of the group.
WB round 2 projected: Posick; Sansouci; Moseley; Dart. Moseley pushing past Tahir should be the best match of the group.
WB quarters projected: Posick; Dart. Dart and Moseley went 6-5 in the District 1 final and I expect another war. My pick of Posick over Sansouci in the top quarter is more gut than anything else. It’s been wrong before.
Semis/blood round: Owen has the easier semi, but Dyer will also move on as well. Posick would be facing a former, and younger, teammate in the blood round, while Bees will have to battle, but should advance in the bottom half.

138: 1. Bradley Hulett (West Nassau, 13th). 2. Luke Boree (Clay, 9th). 3. Tyson Riley (Bolles, 10th). 4. Tyson Musgrove (17th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Roberto Cuartero (Bishop Kenny, 16th); Jackson Merrick (Wakulla, 18th); Michael Esquivias (North Bay Haven); Emil Ganim (Florida High).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): None.
First-round match worth price of admission: Ganim v. Cuartero.
My too-short take: There’s potentially up to seven wrestlers with a decent shot at this title, if they’re willing to charge hard enough, stay on the attack for four matches and not play defense. I’ve seen Hulett do that most consistently all year, so he is the pick.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Merrick reaches the semi, but don’t be shocked if Esquivias pushes him to the limit in the quarters.
Second quarter: Boree gets to the semis, but Cuartero (or Ganim) makes him work for a decision in the quarters.
Third quarter: Musgrove battles through to the semi, but he gets a tussle in the quarters from Bay’s Kyle Roper.
Bottom quarter: Could be a great quarter between Hulett and Riley, but Hulett advances onward.
WB round 1 projected winners: Dylan Johns (Yulee); Ganim; Ian Finnorn (Ridgeview – bye); Dylen Goldsmith (Baker Cty).
WB round 2 projected: Riley; Ganim; Cuartero; Esquivias. That Ganim-Roper matchup should be a doozy.
WB quarters projected: Riley; Cuartero. Riley’s offense will be too much; Cuartero takes a battle of BJJ (Brazilian jiu jitsu) experts in the bottom half.
Semis/blood round: Boree has a 4-0 win in hand over Merrick, and uses that edge to push through, while Hulett could pick up a bonus point in the bottom half. It’s athleticism vs control in the top half of the blood round, and Riley makes the former work. In the bottom half, Musgrove finds a way to negate offense to push through.

145: 1. Noah Wilson (Wakulla, 4th). 2. Gabe Guzman (Ridgeview, 7th). 3. Dominic Martin (Clay, 13th). 4. Julian Morris (Bolles).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Wyatt Kirkpatrick (Rocky Bayou, 15th); Caleb Parsons (Suwannee, 17th); Dennis Ganim (Florida High).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Jesse Johnson (Yulee, 14th).
First-round match worth price of admission: Ganim v Daniel Maher (Bishop Kenny).
My too-short take: It’s a matchup of well-known seniors in the final, with the next wave of wrestlers meeting them in the semis. Can’t see Wilson taking a loss at home in his final weekend on the Wakulla mat.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Parsons powers past Kirkpatrick in a tough quarterfinal match to reach the semis.
Second quarter: Guzman moves through both rounds, with a win over Ganim in the quarters.
Third quarter: Wilson, I think, will roll through to the semis, with a win over Morris in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Martin moves through to the quarters, winning over Johnson in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Gibreen Ahmad (West Nassau); Maher; Trenton Wood (Bay); Ethan Heinemann (Marianna). Best match of the group should be Heinemann vs. South Walton’s Ashton Nunes.
WB round 2 projected: Johnson; Morris; Ganim; Kirkpatrick. Morris v Maher should be the best of the group.
WB quarters projected: Morris; Ganim. Florida High’s schedule, I think, carries the day, in a tough win for Ganim over Kirkpatrick.
Semis/blood round: Guzman should have a semifinal that goes his way; Martin continues to close the gap on Wilson, but experience counts just one more time. Morris should power through in the top half consi semi, while Martin’s attack will be tough to stop in the bottom half.

152: 1. Cale Hoskinson (Clay, 4th). 2. Chase Roberts (Wakulla, 8th). 3. Aston Ricks (Yulee, 18th). 4. Nick Kendrick (Arnold, 11th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Cameron Frison (Wolfson, 19th); Michael Dramis (Paxon).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Reid Hampton (Episcopal, 15th); Austin Howard (Suwannee).
First-round match worth price of admission: Frison v. Dramis. Gateway Conference rivalry match, both might get to Saturday and maybe wrestle for state.
My too-short take: No one will beat Hoskinson in the bracket, and while Roberts should make the final, any one of five different wrestlers — in the right moment — could make it out to states with them.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Ricks powers past Kendrick in a great quarterfinal.
Second quarter: Roberts moves through comfortably, with a quarterfinal win over Frison.
Third quarter: Hampton makes the semis with a pair of bonus-point wins, including one over South Walton’s John Lopez, in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Hoskinson also moves through comfortably, with a win over Howard in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Brandon Bradley (Baker Cty); Dramis; Liam Hawkes (Florida High); Calvin Wells (Rocky Bayou). Best match should be Bradley v Bolles’ Skylar Malone.
WB round 2 projected: Howard; Dramis; Wolfson; Kendrick. Best match should be Dramis v. Lopez.
WB quarters projected: Dramis; Kendrick. Dramis should be able to get to the blood round in a tough win over Howard in the more competitive of the two quarters.
Semis/blood round: Roberts takes a decision over Ricks in the top half, while Hoskinson might pick up bonus in the bottom half. Ricks’ offense in the top half of the blood round is too much for Dramis, while Kendrick advances, but only just, in the bottom half.

160: 1. Chase Maddox (Marianna, 6th). 2. Cole Baggett (Wakulla, 7th). 3. Requan Works (West Nassau, 15th). 4. Micah Perdue (Florida High, 8th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Max Gaylord (Arnold).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Isaiah Shook (Yulee); Carter Wood (Bishop Kenny); Tucker Reape (Clay).
First-round match worth price of admission: Reape v Clayton Dennison (Baker Cty).
My too-short take: These should be the four that get out; I can be convinced by almost any order in the picks between 1-4, but these should be the four moving on to Kissimmee.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Perdue reaches the semis, with a win over Gaylord in the quarters.
Second quarter: Baggett moves on, but gets a great test in the quarters from Works Friday afternoon.
Third quarter: Maddox reaches the semis, taking a win over Shook in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Reape moves out to the semis, with a win over Wood in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Brennen Doherty (Episcopal); Zach Duncan (Rutherford); Johnatan Santiago (Baldwin); Dennison. Santiago v Rocky Bayou’s Sam Brewer should be the closest match.
WB round 2 projected: Wood; Shook; Works; Gaylord. Gaylord v Dennison projects to be a close one.
WB quarters projected: Shook; Works. Not sure how close either of those are going to be at this point.
Semis/blood round: I think the Baggett-Perdue match could be somewhat close, but Maddox should hold the upper hand. Perdue and Works will have too much offense in the blood round side.

170: 1. Raynarde Thomas (Raines, 8th). 2. John Maddox (Marianna, 7th). 3. Jayvon Brown (Wakulla, 6th). 4. Isaiah Clifford (Clay, 12th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Chad Allgood (Rutherford); Collin Sewell (Yulee); Jeremiah Giedrys (Fernandina Beach, 16th); Dustin Wood (Suwannee).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): None.
First-round match worth price of admission: Giedrys v Wood.
My too-short take: I have at least two District 2s getting out, but Thomas has done the work to win the region, even winning on the road in so doing.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Maddox reaches the semis, with a win over Allgood in the quarters.
Second quarter: Should be a good quarterfinal, with Clifford finding a way over Giedrys in a match where at least one, if not both, make it out.
Third quarter: Brown moves through confidently, with a quarterfinal win over Rocky Bayou’s Jaden Scruggs.
Bottom quarter: Thomas should roll through to the semis, with a quarterfinal win over Wolfson’s Elijah Giles.
WB round 1 projected winners: Sewell (bye); Wood; Paul Barakat (Bishop Kenny – bye); Thomas Branson (Godby). The Branson match v South Walton’s Chase Maas should be the closer-contested of the two contested ones.
WB round 2 projected: Sewell; Wood; Giedrys; Allgood. Wood v Scruggs should be a nice Friday-nighter.
WB quarters projected: Sewell; Giedrys. The Nassau County kids get to the blood round; both might take a bonus-point win.
Semis/blood round: Maddox should hold the upper hand in the top-half semi, while Thomas should power past the bottom half. Clifford should rally to qualify out; Brown has home gym advantage, and tougher-schedule advantage, but Giedrys has two years’ experience.

182: 1. Blaine Howard (Suwannee, 11th). 2. Jackson Osteen (Wakulla, 12th). 3. Jordan Bell (Clay, 17th). 4. Ethan Asbury (Bolles, 18th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Christian Cosson (Marianna, 16th).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Spencer Robertson (Ridgeview); Toby Kinghorn (Baker Cty); Keleb Reddish (Yulee).
First-round match worth price of admission: Kinghorn v Reddish.
My too-short take: I see a District 2 rematch at this weight class again, and I knew once Howard came back, he should vault to the top of the area in whatever weight he was in. As for the 3-4, I think there’s probably only three kids that could fill those two spots.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Osteen reaches the semis, with a win over South Walton’s Dylan Garner in the quarters.
Second quarter: Bell moves through, but Cosson challenges him in the quarters (and perhaps again in a medal match).
Third quarter: Howard moves through, with two solid wins, including over Robertson in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Asbury reaches the semis, with a win over Kinghorn in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Jackie Dinh (University Christian); Kolby Kidd (Fernandina Beach); Henlee Haynes (Arnold); Reddish. Dinh v Raines’ Christian McNair should be the best match of the group.
WB round 2 projected: Kinghorn; Robertson; Cosson; Reddish. Could be a very good match between Robertson and Kidd.
WB quarters projected: Robertson; Cosson. Both should be good matches to kick off Saturday wrestling.
Semis/blood round: The Osteen/Bell semi should be a very good one; I think Howard should hold a little bit of upper hand in the bottom half. Bell pinned Robertson at districts, so should be favored in the top half of the blood round, while Asbury v Cosson would be a great match.

