1A-Region 2
When & where: Palm Bay HS, Melbourne. First session is set for noon Friday. Saturday’s first session set for 10 a.m.; finals usually are at discretion of tournament director and are most often slated for mid-afternoon starts.
Team favorite: Lake Highland Prep’s no longer here, but there’s a reasonable facsimile of a juggernaut still in place, and this time it’s the host Pirates. Locally, Palatka has a decent shot at a top-five finish, and Atlantic’s strength at a few spots should put the Sharks in the top 10. Pedro Menendez was a stronger duals team than they were in IBTs; while districts were still a relatively small event, with around 30 teams here, the Falcons could face some tougher sledding. The Falcons and Keystone Heights and Lake Weir will call it a good tournament with representation at The Show next week.
Rankings are per Matmen-endorsed statewide rankings source Brant Parsons of the Orlando Sentinel.
Brackets can be reviewed HERE: REGION 2 (PALM BAY)
Matmen’s state picks, sure to be wrong
106
The picks: 1. Dustin Kohn (Master’s Academy, 15th). 2. Raider Morelli (Space Coast, 8th). 3. Logan DeLos Santos (Palm Bay, 7th). 4. Mikade Harvey (Palatka, 14th).
The Friday match I’m most intrigued by: Harvey v Blaine Reed (Crystal River, 17th).
Dark horse (top half of bracket): Reed.
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Kali Christie (Hernando); Jaden DeSantis (Cypress Creek-WC).
Local outlook: Harvey will want to get to Saturday on the front side; the bottom half of the consis look to be a tougher road to get out between Kohn or DeLos Santos waiting in the blood round. Could be a tough go for Menendez’s Emma Brackett; a third match Friday would be a victory.
113
The picks: 1. Tyler Perrow (Palm Bay, 1st). 2. Alex McMiller (Satellite, 8th). 3. Anthony Edwards (Space Coast, 14th). 4. Keith Germain (Weeki Wachee, 11th).
The Friday match I’m most intrigued by: Germain v Edwards in the third quarterfinal.
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Zane Hudson (Merritt Island, 16th); Talon Maple (Zephyrhills Christian, 12th); Anthony Meyer (Bishop Moore, 20th).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Gage Persons (Citrus, 13th).
Local outlook: Foster’s got a tough one — even though a 4th — in the first round and might have to fight through consis; the rd 2 matchup won’t be easy. Atlantic’s Ayden Howington might also have to go through consis. Any District 5 kid getting to Saturday will be a win.
120
The picks: 1. Elijah Lusk (Merritt Island, 1st). 2. Shaver Jackson (Palm Bay, 15th). 3. TJ Rodier (Hernando, 11th). 4. Luke Christiansen (Rockledge).
The Friday match I’m most intrigued by: I’ll be curious to see how Space Coast’s Riley Taylor, a rare sixth-place wrestler brought into the region field, fares on Friday. At 14-12, in that district, he’s got a decent chance.
Dark horses (top half of bracket): James Ruiz (Cypress Creek-WC); Elijah Dy (Bishop Moore, 19th).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Presten Pineiro (Astronaut); Colson Mackay-Johnson (Central).
Local outlook: No locals in field.
126
The picks: 1. Rocco Senia (Palm Bay, 1st). 2. Mason Medina (Bishop Moore, 18th). 3. Jacob Reynolds (Citrus). 4. Landen Holley (Zephyrhills Christian).
The Friday match I’m most intrigued by: Diego Mojica (Hernando) v Blaise Nelson (Villages).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Jamison Pinyan (Atlantic).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Ethan Webb (Rockledge); Lucien Comelchook (Merritt Island).
Local outlook: Pinyan has a fair chance to get to Saturday, but a blood-round appearance might be a tall order. Palatka’s Alexander McCrystal could get a third match, but will have either Reynolds or Senia in it. A third match would be a big outcome for Keystone’s Ethan Cosby and Menendez’s Maddox Kaufenberg.
132
The picks: 1. Ronald Theilacker (Palm Bay, 4th). 2. Brandon Cody (Master’s Academy, 5th). 3. Brandon Lewis (Palatka, 9th). 4. Jaiden Martinez (Zephyrhills, 20th).
The Friday match I’m most intrigued by: Bernie Alvarez (Atlantic) v Maxal Simpson (Citrus).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Eddie Sears(Merritt Island, 18th); James Gadson (Hernando).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Konnor Rutz (Villages).
Local outlook: Lewis’ path to a state berth isn’t certain, and it isn’t easy, but he has seen enough competition that it’s manageable, and he should give Cody solid fight in the semis on Saturday. Whether he wins or loses in the round of 16, Alvarez has a chance to get to Saturday. A third match might be a tall order for Menendez’s Joshua Smith and Keystone’s Tyce Pigga.
138
The picks: 1. Michael Watson (Cocoa Beach, 3rd). 2. Braden Baxter (Palm Bay, 6th). 3. Javier Lopez (Zephyrhills Christian). 4. Ryan Beirne (Satellite).
The Friday match I’m most intrigued by: Beirne v Brett Wilke (Villages, 20th), in round 1.
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Logan Meehan (Pedro Menendez).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Cade Eisenhut (Bishop Moore, 17th); Forest Tilson (Nature Coast).
Local outlook: Meehan’s got a fair chance to get to Saturday, but my guess it’s in the bottom half of the consis that he does it. Atlantic’s William Johnson and Keystone Heights’ Saige Dennis will do well to get a third match Friday.
145
The picks: 1. Nathan Furman (Palm Bay, 2nd). 2. James Clark-Herndon (Cocoa Beach, 3rd). 3. Billy Gould (Hernando, 7th). 4. Noah Dovin (Merritt Island, 12th).
The Friday match I’m most intrigued by: Clark-Herndon v Gould in the quarters.
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Delton Nealy (Palatka, 17th); Jesse Pounders (Citrus, 16th); Seth Brown (Leesburg).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Cameron Rima (Villages, 14th).
Local outlook: A Saturday with Nealy on the front side would be a good Saturday indeed, as rd 1 isn’t a pushover and both Pounders and Dovin are are quite good in the quarters. This is one of the deeper brackets of the region. Menendez’s Jose Ruiz might win in rd 1, but round 3 will be tough to get through; a third match would be a good tournament for