195: 1. John Trevor Hinsey (Wakulla, 3rd). 2. Xavier Stillgess (Rutherford, 8th). 3. Joe Grelli (Clay, 9th). 4. Jamari Watson (Raines, 16th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Julian Green (Godby, 17th); Marcus Haigler (Florida High, 12th).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Joseph Michel (Yulee); Tyler Harris (Fernandina Beach).
First-round match worth price of admission: Michel v Noah Gabbard (South Walton).
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Stillgess moves through to the semis with a win over Green in the quarters.
Second quarter: Watson gets a test from Haigler in the quarters, but moves through.
Third quarter: Hinsey moves through with a win in the quarters over Michel.
Bottom quarter: Grelli wins twice, with a quarterfinal win over Harris.
WB round 1 projected winners: Matthew Brunelli (Paxon – bye); Bye; Gabbard (bye); Conner South (Baker Cty). Obviously the South-Tyler Lewis (Arnold) match in this round is the best match of the round.
WB round 2 projected: Harris; Michel (bye); Haigler; Green. Green v South should be the best of the group.
WB quarters projected: Michel; Haigler. Both won by fall over their projected opponents at districts.
Semis/blood round: Both Stillgess and Hinsey should be too strong to not move on in the semis; Watson pinned Michel in the district final. Haigler will give Grelli good fight, but Grelli’s had enough experience to move through.

220: 1. Slade Watkins (Wakulla, 5th). 2. Jack Pyburn (Bolles, 7th). 3. Garrett Tyre (Clay, 6th). 4. Bradley Durrance (Yulee, 20th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Jackson Rowell (West Nassau, 19th); Robert Harrell (Godby).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Justin Harry (Arnold); Garrett Cain (Baker Cty).
First-round match worth price of admission: Tyre v Cain; Harrell v Angel Lecointe (Bishop Snyder).
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Pyburn reaches the semis, with a win over South Walton’s Nick Lee in the quarters.
Second quarter: Rowell gets to the semis, with a close win over Harrell in the quarters.
Third quarter: Watkins gets to the semis, with a win over Durrance in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Tyre quailfies to the semis, with a win over Arnold’s Justin Harry in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Roosevelt Williams (Marianna); Lecointe; Shydeim Deas (Wolfson); Cain. Could be a good one between Cain and Ed White’s Larry McCurdy.
WB round 2 projected: Harry; Durrance; Harrell; Cain. The Harry-Williams match could be a barn-burner.
WB quarters projected: Durrance; Harrell. Both should move through with decisive wins.
Semis/blood round: Pyburn should have enough to take the top half semi, while Watkins has an earlier win in hand that should provide experience in the bottom half. I know Rowell falled Durrance at districts; I just am not sure that happens a second time. Tyre will have too much offense in the bottom half.

285: 1. Jamon Goodwine (Raines, 2nd). 2. Joshua Yarbrough (Godby, 8th). 3. Derrek Mosley (Clay, 7th). 4. Jayven Hearns (Wakulla, 16th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Cole Galbreath (Bozeman, 19th); Curtis Leggett (Bishop Kenny).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Kyle Burden (Rocky Bayou); Jaqrez Elliott (15th).
First-round match worth price of admission: Hearns v Burden.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Galbreath reaches the semis, with a win over Leggett in the quarters.
Second quarter: Yarbrough should move through, with a win over Bolles’ Cam Neal in the quarters.
Third quarter: Goodwine advances to semis, with a win over Hearns in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Mosley gets out to semis, with a win over Elliott in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Tavion Ford (Wolfson); Salvador Rodriguez (Ed White); Burden; Darquill Brown (Yulee). Best match will probably be Brown vs Arnold’s Tanner Lewis.
WB round 2 projected: Elliott; Hearns; Burden; Leggett. But Brown beat Leggett at district duals, so that should be the best match of the round.
WB quarters projected: Hearns; Burden. The Burden-Leggett match should be a good one.
Semis/blood round: Yarbrough moves through with a win over Galbreath; I think the best two kids meet in the semi with Goodwine & Mosley. Hearns has seen sufficient situations and gets past Galbreath in the top half of the blood round, while Mosley’s got enough offense and tank to push through in the bottom half.

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2A-Region 1 preview

When & where: Chiles HS, Tallahassee (physical host; Chiles & Lincoln co-host). First session is set for 2 p.m. 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: We normally start with co-host Lincoln at the top of the heap, but with eight qualifiers (albeit almost all of their hammers), I think that the Trojans will be in the mix, but will need a tremendous weekend to come out on top. In surveying the landscape, as the teams look right now, Pace steps out to me as maybe the team to watch at the top. The Patriots have all their top kids in the fray, and a couple of them want some revenge for how districts went down for them personally. Have to look at Matanzas and Columbia as well. The Pirates were resurgent in their District 4 win last week, and the Tigers won their first district title in around 30 years in taking District 2. Lincoln, Fletcher, Ft Walton Beach, Gulf Breeze and perhaps Chiles are all solid threats for the top five as well.
Print brackets for this tournament here: REGION 1 PAIRINGS

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 (other than the round of 16), 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. Elijah Hendley (Lincoln, 5th). 2. Garrett Marschka (Chiles, 14th). 3. Brett Millard (Columbia, 16th). 4. Cole Bell (Mosley, 17th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Nate Weber (Gulf Breeze); Zackery Young (Belleview, 20th).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Devon Heil (Pine Ridge); Ana Bradshaw (18th); Kayla Nguyen (Seabreeze).
First-round match worth price of admission: Bell v Bradshaw. Winner might get out to Kissimmee.
My too-short take: You can sell me on a couple of different possibilities on who finishes fourth, but I think the top three is the final finish with some certainty. Hendley is the class of the group.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Marschka qualifies through, with a win over Weber in the quarters.
Second quarter: Millard pushes through twice, with a win over Young in the quarters.
Third quarter: Hendley moves through comfortably, with a win over Nguyen in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Bell moves through, with a win over Heil in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Gavin Barro (St Augustine); Ricky Hicks (Robert E Lee – bye); Reid Gannon (Ft Walton Beach); Bradshaw. Best match should be Barro v Ponte Vedra’s Aiden Taylor.
WB round 2 projected: Heil; Nguyen; Young; Weber. I’d say other than Heil’s round 2, all of them are going to be hotly-contested.
WB quarters projected: Heil; Weber. The Weber pick goes against the rankings. Heil might have a tussle getting past his district rival.
Semis/blood round: Marschka/Millard was 5-4 at districts, so that should be close; Hendley should move through, having pinned Bell at districts. Millard will have too much offense in the top half of the blood round, while Bell should take down his area rival in the bottom half.

113: 1. Jimmy Martin (Lincoln, 15th). 2. Hunter Brown (Chiles, 14th). 3. Ethan Pinto (Niceville, 11th). 4. David Tambula (Choctaw, 13th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Kevin Kerns (Deltona); Ian Loschinskey (First Coast).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Joe Kent (Seabreeze, 18th); Jacob Hobbs (Pace).
First-round match worth price of admission: Martin v Mark Willis (Belleview).
My too-short take: Going with District 2 here, but I can easily imagine a parallel universe where I took the District 1 kids at the top, or maybe a bracket where Kent figures in. There’s not much gap between the five of them.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Pinto moves through to the semis, with a win over Kerns in the quarters.
Second quarter: Martin moves out, with a win over Loschinskey in the quarters.
Third quarter: Brown should move through, with a win over Hobbs in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Tambula gets out, but it’s a war with Kent in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Jeffrey Parker (Middleburg); Willis; Ryden Ashmore (Fletcher); Raequan Staples (Englewood). Closest match, I think, will be Parker and Ponte Vedra’s Julian Villegas.
WB round 2 projected: Kent; Hobbs; Loschinskey; Kerns. Kerns v Staples should be a really good one.
WB quarters projected: Kent; Loschinskey. Loschinskey v Kerns should be the closer of the two.
Semis/blood round: I have Martin advancing out of the top half and Brown out of the bottom; both should be very close decisions. Pinto edges Kent in the top half of the blood round, and Tambula pushes through past Loschinskey in the bottom half.

120: 1. Derrick Lancero (Pace, 3rd). 2. Ethan Goodman (Matanzas, 6th). 3. Davon Bailey (Orange Park, 8th). 4. Jace Engberg (New Smyrna Beach, 10th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Kobe Baert (Seabreeze, 11th); Daniel McGaha (Tate).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Brandon Mallin (Ft Walton Beach, 17th); Adam Barnes (Lincoln).
First-round match worth price of admission: Wilson Nguyen (St Augustine) v Michael Stephens (Ponte Vedra).
My too-short take: Lancero is the class of the field, but after that there’s a number of possibilities after him. Could see any three of six or seven kids qualify out in this weight class.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Lancero moves through with a win over Baert in the quarters.
Second quarter: Bailey gets out, but gets a strong challenge from Engberg in the quarter (we could see this again in the medal match).
Third quarter: Mallin reaches the semi, with a win over Nguyen in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Goodman gets out with a win over Barnes in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Jayden Thomas (Columbia); Daniel McGaha (Tate); Riley Girgis (Middleburg); Noah Tritz (Niceville – bye). Could be a good one between Girgis and Stephens.
WB round 2 projected: Barnes; McGaha; Engberg; Baert. McGaha v Nguyen should be pretty good.
WB quarters projected: Barnes; Engberg. The Engberg-Baert match sets up district rivals and should be a war.
Semis/blood round: Lancero has enough offense to get through in the top half, while Goodman works to overcome in the bottom half. Bailey has a 7-1 win at districts in hand for the top half of the blood round, while Engberg moves through in the bottom.

126: 1. Shaun Culbreth (Matanzas, 3rd). 2. Michael Shannon (New Smyrna Beach, 5th). 3. Colson Elliott (Gulf Breeze, 9th). 4. Ethan Billhimer (Pace, 17th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Weston Burbidge (Ft Walton Beach); Gabriel Daltro (Fletcher).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Nolan Zirgibel (Leon); Marcus Virgin (Tate).
First-round match worth price of admission: Burbidge v Daltro.
My too-short take: We should have a rematch of the District 4 final, which was quite a good match last week. The deeper bracket is the bottom half, but that shouldn’t deter Culbreth from adding a region title to his district one.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Shannon moves into the smeis, with a close win over Elliott in the quarters.
Second quarter: Daltro reaches the semis, with a win over Columbia’s Cooper Mote in the quarters.
Third quarter: Zirgibel advances to semis, behind a win over Robert E Lee’s Jamal Burkes in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Culbreth moves through, with a close win over Billhimer in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Durrionte Myrick (Orange Park); Burbidge; Virgin; Stephen Kowitski (Ponte Vedra). Burbidge v St Augustine’s Jordan Levy should be a good one.
WB round 2 projected: Billhimer; Burbidge; Virgin; Elliott. Sweep for District 1, Burbidge v Burkes the best match.
WB quarters projected: Billhimer; Elliott. Both of the District 1 finalists should move through with bonus.
Semis/blood round: Shannon’s experience should carry him through in the top half, while Culbreth moves through comfortably in the bottom. I project the District 1 kids moving on in the blood round. I could be convinced it goes the other way around.

132: 1. Nick Hejke (Mosley, 8th). 2. Ian McGuigan (Columbia, 9th). 3. Ian Daily (Gulf Breeze, 14th). 4. Alex Adkins (Chiles).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): None.
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Lynden North (Englewood, 15th); Jayden Pinto (Niceville, 16th); Atticus Waters (Pace); George Joanos (Matanzas).
First-round match worth price of admission: Adkins v Pinto or McGuigan v Waters. Winners have very good chance to qualify out.
My too-short take: This should be a District 2 rematch, with the District 2s maybe taking three semifinal berths. Again, it appears that the bottom half of the bracket is the deeper of the two, with maybe up to six kids in it capable of qualifying out.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Daily reaches the semis, with a win over Ponte Vedra’s Jackson Shewey in the quarters.
Second quarter: Hejke qualifies out for semis, with a win over Deltona’s Jacob Swanson in the quarters.
Third quarter: Adkins reached the semis after two tough wins, including over North in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: McGuigan reaches the semis, with a win over Joanos in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Gabe Burch (Middleburg); Kaden Solomon (Fletcher); Pinto; Waters. The Burch match against St Augustine’s Christian Jackson should be most closely-contested.
WB round 2 projected: Joanos; North; Pinto; Waters. Best match is probably Pinto v Swanson.
WB quarters projected: North; Pinto. Pinto v Waters was a 7-1 decision in favor of Pinto; it’s probably the more closely-contested match.
Semis/blood round: Hejke, with his greater range of matches this year, should have the advantage in the top half, while McGuigan had a 9-1 major in the district, so should be favored. Daily and North will have a great match in the top half, could go either way; Adkins would have a rematch with Pinto in the bottom half.

138: 1. Alex McGuigan (Columbia, 9th). 2. Dylan Lawrence (Gulf Breeze, 15th). 3. Jaylan Griffin (Mosley, 18th). 4. Olufemi Egberongbe (Chiles).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Ty’Juan Jones (Robert E Lee); Brandon Nicholson (Milton); Sam Russo (Matanzas).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Alex De Almeida (Ponte Vedra).
First-round match worth price of admission: Griffin v Jones.
My too-short take: Should see at least three seniors in the semis, with the western champions, I think, slated to get to the final. Both brackets appear to be pretty balanced, one against the other.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Lawrence reaches the semis, with a win over Griffin in the quarters.
Second quarter: Egberongbe moves through, with a win over Nicholson in the quarters.
Third quarter: McGuigan advances to the semi, with a win over Pace’s Seth O’Gara in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: De Almeida reaches the semis, with a win over FWB’s Martin Muniz in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Jones; Russo; Gabriel Navarro (Stanton); Carlos Quintanal (St Augustine). Best match should be Quintanal v Orange Park’s Vincent Walker.
WB round 2 projected: Jones; Russo; Nicholson; Griffin. Russo v O’Gara should be a great match.
WB quarters projected: Russo; Griffin. I think Griffin v Nicholson would be the more closely-contested quarter.
Semis/blood round: Lawrence and McGuigan should be favored in the semis, but both matches could be close ones. Egberongbe has sufficient offense to advance in the top half of the blood round; I expect a great match in the bottom half.

145: 1. Cameron Broughton (Orange Park, 4th). 2. Griffin Wilder (Matanzas, 9th). 3. Keane Creager (Niceville, 13th). 4. Logan Gall (Mosley, 11th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Thomas Greene (Columbia); Tyson Petrie (Fletcher).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Gabriel Galloza (St Augustine); Josiah Mossor (First Coast, 19th).
First-round match worth price of admission: Greene v Petrie.
My too-short take: Broughton has the easier bracket of the two; the top half has got four wrestlers that could all reach the final, in their own right, but Broughton is the class of the field.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Creager gets to the semis, but it takes a tough win over Gall in the quarters.
Second quarter: Wilder reaches the semis, with a win over Greene in the quarters.
Third quarter: Broughton qualifies out, with a win over Ft Walton Beach’s Malachi Santiago in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Mossor advances to the semis, with a win over Galloza in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Jeramiah Stevens (Robert E Lee); Petrie; Nik Crossman (Seabreeze); Camden Friend (Pace). Best match should be Petrie v Gulf Breeze’s Kelly Scanlon.
WB round 2 projected: Galloza; Petrie; Greene; Gall. Petrie v Santiago should be a barn-burner.
WB quarters projected: Galloza; Gall. Both matches Saturday morning should be really good ones.
Semis/blood round: Should be a big-time battle between Wilder and Creager; Broughton should advance in the bottom half. I saw Creager at last year’s blood round; he won’t lose in that round again if he has to go there, while Gall has seen more diverse opposition and that should help him in the bottom half.

152: 1. Joel Rodriguez (Fletcher, 6th). 2. Obie Smith (Columbia, 7th). 3. Noel Alicea (Matanzas, 8th). 4. Jean Maldonaldo (Ft Walton Beach).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Hayden Yanni (St Augustine, 19th); Brock Roberts (Seabreeze, 15th).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Joseph Cortez (Pace); Garret Rudick (Gulf Breeze).
First-round match worth price of admission: Rudick v Jonathan Griffin (Mosley).
My too-short take: I like this final; it matches up a pair of very capable juniors. The 3-6, though, could be fulfilled by around five or six different kids, and it could come down to who gets hot at the right time.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Maldonaldo reaches the semis, with a close win over Yanni in the quarters.
Second quarter: Smith qualifies out, with a win over Roberts in the quarters.
Third quarter: Rodriguez qualifies out, with a close win over Cortez in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Alicea advances to the semis, with a win over Rudick in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Savion Johnson (Robert E Lee); Tijuan Boyance (Terry Parker); Ethan Eudy (Leon); Griffin. Best match should be Boyance and Tate’s Chad Luckey.
WB round 2 projected: Rudick; Cortez; Roberts; Yanni. The best match should be Roberts and Eudy.
WB quarters projected: Cortez; Roberts. The Roberts-Yanni match should be a good one; it was 13-8 at districts.
Semis/blood round: Smith should be able to advance out of the top half, while Rodriguez should do the same in the bottom half. Maldonaldo went 7-6 with Cortez last week, so the top half of the blood round should be a great one. And so should the bottom half, which projects to be Round 3 between Alicea and Roberts.

160: 1. Ahmahd Denmark (Robert E Lee, 6th). 2. Victor Lipsey (Seabreeze, 15th). 3. Ethan Baur (Ponte Vedra). 4. Daniel McDonal (Milton).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Cayden Bevis (Lincoln); Preston O’Quinn (Columbia); Martin Black (Niceville).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Brody Andrews (Pace).
First-round match worth price of admission: Andrews v Ashley Saddler (Terry Parker) & Baur v Caleb Tourgee (Ft Walton Beach). Winners probably have a shot at wrestling for states.
My too-short take: After the top two choices, I would say this is the most balanced bracket I have seen thus far. I would also say there’s maybe one or two kids for whom it would be hard to build an argument for getting out, but otherwise? Yeah, you have a decent chance.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Bevis qualifies out, with a win over McDonal in the quarters.
Second quarter: Denmark advances to the semis, with a win over O’Quinn in the quarters.
Third quarter: Andrews gets to the semis, with a win over Mosley’s Kaydon Lester in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Lipsey reaches the semis, with a win over Baur in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Sam Howard (Englewood); Black; Saddler; Tourgee. Tourgee v Middleburg’s Alex Nayfack should be a good one.
WB round 2 projected: Baur; Black; O’Quinn; McDonal. All four of these matches should be great ones.
WB quarters projected: Baur; McDonal. Both could be pretty close.
Semis/blood round: Denmark will be too much in the top half, while Lipsey should move through comfortably on the bottom. Baur has enough momentum behind him to push onward to Kissimmee, while McDonal has been battle-tested enough just in getting to the blood round to not see it through.

170: 1. Quenteen Robinson (Matanzas, 6th). 2. Angelo Philpot (Westside, 4th). 3. DeVante Wyatt (First Coast, 7th). 4. Kevonte Times (Chiles, 16th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Hunter Dupont (Gulf Breeze); Rett Maritato (Ponte Vedra, 19th).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Joseph Rice (Columbia, 13th); Dylan Oglesby (Pine Ridge).
First-round match worth price of admission: Times v Maritato.
My too-short take: I’d love to be, if nothing else, on site at Chiles for the finale of this weight class, where two really solid talents I’ve been watching for a long time should reach the final. This final is worth the price of the weekend admission.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Times advances to the semis, with a win over Dupont in the quarters.
Second quarter: Robinson gets to the semis, with a win over Wyatt in the quarters.
Third quarter: Rice reaches the semis, with a win over Oglesby in the quarters.
Bottom quarters: Philpot qualifies out, with a win over Mainland’s Brady Howe in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Maritato; Noe Pena (Mosley); Vincente Waugh (Robert E Lee); Brayden Weaver (Middleburg).
WB round 2 projected: Maritato; Oglesby; Wyatt; Dupont. The Oglesby-Pena match should be a good one.
WB quarters projected: Maritato; Wyatt. I think both should win by reasonable margins, maybe bonus points.
Semis/blood round: Robinson should advance in the top half; Rice could make this interesting, but I think Philpot’s offense will be too much. Both of the blood-round matches should be quite close; going with offense and feet in both, and that should favor Times and Wyatt.

182: 1. Kyle McGill (Chiles, 6th). 2. Jacob Moore (Orange Park, 7th). 3. Ryan Murphy (St Augustine, 20th). 4. Stone Rockhill (Fletcher, 14th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Patrick Adams (Ft Walton Beach); John Merritt (Westside); Wyatt Yown (Lincoln).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Julio Fernandez (Crestview).
First-round match worth price of admission: Moore v Merritt.
My too-short take: Pretty solid top half of the bracket; the bottom half looks to be a bit lighter, but McGill I expect to repeat in an all-District 2 final. There’s possibilities for third and fourth out there, but I think I have the right two (though I can hear arguments for switching them).
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Moore gets to the semis, with a win over Adams in the quarters.
Second quarter: Murphy reaches the semis, with a win over Yown in the quarters.
Third quarter: McGill qualifies out, with a win over Fernandez in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Rockhill advances to the semis, with a win over Pine Ridge’s Jonathan Waugh in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Merritt; Darryl Sam (Englewood); Keshawn Waters (Robert E Lee); Isaac Hall (Mosley). I’d expect an evenly-contested match between Hall and Tate’s Jacob Turner.
WB round 2 projected: Merritt; Fernandez; Yown; Adams. The Yown-Waters match should be a good one.
WB quarters projected: Merritt; Yown. Yown vs Adams should be good as well.
Semis/blood round: Moore should move past Murphy in the top half, while McGill should be favored in the bottom half. Murphy will have too much size and speed in the top half of the blood round, while Rockhill should push through in the bottom half.

195: 1. Gabe Jacobs (Pace, 6th). 2. Tanner Washburn (Lincoln, 8th). 3. Austin Wheeler (Chiles, 16th). 4. Caiden Patton (Seabreeze).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Doug Dittmer (Mainland); Hakeem Culberson (First Coast, 19th).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Eddie Alexis (Ft Walton Beach, 15th); Sean Ripley (Niceville, 7th).
First-round match worth price of admission: Ripley v Michael Strong (Fletcher). Winner could get a chance to wrestle for states.
My too-short take: When last we saw Jacobs, he was at Gulf Breeze and a lower-weight. Now, he’s a hammer and we’ll find out how good he is against a placer-level kid like Washburn, who’s one of if not the top hammer for Lincoln. 3rd and 4th very much up for grabs here.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Jacobs reaches the semis, with a win over Dittmer in the quarters.
Second quarter: Wheeler qualifies out, with a win over Culberson in the quarters.
Third quarter: Washburn advances to the semis, with a win over Alexis in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Patton gets to the semis, with a win over Ripley in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Shawn Raggins (Columbia); Nathan Halstead (Belleview); Harlan Nikolov (Ponte Vedra); Strong. Best match should be Halstead v Gulf Breeze’s Julian McCully.
WB round 2 projected: Ripley; Alexis; Culberson; Dittmer. Dittmer v Strong looks the most curious of the matchups.
WB quarters projected: Ripley; Culberson. Ripley has a fall in hand from districts; Culberson has seen more competition.
Semis/blood round: Jacobs has enough power to get out of the top half, while I think Washburn should push past Patton in the bottom. Wheeler gets through and out at home in the top half of the blood round, while Patton has plenty of offense.

220: 1. Wyatt Dillon (Pace, 6th). 2. Kennard Madden (Crestview, 8th). 3. Ethan Hollenbach (Fletcher, 5th). 4. Kaleb Williams (Ft Walton Beach, 7th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Nate Boyd (Seabreeze, 19th); Josh Seabrooks (Leon, 16th).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): James McArthur (Orange Park, 11th); Ethan Chiu (Deltona, 18th).
First-round match worth price of admission: Seabrooks v D’Angelo Baker (Pine Ridge).
My too-short take: There’s probably a tossup between the top four kids as to who wins this bracket. Another day I might pick another champ, but my first instinct tells me that the two best kids are in the same half of the bracket.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Dillon qualifies out, with a win over Boyd in the quarters.
Second quarter: Hollenbach advances to the semis, with a win over Seabrooks in the quarters.
Third quarter: Madden gets to the semis, with a win over McArthur in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Williams reaches the semis, with a win over Chiu in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Omarion LaRoach (Lincoln); Baker; Craig Harper (Robert E Lee); Grayson Peterson (First Coast). Best match looks like Baker v Niceville’s Ramsey Kidder.
WB round 2 projected: Chiu; McArthur; Seabrooks; Boyd. Chiu v LaRoach should be a good one.
WB quarters projected: McArthur; Seabrooks. Both should be good, but McArthur v Chiu should be particularly so.
Semis/blood round: It should be all-out warfare between Dillon and Hollenbach in the top half, and I think Madden has a little bit more Saturday region experience; that’s why I went the route I did. Hollenbach should have the answers in the top half of the blood round, while Williams should rally to get out of the bottom half.

285: 1. Ray Bolden (Westside, 5th). 2. Tyler Moss (Lincoln, 10th). 3. Cam Goodenow (Pace, 14th). 4. Jaycob Jones (Columbia, 13th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): None.
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Reese Sheehan (Orange Park); Alec Cavazos (Milton); Rolando Hernandez (Crestview); Robert Elder (Matanzas).
First-round match worth price of admission: Jones v Hernandez.
My too-short take: I can be sold on either choice out of the top half, but to me Bolden is the top heavy, and I think Jones — who’ll battle with Goodenow for top honors in 2020-21 joins them in getting out to Kissimmee.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Goodenow advances to the semis, with a win over First Coast’s Dylan Lampkin in the quarters.
Second quarter: Moss gets to the semis, with a win over Fletcher’s Toby Matson in the quarters.
Third quarter: Bolden reaches the semis, with a win over Cavazos in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Jones qualifies out, with a win over Elder in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Nathan Hatch (Deltona); Spencer Mackenzie (Ft Walton Beach); Sheehan; Hernandez. Sheehan v Seabreeze’s Connor Flagg should be a good contest in this round.
WB round 2 projected: Elder; Cavazos; Sheehan; Hernandez. The Hernandez-Lampkin match should be a good one.
WB quarters projected: Cavazos; Hernandez. Cavazos v Elder should be pretty well-contested on Saturday morning.
Semis/blood round: I’m willing to be convinced either way (I know Moss had a major in hand from region duals) on the top half, but for now I think Moss moves on, as does Bolden. Goodenow will be too much in the top half of the blood round, as will Jones in the bottom half.

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1A-Region 2 preview

When & where: Palm Bay HS, located in Melbourne. 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?: I still want to say, as I have for the past couple of seasons, “No. Next?,” but at least this year there’s a team in the field capable of a region title finish if they were in any other region, and that would be the host, Palm Bay. But the Highlanders will (at least) probably double up the hosts as well.
Local outlook in a nutshell: With a full district in the coverage area, I’d suspect Atlantic will probably be strongest among area teams, with an opportunity for a top-5 team finish. Palatka and Pedro Menendez have chances for the top 10, and should get a couple of qualifiers out. Keystone Heights, FSDB and Lake Weir have some decent second-day chances, but a state run might be tricky to pull off in this region.

Print this region’s brackets here: REGION 2 PAIRINGS

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 (all state rankings per Matmen-endorsed Brant Parsons/Orlando Sentinel rankings) —

106: 1. Ethan Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, 1st). 2. Tyler Perrow (Palm Bay, 2nd). 3. Keith Germain (Weeki Wachee, 14th). 4. Raider Morelli (Space Coast, 11th).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Tyler Rodier (Hernando, 16th) & Josh Rivas (Cocoa Beach).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Alexander McMiller (Satellite, 17th).
First-round match worth price of admission: Talon Maple (Zephyrhills Christian) v Dustin Kohn (The Master’s Academy).
My too-short take: I think Perrow has the easier half of the bracket, but Rivera is just not a typical middle-schooler. Germain should have a leg up on the rest of the field for third.
Local outlook: Palatka’s Mikade Harvey has a tough first-rounder in Rivas, who’s experienced, right out the chute. Winning that is critical, because a first-round loss most likely means having to face Morelli in consi round 2 just to get to Saturday.

113: 1. Elijah Lusk (Merritt Island, 1st). 2. Josh Boykin (Lake Highland Prep, 6th). 3. Shaver Jackson (Palm Bay, 8th). 4. Anthony Edwards (Space Coast, 9th).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Bernie Alvarez (Atlantic).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Heaven-Leigh Jackson (Hernando).
First-round match worth price of admission: Alvarez v Anthony Meyer (Bishop Moore).
My too-short take: Boykin was a JV state champion and he’s a Highlander so that is going to count for quite a lot, but I think Lusk is at a level where he can take that in stride and win.
Local outlook: Alvarez has a solid shot at Saturday wrestling, with a winnable first-rounder and then most likely Shaver Jackson in the quarters, but I’m not sure he gets past Edwards (or Boykin) in that first Saturday round. He should be able to take care of business in the second round of consis on Friday.

120: 1. David McClelland (Lake Highland Prep, 2nd). 2. Jamey Bruner (Atlantic, 9th). 3. Brandon Cody (Master’s Academy, 4th). 4. Ontarriyus Reid (Palatka, 10th).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Keyshaun Taylor (Leesburg, 15th).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Billy Day (Cocoa Beach, 13th).
First-round match worth price of admission: Dominick Scaffedi (Weeki Wachee) v Lance Gardenhire (FSDB).
My too-short take: McClelland should be the class of the field; if Bruner gets past Cody in the quarters, reaching the final by comparison almost looks to be an easier task.
Local outlook: The Bruner-to-final take is based on experience; Bruner was a match short of medaling at state last year. I’d be surprised if Reid duplicates his 2019 region-title run, but if he gets past McClelland in the quarters, he might just do it. Gardenhire has a tough quarter, with four solid kids in it; Saturday is a possibility. That will be tougher for Keystone Heights’ Samuel Ulsch, who’s in another solid quarter with few holes.

126: 1. Danny Nini (Lake Highland Prep, 1st). 2. Rocco Senia (Palm Bay, 5th). 3. Billy Gould (Hernando, 12th). 4. Drevon Wallace (Palatka, 14th).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Ronald Theilacker (Cocoa, 15th).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Seth Brown (Leesburg, 10th).
First-round match worth price of admission: Dylan Rivera (Space Coast) v Lane Beck (Weeki Wachee).
My too-short take: Nini should at least bonus-point through each round of the tournament. Senia could get tests from Citrus’ Kobe Rosario (11th) and Gould, but he’s the bottom-half choice.
Local outlook: Wallace has a pretty reasonable path to the semis (Theilacker in the quarter won’t be an easy out), but then he gets Nini, with (as I project) Brown in the consi semis and could even take third. Atlantic’s Tyler Livingston has a rough go in round 1, but from there has a solid Saturday chance. Pedro Menendez’s Gavin Rosario has an all-Rosario first-rounder and a possibility at Saturday, if he gets past Theilacker (or Wallace). FSDB’s Ty Snow is in the toughest quarter (the second, with Nini as a first-rounder).

132: 1. William Kennedy (Lake Highland Prep, 2nd). 2. Michael Brown (Hernando, 11th). 3. Dominick Carter (Palm Bay, 12th). 4. Brandon Lewis (Palatka, 18th).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Michael Watson (Cocoa Beach, 13th).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Azizbek Rustamiy (Atlantic, 20th); Sean Meyers (FSDB).
First-round match worth price of admission: Watson v Jesse Pounders (Citrus).
My too-short take: Kennedy should be OK at least through the semi, if not all the way through. The Watson-Brown quarterfinal winner will be in the final, I think.
Local outlook: Lewis has a solid path to the semis and should have an opportunity to wrestle into state at least once if not twice; Rustamiy (Kennedy) and Meyers (Carter) have tough quarterfinals, but both could get to Saturday, where they’d face each other, with the winner most likely facing Lewis. Pedro Menendez’s Logan Meehan is in the the second quarter, and that’s probably the hardest to get out of, with 88 experienced wins in that quarter.

138: 1. Chris Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, 2nd). 2. Michael Squires (Space Coast, 5th). 3. Braden Baxter (Palm Bay, 6th). 4. Jason Perez (Hernando, 8th).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Jeremiah Epps (Atlantic, 20th); Caleb Wood (Brooksville, Central, 19th).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Noah Dovin (Merritt Island, 12th).
First-round match worth price of admission: Jaxson Morris (Nature Coast) v Maxal Simpson (Citrus).
My too-short take: Rivera won’t be touched in this bracket, and Squires is nearly as solid a favorite in the top half.
Local outlook: Epps has a good semifinal shot, but then will have to go through either Squires or Baxter or (most likely) both. If he can turn back one of those two, he’ll be in the show. The road gets harder for the rest of the District 5 kids. Palatka’s DJ Nealy should get a third match after facing Dovin in the first round but that will be either Simpson or Morris. Getting a third match will be a good tournament for either Menendez’s Alex Binkiewicz or FSDB’s Joshua O’Connor.

145: 1. Justin Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, 1st). 2. Jack Dinberg (Palm Bay, 5th). 3. James Clark-Herndon (Cocoa Beach, 6th). 4. Jeremiah Funk (Cocoa).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Avante Chamble (Atlantic); Logan Simpson (Citrus, 16th).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Cameron Rima (Villages, 18th).
First-round match worth price of admission: Jesse Florkowski (Nature Coast) v Antonio Bundy (Bishop Moore, 18th).
My too-short take: Much the same as at 138; Rivera won’t be touched, and Dinberg is the solid favorite on the top half.
Local outlook: Like Epps at 138, Chamble has a good semifinal shot, with a winnable first-rounder; if he can get past Bundy, he’ll have two chances to wrestle for states. It’s tougher sledding for Pedro Menendez’s Jose Ruiz, Palatka’s Adaris Medina and Lake Weir’s Grant Kincannon. Ruiz is most likely of the three to get a third match, but all three would be doing exceptionally well to get to Saturday.

152: 1. Noah Castillo (Lake Highland Prep, 1st). 2. Billy Fetzner (Hernando, 12th). 3. Gavin Wheeler (Bishop Moore, 7th). 4. Cameron Komat (Palm Bay, 13th).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Kevin Coon (Villages).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Cole Kanehl (Hudson, 20th).
First-round match worth price of admission: Coon v Hunter Galloway (Astronaut).
My too-short take: Castillo is the class of the field. Should be a much more competitive top-half semi and certainly could go Wheeler’s way, but should be one of those two between Wheeler & Fetzner.
Local outlook: Lake Weir’s Dean Marquis has a decent shot at wrestling on Satruday, even with Wheeler in the quarters, as one of Citrus’ second-line kids would be in play in match #3 Friday night, but getting to the blood round would be a tall order. Pedro Menendez’s Nate Luckadoo also has a winnable first-rounder and a shot, not a great one but a shot, for Saturday.

160: 1. Dominic Isola (Lake Highland Prep, 2nd). 2. Josh Pritz (Hernando, 3rd). 3. Anthony Holden (Palm Bay, 19th). 4. David Arcieri (Atlantic, 16th).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Aidan Mayberry (Weeki Wachee, 14th); Caleb Griffith (Satellite).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): None.
First-round match worth price of admission: Griffith v Jose Flores (Nature Coast)/Troy Sawyer (Cocoa) v Mayberry.
My too-short take: This isn’t a walkover for Isola; Pritz is going to give a lot of fight and is plenty battle-tested against some very good kids. Wouldn’t expect a bonus point in the final.
Local outlook: Arcieri is in the same boat as Epps and Chamble both were, but he has a little bit less of an uphill blood-rounder against either Griffith or Sawyer (as I project). Of the other three area kids in the draw, Keystone’s Sheppard Wingate has the lightest quarter, and should win a match out of it, one way or the other, but getting to Saturday will be tougher. Both Pedro Menendez’s Jared Howard and Palatka’s Samuel Lafferty would be doing well to get third matches, let alone see Saturday.

170: 1. Bailey Flanagan (Lake Highland Prep, 3rd). 2. Ethan Hatcher (Villages, 4th). 3. Connor Spossey (Pedro Menendez, 5th). 4. Khalil Mitchell (Rockledge, 19th).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Robert Keldie (Zephyrhills Christian), 18th).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Austin McCombs (Hernando, 17th); Bryan Bartos (Palm Bay).
First-round match worth price of admission: Noah Anderson (Atlantic) v Michael McCarthy (Satellite).
My too-short take: Six ranked kids, four in the top half; Flanagan’s bottom half is the easier half. Hatcher’s run to final won’t be easy, and Flanagan will find an experienced battle-tested kid there.
Local outlook: If Spossey can get past Keldie in the quarters, he’ll have two chances to wrestle into the state field, and I have a hard time believing he would lose both of them. Anderson has a solid but winnable first-rounder, and even the semis are not completely out of reach, with McCombs in the quarter. Either way, he should certainly be able to wrestle on the second day.

182: 1. Hunter Brinkman (Lake Highland Prep, 1st). 2. Matthew Lewis (Palm Bay, 3rd). 3. Colby Fisher (Merritt Island, 4th). 4. Blake Coleman (Citrus, 6th).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Delcory Allen (Leesburg, 13th).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Maddox Romain (Hernando); Christian Henry (Atlantic).
First-round match worth price of admission: Fisher v Henry.
My too-short take: Brinkman’s bracket is probably tougher in the quarter, with Fisher/Henry winner, than in the semi; Lewis’ path has Coleman and (as I project) Allen in it en route to the final.
Local outlook: Henry, who I projected as the district champ, did himself no favors in finishing third, as he might have to fight out of the consis from jump, what with Fisher in round 1. Still, his chances for Saturday are good. Keystone’s Eliyah Cole, the District 5 champ is looking at Allen in the quarters, and Allen’s seen much more competition, but you never know with full certainty in non-LHP situations; very possibly it could be Cole and Henry with Saturday on the line. Pedro Menendez’s Dane Litzinger has a winnable first-rounder, and Saturday is in play; he proved he could rise to prove folks wrong at districts. FSDB’s David Chinchilla is in a tough spot, in a quarter with 113 wins around him; a third match would be a good day.

195: 1. Easton Tobia (Lake Highland Prep, 2nd). 2. Daylyn Randolph (Merritt Island, 6th). 3. Jahree Holmes (Palm Bay, 7th). 4. Christopher Spellman (Hernando, 10th).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Chris Morris (Satellite); Jack Tilton (Palatka).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Mason St John (Villages, 11th).
First-round match worth price of admission: Spellman v Torianno Macklin (Rockledge).
My too-short take: Two very good semis should lead to a solid final; Tobia will certainly get tested by the beach-side trio of Morris, Holmes and Randolph.
Local outlook: Tilton has a very good chance for Saturday wrestling, with a quite winnable first-rounder; Holmes might be too much in the quarters, but Tilton should get at least two more matches after that and has a shot at wrestling for states. Pedro Menendez’s Logan Parham also has a winnable first-rounder, with Randolph as a quarterfinal opponent. Parham has a shot for Saturday. That will be tougher for Keystone Heights’ Steven Raab and Atlantic’s John Wyman, for whom third matches will be an accomplishment.

220: 1. Matt Kaplan (Lake Highland Prep, 1st). 2. Qwenton Coney (Hernando, 4th). 3. Devon Krajewski (Rockledge, 10th). 4. Jacob Forbes (First Academy, 8th).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Ozkan Aydin (Palm Bay, 13th); Roderick Harris (Weeki Wachee, 9th).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Nic Heise (Villages, 17th).
First-round match worth price of admission: Aydin v William Akossou-Harvey (Hudson).
My too-short take: Kaplan will be just fine in this bracket, in which he is likely to face three ranked opponents along the way. Should be a great semi between Coney and Krajewski.
Local outlook: Atlantic’s Michael Sklare did well in winning District 5, but after a bye into the quarters, he’s going to have rough waters, with Aydin or Akossou-Harvey in the quarter and a tough out in consi round 2. Tough bottom-half quarters will make even a third match a good tournament for Palatka’s Lane Heuer and Keystone Heights’ Gabe Adams.

285: 1. Malik Jones (Zephyrhills Christian, 1st). 2. Jordan Love (Rockledge, 5th). 3. Jared Jackson (Atlantic, 3rd). 4. Carlos Gerardino (Palm Bay, 11th).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Hunter Gfell (Cocoa).
Dark horse (bottom half of bracket): Francisco Tobar (Lake Highland Prep); Dajuan McCullough (Zephyrhills, 10th); Sam Fleming (Hernando, 9th).
First-round match worth price of admission: McCullough v Marlon Williams (Palatka).
My too-short take: Even in this very loaded bracket — seven kids are ranked — Jones should have no(t much) trouble moving through the bracket, even against three ranked opponents. With four ranked opponents in the bottom half, whoever gets out will have earned it.
Local outlook: Jackson will have two ranked, but somewhat familiar, opponents en route to the semis; that will probably also be the case for his blood-round opponent. He should be OK to get out to states once again. Williams has a top-10 opponent in round 1, so he’ll have an early chance to make a statement; a win could maybe get him to the semis and Love or Fleming. He’s got a puncher’s chance for Kissimmee. It’s going to be tougher for Keystone’s Cody Saley, who might have a winnable match in the consis, but getting to Saturday will mean finding a new level.

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3A-Region 1 preview

When & where: Fleming Island HS. 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: The host Golden Eagles should be favored to win their fifth straight region title this weekend; this year’s senior class has never not won a region title thus far in their careers. Prior to last week, I would have suggested Hagerty would be the sole team that would chase Fleming Island most closely, but the Huskies took a bit of an internal hit to their lineup last week, and wound up second to Timber Creek in District 4. So by my reading, the 2-5 teams in the field look to be a battle between Hagerty and Timber Creek out of District 4 and Flagler Palm Coast out of Buchholz out of District 2. Right now, the Bulldogs look to be the early choice. Oakleaf and Creekside are candidates for the top 10 in the tournament.

Print brackets for this tournament here: REGION 1 PAIRINGS

For me, half the kids in this tournament are local. We’ll break down each quadrant for all of the weight classes. You’ll actually see each pick at each round (other than the round of 16), 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. Trenton Dominguez (Timber Creek, 9th). 2. DJ Perez (West Orange, 14th). 3. Ethan Vugman (Bartram Trail, 12th). 4. Jacob Zawosky (Forest).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Tamarion Kendrick (Apopka); Kole Hannant (Flagler Palm Coast); Tyreque Pringle (Colonial).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Brielle Bibla (Nease).
First-round match worth price of admission: Hannant v Kendrick. 84 wins in that first-rounder.
My too-short take: I think the top two kids in the group are both in the same half (top), and your semifinal winner in that top half is going to go on and win the region. I think the top four are pretty well set.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Vugman advances to the semis, with a win over Hannant in the quarters.
Second quarter: Dominguez gets to the semis, with a win over Pringle in the quarters.
Third quarter: Zawosky reaches the semis, with a win over Bibla in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Perez qualifies out for the semis, with a win over Oviedo’s Zachary Scharf in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Kendrick; Grady Bryant (University-Orange City); Tiana Marcillo (University-Orlando); Andrew Feeks (Creekside). The Marcillo v Maureece Beasley (Wekiva) first-rounder could be a good one.
WB round 2 projected: Kendrick; Bibla; Pringle; Hannant. Bibla v. Bryant should be a good match.
WB quarters projected: Kendrick; Hannant. Although I’d like to see how Bibla will hang in with Kendrick.
Semis/blood round: Taking Dominguez on size advantage solely (but we’ll find out if that’s enough). Zawosky has had a brillant season, but Perez has been battle-tested over the past couple of seasons. In the blood round, I’m taking Vugman’s technical superiority in the top half and looking for the bottom half to play out as it did in the District 2 final.

113: 1. Hunter Herrington (Fleming Island, 6th). 2. Fernando Dominguez (Timber Creek, 19th). 3. Trevion Demus (Nease). 4. Venumadhava Mirel (Buchholz).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Corry Sanchez (Seminole); Joseph Rizzo (Flagler Palm Coast); Victor Altamirano (Wekiva).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Ticiano Brito (Windermere).
First-round match worth price of admission: Michael Moore (Bartram Trail) v Brito.
My too-short take: Fleming begins its defense of the region title here with one of its more physical pound-per-pound kids, who shouldn’t be challenged too much this weekend. Dominguez should come out of the bottom half, but don’t be surprised if Mirel pushes past and makes the final. Demus and Rizzo are going to be strong possibilities to qualify out as well.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Herrington gets to the semis, with a win over Sanchez in the quarters.
Second quarter: Altamirano reaches the semis, with a win over Rizzo in the quarters.
Third quarter: Mirel qualifies out for the semis, with a win over Brito in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Dominguez advances to the semis, with a win over Demus in the quarters. A win here and Demus would make the final.
WB round 1 projected winners: Stewart Reynolds (Oviedo); Devin Foster (Mandarin); Moore; Frangello Baltodano (West Port). The Foster v Jeremy Goldman (Lake Mary) match should be a good one.
WB round 2 projected: Demus; Brito; Rizzo; Sanchez. Rizzo v Moore should be a good match.
WB quarters projected: Demus; Rizzo. Rizzo holds serve with a major in hand (20-10) over Sanchez, while Demus should be able to push past Brito.
Semis/blood round: Herrington should advance past Altamirano, while Dominguez takes a close battle in the bottom half. Demus, too, should be able to advance in the top half of the blood round. Mirel had a 12-0 major in hand at districts (over my pick) so, that should be enough.

120: 1. Jason Shaw (Hagerty, 1st). 2. Gabe Rendon (Oviedo, 8th). 3. Aiden Moore (Buchholz, 17th). 4. Ryan Hobson (Fleming Island, 16th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Jacob McCrimmon (Timber Creek).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): VIctor Perez (Lake Howell); Hunter England (Creekside); Marcus McGee (Oakleaf).
First-round match worth price of admission: McGee v John Hald (Flagler Palm Coast).
My too-short take: Shaw should be the class of the field in this weight class and Rendon should join him in the final, but the north will be well-represented with District 1 and 2 champions making it out. Moore has a 4-0 win over Hobson in hand from region duals.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Hobson reaches the semis, with a win over McCrimmon in the quarters.
Second quarter: Rendon qualifies out for the semis, with a win over Moore in the quarters.
Third quarter: Perez advances to the semis, with a win over England in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Shaw gets to the semis, with a win over McGee in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Duane Lewis (Windermere); Emmanual Sardobia-Gracia (Lake Brantley); Dionysos Dix (Evans); Hald. Dix v Seminole’s Cesar Marquez should be a very good match.
WB round 2 projected: McGee; England; Moore; McCrimmon. Moore v Dix should be a fun Friday nighter to watch; McCrimmon v Hald as well.
WB quarters projected: England; Moore. England has a fall in hand from districts; Moore’s offense should be too much in the bottom half.
Semis/blood round: Rendon and Shaw should not have too many problems in advancing out of the front side. Hobson has a fall in hand at districts, making him the top-half choice, While Moore pushes through out of the bottom half.

126: 1. Jayden Tapia (Timber Creek, 3rd). 2. Kamdon Harrison (Hagerty, 5th). 3. Riley Holton (Fleming Island, 6th). 4. Diego Solorzano (Lake Mary, 13th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Brendan Buckles (Flagler Palm Coast); Dominique Pringle (Colonial).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Jonathan Justice (University-Orange City); Trevor Tagarelli (Bartram Trail).
First-round match worth price of admission: Tagarelli v Jalen Moliere (Apopka).
My too-short take: The District 4 kids are too strong to overcome here, though Holton should safely get out after meeting up with Harrison — in a state-duals rematch — in the quarters. We could see three of these guys on the state podium next week, so finishing third here is a very good tournament. Tapia should be the pick for the title.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Harrison qualifies out for the semis, with a win over Holton (but closer than state duals) in the quarters.
Second quarter: Solorzano advances to the semis, with a win over Pringle in the quarters.
Third quarter: Justice gets to the semis, with a win over Tagarelli in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Tapia reaches the semis, with a win over Creekside’s Michael Galiani in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Buckles; Ethan Gorospe (Seminole); Moliere; Justin Pinto (Windermere). Moliere v Winter Park’s Joseph Parker could be a good one.
WB round 2 projected: Buckles; Tagarelli; Pringle; Holton. Buckles v Galiani could go either way; Galiani had a nice district tournament.
WB quarters projected: Tagarelli; Holton. The top half quarter should be more closely contested on Saturday morning.
Semis/blood round: Harrison has a fall in hand, so should push through, and Tapia will have too much offense. Note that the final went 9-7 in sudden victory, so if repeated, should be a great one. Solorzano’s experience carries him through in the top half, and Holton will bring too much pressure in the bottom half.

132: 1. Alex Vazquez (Lake Mary, 4th). 2. Isaac Padgett (Fleming Island). 3. Clayton Hurley (Apopka, 11th). 4. Trevor Owens (Oakleaf).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Tyran Schanck (Evans); Kevin Dominguez (Winter Park); Andrew Dance (Flagler Palm Coast).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Kason Nichols (Buchholz).
First-round match worth price of admission: Owens v Ryan Culbertson (Seminole).
My too-short take: Another bracket where — at least for rankings purposes — the top two kids are in the same half of the bracket. I’d like to see how that would actually go in a “true second” format, but I don’t know that I would ever get that from Florida. Vazquez should be ahead of the rest of the group.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Padgett advances to the semis, with a win over Schanck in the quarters.
Second quarter: Dance gets to the semis, with a win over Dominguez in the quarters.
Third quarter: Hurley reaches the semis, with a win over Owens in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Vazquez qualifies out for the semis, with a win over Nichols in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Traevis Saint Louis (Hagerty); Tyler Drone (Windermere); Culbertson; Conner Smith (West Orange). Could be a good one between Smith and Creekside’s Nolan Anderson.
WB round 2 projected: Nichols; Owens; Dominguez; Schanck. Dominguez v Culbertson should be well-contested.
WB quarters projected: Owens; Dominguez. I think it’ll be a hot one on Saturday morning between Owens and Nichols. Going with the experience there.
Semis/blood round: Padgett is one of the area’s most improved this year, and I think some of the results out there might get him through (assuming no matchup issue), while Vazquez advances past Hurley in the bottom half. In the blood round, Owens has a 16-10 decision in hand in the top half, while Hurley should be able to push through in the bottom half.

138: 1. Dalton Williams (Fleming Island, 7th). 2. Kyle Peacock (Flagler Palm Coast, 8th). 3. Chrs Labrecque (Lake Brantley, 14th). 4. Lavaughn Brown (Sandalwood).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Ransom Randolph (Apopka); Abel Marcano (University-Orlando, 18th).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Logan Custred (Timber Creek, 19th); Jalon Lumar (Nease).
First-round match worth price of admission: Custred v Lumar. Both could reach blood round, both should get to Saturday.
My too-short take: Fleming gets its second region title at this weight, with an all-local final. Brown should have the wherewithal to finally qualify out for the state tournament, even with potentially two ranked opponents on Saturday.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Williams gets to the semis, with a win over Evans’ Jagdesh Persaud in the quarters.
Second quarter: Marcano reaches the semis, with a win over Randolph in the quarters.
Third quarter: Peacock qualifies out for the semis, with a win over Brown in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Labrecque advances to the semis, with a win over Custred in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Johnathan Adams (Lake Howell); Logan Gilbert (Oakleaf); Luke Henderson (Winter Park); Lumar. Should be well contested between Gilbert and West Port’s Tyler Pinkowski.
WB round 2 projected: Custred; Brown; Randolph; Lumar. Lumar v Persaud should be a good match.
WB quarters projected: Brown; Lumar. Both District 1 kids reach the blood round, but they’re going to have battles on their hands.
Semis/blood round: Williams should have no problems in the front side top half, while Peacock will push past in the bottom half. Brown has enough offense in the top half of the blood round to go out; it could be close on the bottom half, but Labrecque gets through.

145: 1. Gannon Janssen (Fleming Island, 3rd). 2. Blane DeFord (Flagler Palm Coast, 7th). 3. Marcus Patrick (Oviedo, 9th). 4. Bryce Dodge (West Port, 15th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Dominick Acosta (Timber Creek); Chase McDonough (University-Orange City, 10th).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Stephen Farris (Bartram Trail); Blake Watts (Hagerty, 16th).
First-round match worth price of admission: Watts v Andrew Ryan (Nease).
My too-short take: Janssen’s half of the bracket is by far the deeper half, but it’s not going to matter; he’s still going to advance out and through. DeFord should set the pace in the bottom half and the two locals and former district rivals should meet in the region final.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Janssen reaches the semis, with a win over McDonough in the quarters.
Second quarter: Patrick qualifies out for the semis, with a win over Dodge in the quarters (we have this as a rematch for third and fourth).
Third quarter: DeFord advances to the semis, with a win over Farris in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Watts gets to the semis, with a win over West Orange’s Michael Nepywoda in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Acosta; Jermell McCall (Sandalwood); Brett Moses (Lake Mary); Ryan. Ryan v Buchholz’s Timothy Bowen should be a good match.
WB round 2 projected: Acosta; Farris; Dodge; McDonough. Acosta v Nepywoda looks to be well-contested.
WB quarters projected: Farris; Dodge. The Dodge-McDonough match should be very good. Transitive property doesn’t always work in wrestling, but DeFord beat Dodge 13-8 and then pinned McDonough. We will see; we’ve been wrong a lot before.
Semis/blood round: Janssen and DeFord move through against the Oviedo (or Oviedo-based) kids on the front side. Patrick has too much in the top half of the blood round, while Dodge finds a way to push through in the bottom half (I would also give McDonough the nod here if he were to win over Dodge in the previous round).

152: 1. Dylan Kohn (Hagerty, 2nd). 2. Tanner Hill (Fleming Island, 4th). 3. David Parkes (Oakleaf, 13th). 4. Solomon Smith (West Orange, 18th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Luca Vizzarri (Oviedo); Phillip Carstens (Lake Howell); Timothy King (Flagler Palm Coast).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Theo Massilon (West Port).
First-round match worth price of admission: Smith v Noah Hesse (Lake Mary).
My too-short take: There’s no doubt in my mind that Kohn and Hill won’t reprise their region final at dual states. I also think Parkes is the clear third; I can think of three or four kids that have a shot for fourth, but the top of the heap looks pretty clear to me.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Hill qualifies out for the semis, with a win over Vizzarri in the quarters.
Second quarter: King advances to the semis, with a win over Carstens in the quarters.
Third quarter: Parkes gets to the semis, with a win over Smith in the quarters (we could see this again in the medal round).
Bottom quarter: Kohn reaches the semis, with a win over Massilon in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Liam Buchanan (Buchholz); Eric Gilreath (Ocoee); Hesse; Ayden Nguyen (Bartram Trial). Hesse v University (Orange City)’s James Houck should be a good match.
WB round 2 projected: Massilon; Smith; Carstens; Vizzarri. Massilon went 10-5 with Buchanan at districts, so this could be a close one.
WB quarters projected: Smith; Carstens. Carstens v Vizzarri should be pretty close.
Semis/blood round: Hill should advance comfortably in the top half, while Kohn should win, not as comfortably but still should, in the bottom. Smith has enough wherewithal to get out of the top half of the blood round, while Parkes should move through in the bottom half.

160: 1. Luke Chop (Fleming Island), 3rd). 2. Jared Purcell (Lake Mary, 4th). 3. Ryan Cody (Hagerty, 5th). 4. Marcelo Gonzalez (Flagler Palm Coast).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Iverson Monde (Evans).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Kellan Flanary (University-Orange City); Hunter Brown (Creekside); Joshua Brown (Sandalwood).
First-round match worth price of admission: Monde v John McNames (Bartram Trail).
My too-short take: Taking a look at the placers, the other three would all be kids that Chop takes wins over. Along with teammate Gannon Janssen, Chop is the most cerebral high school wrestler I have personally covered since the 1990s. Unless he can be completely overwhelmed by athleticism and speed, and not just anybody can do that, you wrestle the way he wants you to.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Chop advances to the semis, with a close win over Cody in the quarters.
Second quarter: Gonzalez gets to the semis, with a win over Monde in the quarters.
Third quarter: Flanary reaches the semis, with a win over Hunter Brown in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Purcell qualifies out for the semis, with a win over Joshua Brown in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Max Szabo (Buchholz); McNames; Carson Rick (Timber Creek); Joseph Paci (West Port). Szabo v Windermere’s Fabrizio Lopez should be well-contested.
WB round 2 projected: J. Brown; H. Brown; Monde; Cody. Monde v Rick should be a really good match.
WB quarters: J. Brown; Cody. The Browns went 8-4 at districts last weekend, with Sandalwood winning in the semis.
Semis/blood round: Chop should not have issues in the top half of the semis, and perhaps Purcell will not, either, in the bottom half. Gonzalez may be too tough for either of the Browns to overcome in the blood round, while Cody will not be pushed in the bottom half.

170: 1. Logan Perkins (Hagerty, 3rd). 2. Luther Casimir (Apopka, 11th). 3. Gavin Smith (Fleming Island, 6th). 4. Matthew Vann (Buchholz, 18th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Bryce Minsky (DeLand); Garrick Schwartz (Flagler Palm Coast).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Ghazi Alkadry (Winter Park); Zach Hanks (Timber Creek).
First-round match worth the price of admission: Alkadry v Onjel Caraballo (Oakleaf).
My too-short take: This is a bracket where the two best kids in it are on the same half, and Perkins has a win in hand there, so he’s the favorite. Casimir has the ranking and the solid record, but I don’t think Apopka’s wrestled the schedule of other teams in this tournament.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Smith gets to the semis, with a win over Minsky in the quarters.
Second quarter: Perkins reaches the semis, with a win over Schwartz in the quarters.
Third quarter: Vann qualifies out for the semis, with a win over Alkadry in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Casimir advances to the semis, with a win over Hanks in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Jalen Mathis (Colonial); Hendrix Paterson (Windermere); Caraballo; Colin White (Nease). Paterson v Creekside’s Josh Benavides should be well-contested.
WB round 2 projected: Hanks; Alkadry; Schwartz; Minsky. Hanks against Mathis could be a good one in this round, as might Schwartz v Caraballo.
WB quarters projected: Hanks; Minsky. Hanks and Alkadry went 1-0 at the District 4 semis, while transitive predictions have Minsky (fall over Forest) over Flagler (decision over Forest). Not best strategy, admittedly.
Semis/blood round: Perkins has a win in hand in the top half of the front, while Casimir pushes through in the bottom half. Smith has too much offense in the top half of the blood round, as does Vann in the bottom half.

182: 1. Armando Acosta (Buchholz, 5th). 2. Ethan Lopez (Hagerty, 6th). 3. Jalen Hines (Creekside, 9th). 4. Austin Parker (Winter Park, 15th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): None.
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Nick Janssen (Fleming Island, 13th); Shamai Powell (Timber Creek); Tony Carter (Mandarin); Alvont Graham (Forest).
First-round match worth the price of admission: Parker v Carter. Winner probably gets out, but the loser might get a second shot in the blood round.
My too-short take: The bottom half of the bracket is so much deeper than the top half, where it’s largely Lopez and Hines. Lots of unknowns in the top half of the bracket. But everyone will be chasing Acosta in the bottom half.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Hines reaches the semis, with a win over West Orange’s Elias Funk in the quarters.
Second quarter: Lopez qualifies out for the semis, with a win over Seminole’s William James in the quarters.
Third quarter: Acosta advances to the semis, with a win over Janssen in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Parker gets to the semis, with a win over Graham in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Marek Simmons (Lyman); Jackson Fisher (Lake Brantley); Powell; Carter. Carter v Colonial’s Seth Suvak could be an interesting first-rounder.
WB round 2 projected: Graham; Janssen; Powell; Carter. Powell v Seminole’s William James could be hotly contested.
WB round 3 projected: Janssen; Carter. Carter against Powell should be close.
Semis/blood round: Lopez can probably push through to the final, while Acosta should move through a little more comfortably. Hines, in the top half, has a district fall in hand, while Parker’s experience carries him through in the bottom-half in the rematch of the round 1 matchup.

195: 1. Jeffrey Lascano (Fleming Island, 4th). 2. Jason Martin (Buchholz, 9th). 3. Ethan Lasher (University-Orange City, 11th). 4. Aaron Morris (DeLand, 12th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Bertilus Bornelus (Hagerty, 15th); Kelton Law (Ocoee, 14th).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Sean Henderson (Colonial); Dakota Phillips (Lake Mary, 13th).
First-round match worth the price of admission: Bornelus v. Morris. Winner probably gets out, but both will have a chance with state on the line.
My too-short take: Lascano is the class of the field in this weight class, taking Fleming’s (at least) fifth of what should be (at least) six region titles, but he’ll have ranked kids at every round after the first in getting there. I could make a case for either Martin or Phillips making it out; Phillips’ best chance is to keep winning, whereas Martin might be able to afford a loss before the final.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Lascano qualifies out for the semis, with a win over Morris in the quarters.
Second quarter: Lasher advances to the semis, with a win over Law in the quarters.
Third quarter: Martin gets to the semis, with a win over Henderson in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Phillips reaches the semis, with a win over Oakleaf’s Isiah Schevchook in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Bornelus; Dyllan Bueter (Timber Creek); Bryan Fortay (Creekside); Orane Clark (Wekiva). Clark v Forest’s Jacob Pratt could be a decent consi first-rounder.
WB round 2 projected: Bornelus; Henderson; Law; Morris. Bornelus v Schevchook looks to be the best matchup.
WB quarters projected: Bornelus; Morris. Morris v Law should be a barn-burner between seniors.
Semis/blood round: Lascano has too much offense in the top half, while Martin finds ways to get past the bottom half. Lasher takes the top half of the blood round, while Morris finds a way in the bottom half. Both of the blood round matches are going to knock out two seniors, which is always tough.

220: 1. Chad Nix (Fleming Island, 1st). 2. Jordan Smith (Seminole, 2nd). 3. Christian Kennick (University-Orange City, 3rd). 4. Nevan Burney (Buchholz, 8th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Korey Karbowsky (Ocoee, 9th).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Ralph Sanchez (Apopka, 10th); Jason Mitchell (Oakleaf); Shamir Nelson (Timber Creek, 13th).
First-round match worth the price of admission: Burney v Joshua Ayala (Winter Park).
My too-short take: If the state is going to find a way to derail Nix this year, this weekend is probably the last best chance to do it, as Nix will be getting a look at three ranked wrestlers during the weekend, including the second- and third-ranked wrestlers in the state, both of whom also are local. We could see all four of these guys on the state podium next weekend.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Nix advances to the semis, with a win over Burney in the quarters.
Second quarter: Kennick gets to the semis, with a win over Karbowsky in the quarters.
Third quarter: Smith reaches the semis, with a win over Sanchez in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Nelson qualifies out for the semis, with a win over Mitchell in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Nathaniel Gayle (Colonial); De’Shawn Wise-Minor (Mandarin); Landon Revis (Hagerty); Seth Davis (Flagler Palm Coast). Davis v Wekiva’s Luther Johnson could be a good match.
WB round 2 projected: Mitchell; Sanchez; Karbowsky; Burney. Burney vs. Davis might be the closest of the group.
WB quarters projected: Sanchez; Burney. Both should be really good ways to kick off the second day.
Semis/blood round: Nix advances out with a top-half semifinal win, while Smith should have an easier time in the bottom half. Kennick should rally with a win in the top half; the bottom half should be quite close, with Burney finding a way to move on through.

285: 1. Curtis Ruff (Seminole, 1st). 2. Jacob Donaldson (Lake Mary, 7th). 3. Jacob Robinson (Buchholz, 14th). 4. AJ Cinelli (Flagler Palm Coast, 4th).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Josh Murrell (Oakleaf, 9th); Jordan Phillips (Ocoee, 17th).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Lawrence Stubbs (Wekiva, 8th); Raul Gonzalez (Fleming Island, 10th).
First-round match worth the price of admission: Robinson v Gonzalez. Winner could get out to states; both wrestlers should get to Saturday.
My too-short take: This bracket is loaded. Just flat-out loaded. I could see up to around six wrestlers out of the bottom half of the bracket, and there’s at least three state-quality wrestlers in the top half of the bracket. But none of them are named Curtis Ruff.
Local outlook —
Top quarter: Murrell gets to the semis, with a win over Phillips in the quarters.
Second quarter: Ruff reaches the semis, with a win over Timber Creek’s Daniel Garcia in the quarters.
Third quarter: Stubbs qualifies out for the semis, with a win over Gonzalez in the quarters.
Bottom quarter: Donaldson advances to the semis, with a win over Cinelli in the quarters.
WB round 1 projected winners: Joshua Maldonado (Lake Howell); Ryan Piersza (Bartram Trail); Robinson (bye); Nick Wilbur (Mandarin). Maldonaldo should get a battle from Forest’s Kaleb Thompson.
WB round 2 projected: Cinelli; Gonzalez; Robinson; Phillips. Phillips v Wilbur should be a good matchup.
WB quarters projected: Cinelli; Robinson. Cinelli v Gonzalez should be a great Saturday starter.
Semis/blood round: Ruff advances past Murrell in the top half, while Donaldson pushes past Stubbs in the bottom. Cinelli has an earlier win in hand to get through the top half of the blood round, while Robinson finds a way to advance in the bottom half.

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North Florida Matmen staff report

FT WALTON BEACH — For the second consecutive year, Pace has completed the 2A-District 1 double.

On Saturday at Choctaw, Pace qualified 13 wrestlers for Friday’s 2A-Region 1 tournament at Chiles, with four champions, four runners-up and five thirds in rolling up 215.5 points, 32 ahead of runnerup Ft Walton Beach.

Derrick Lancero (120), Gabe Jacobs (195), Wyatt Dillon (220) and Cam Goodenow (285) all won titles for the Patriots.

Ft Walton Beach qualified 12 wrestlers for Chiles, with two champions, five runners-up, two thirds and three fourths moving on to regions. Champions for the Vikings were Jean Maldonaldo (152) and Patrick Adams (182).

Gulf Breeze outdistanced Niceville, 166.5-114, for third place. The Dolphins had more champions than any other team, with five in all, plus one third and three fourths.

Nate Weber (106), Colson Elliott (126), Ian Daily (132), Dylan Lawrence (138) and Hunter Dupont (170) all were champions for Gulf Breeze.

Niceville moved eight wrestlers out, with two champs, two runners-up, one third and three fourths. Ethan Pinto (113) and Keane Creager (145) took home district titles for the Eagles.

Tate outpointed Crestview, host Choctaw and Milton for fifth place, with 58.5 points to the Bulldogs’ 56, Indians’ 52 and Panthers’ 48.5.

The Aggies qualified four wrestlers out (two thirds and two fourths), while Crestview had three (one runnerup and two thirds) and Choctaw three (one runnerup, one third, one fourth). Milton also got three out, led by champion Daniel McDonal (160), plus one runnerup and one fourth.

Below follows a summary of the tournament:

106 — Weber had a bye into the final, where he falled Ft Walton Beach’s Reid Gannon in 3:13 for his first district title. Gannon got to the finals with a 15-6 major over Pace’s Natalie Lugo, who had a bye for third place.

113 — Pinto (11th statewide) took his first district title behind a semifinal pin over Gulf Breeze’s Elijah Johnson (3:37), then powering through a 2-1 decision over Choctaw’s David Tambula (13th statewide) in the final. Tambula falled Pace’s Jacob Hobbs (3:30) in the semis. Hobbs took third with a fall in 2:15 over Johnson.

120 — Lancero (3rd statewide) had two six-minute wins for his second district title, majoring Tate’s Daniel McGaha (15-1) in the semis, then taking down Ft Walton’s Brandon Mallin (18th statewide) by a 7-2 count in the title match. Mallin had pins over Milton’s Coleman Barnhill (1:10) and Gulf Breeze’s Logan Merritt (3:19) to reach the final. Niceville’s Noah Tritz, who fell 9-5 to McGaha in the quarters, would get that match back, with a consi-semi pin over Merritt (3:54) and 7-4 third-place win over McGaha, who punched his Chiles ticket with a 6-2 win in the consi semis over Choctaw’s Deagan Kilpatrick.

126 — Elliott (20th statewide) bonus-pointed into the final, with a 41-second pin over Milton’s Brock Wells and 12-0 major over Ft Walton’s Weston Burbidge before taking down Pace’s Ethan Billhimer, 12-8, for his first district title. Billhimer (9th statewide) also bonus-pointed into the final, with a 31-second fall over Niceville’s Andrew Randolph and 15-0 second-period tech fall (3:13) over Tate’s Marcus Virgin. Virgin came back for third with pins over Choctaw’s Steven Banfield (4:07, consi semis) and Burbidge (4:33) in the medal match. Burbidge had secured his region space with an 8-6 win over Crestview’s AJ Richardson in the consi semis.

132 — Daily (13th statewide) won his second district title after missing the 2019 post-season with injury, pinning his way through the draw. Daily had falls over Tate’s Caiden Stone (:19), Crestview’s Tyler Mason (:39) and then pinned Niceville’s Jayden Pinto (15th statewide) in 2:56 in the title match. Pinto got to Daily behind wins over Choctaw’s Jacob Johns (17-1 tech in 2:21) and Pace’s Atticus Waters (7-1 semifinal win). Waters had two pins in 1:26 on the back, falling Stone (:33) and Ft Walton Beach’s Darius Brundidge in :53 for third place. Brundidge punched his Chiles ticket with a 12-2 major over Mason in the consi semis.

138 — Lawrence (16th statewide) pinned or teched his way through the bracket for the Dolphins’ back-to-back-to-back title and his first district championship, teching Niceville’s Ty Hawkins (17-0 in 5:33), then falling Tate’s David Luckey (3:57) in the semis and Pace’s Seth O’Gara (3:29) in the championship. O’Gara had wins over Choctaw’s Eli Devoid (pin in :47) and Milton’s Brandon Nicholson (7-2 in the semis) to reach the final. After falling, 11-8, to Nicholson in the quarters, Ft Walton’s Martin Muniz won three on the bounce to wrestle back for third and get that match back, with pins over Devoid (2:01), Luckey (2:16) and Nicholson (1:24) for third place. Nicholson had secured his region spot with an 8-2 consi-semi decision over Hawkins.

145 — Creager (13th statewide) had two wins for his second district title, falling Pace’s Camden Friend (5:59) in the semis, then shuttng out Ft Walton Beach’s Malachi Santiago, 7-0, in the championship match. Santiago had pins over Crestview’s Jakob Allen (3:06) and Gulf Breeze’s Kelly Scanlon (3:05) to get to the final. Friend won twice on the back, surviving a wild 15-13 consi-semi against Choctaw’s Ben Semonov and then downing Scanlon, 9-4, for third. Scanlon punched his Chiles ticket with a 17-second fall over Milton’s Michael McCain.

152 — Maldonaldo had a bye into the semis, then falled Gulf Breeze’s Garret Rudick (3:23) there and edged Pace’s Joseph Cortez, 7-6, in the final. Cortez also had a bye into the semis, where he pinned Choctaw’s Sherman Fuller in 5:55. Rudick bounced back for third behind a pair of pins over Milton’s Joslyn Anderson (2:02) and Tate’s Chad Luckey (3:30) for third place; Rudick had pinned Luckey in a pigtail. Luckey secured his region spot with a consi-semi pin in 3:27 over Fuller.

160 — McDonal pinned or teched his way through the bracket as the Panthers’ brightest light of the day, winning his first district title with a tech in the quarters over Crestview’s Layne Franks (18-2 in 4 minutes) and falls over Gulf Breeze’s Sean Jones (3:09) in the semis and in sudden victory (6:36) in the title match over Ft Walton Beach’s Caleb Tourgee. Tourgee falled Niceville’s Martin Black (3:17) and pushed past Pace’s Brody Andrews, 2-1, in the semis. Andrews would wrestle back for third, with a consi-semi pin over Franks (1:54) and a 10-4 third-place win over Black, who won twice to punch his Chiles ticket, including an 18-2 tech fall over Jones (3:18) in the consi semis.

170 — Dupont won his first district title and Gulf Breeze’s fifth on the day, pinning his way through the draw with falls over Choctaw’s Samuel Santos (4:00) in the semis and over Pace’s Aiden Bryan (1:51) in the title. Bryan secured a finals spot with a takedown in sudden victory for a 12-10 semifinal win over Ft Walton Beach’s Carter Tobik. Santos came back for third with pins over Tate’s Kaden McDonald (1:32) in the consi semis, and over Niceville’s Jared Dieters (3:48) in the third-place match. Dieters secured a region space with a 14-12 consi-semi decision, also in sudden victory, over Tobik.

182 — Patrick Adams pinned his way into the final, with falls over Niceville’s Dante Barrett (:31) and Gulf Breeze’s Micah Barker (2:28), then found a takedown in sudden victory over Crestview’s Julio Fernandez for a 9-7 win and his first district title. Fernandez had two pins as well, with falls over Milton’s Zane Allen (:14) and Pace’s Nick Adams (2:16), to get to the final. Tate’s Jacob Turner, who lost by fall to Nick Adams in a pigtail, then had three pins on the bounce to get back to third, with falls over Allen (1 minute), Barker (2:51) and Choctaw’s Gamaliel Harris (:41) in the medal match. Harris grabbed his region place with a fall over Nick Adams (1:20) in the consi semis.

195 — Jacobs (6th statewide at 182) stayed unbeaten (50-0) with two pins in 1:54 for his second district title (after a year out of Florida; he last won in 2018). Jacobs pinned Gulf Breeze’s Julian McCully (:33) in the semis and then falled Niceville’s Sean Ripley (8th statewide) in 1:21 for the title. Ripley also had two pins, falling Choctaw’s Caden Nimmo (1:45) and Ft Walton Beach’s Eddie Alexis (15th statewide) in 1:30 in the semis. Alexis had two quick pins in the consis for third, with falls over Crestview’s Mathew Sharp (:26) and McCully (:58) in the medal match. McCully punched his Chiles ticket with a fall over Nimmo in 3:40 in the consi semis.

220 — Dillon (11th statewide at 195) won his first district title, pinning his way through the bracket with falls over Tate’s Gabriel McKinley (5:28), Crestview’s Kennard Madden (3:36, semis) and Ft Walton Beach’s Kaleb Williams (5:09) in the title match. Williams (7th statewide) got to the final behind an 8-4 semifinal win over Niceville’s Ramsey Kidder. Madden (8th statewide) bounced back for third behind an 11-second consi-semi pin over Gulf Breeze’s Bryson Wick and a 3-0 third-place win over Kidder, who’d secured his region space with a consi-semi pin over McKinley (4:58).

285 — Goodenow (15th statewide) won his first district title also by pinning through the draw, with falls over Niceville’s Joe Hanson (1:10), Crestview’s Rolando Hernandez (2:21) in the semis and Milton’s Alec Cavazos (1:23) in the final. Cavazos had first-period falls over Gulf Breeze’s Milton Beganovic (1:09) and Ft Walton Beach’s Spencer Mackenzie (:44) to reach the final. Hernandez had pins in the conssi rounds over Tate’s Landen George (4:58) and Mackenzie (1:59) to claim third, while Mackenzie punched his Chiles ticket with a 44-second fall over Choctaw’s Michael Barton.

Complete brackets from the tournament can be found HERE.

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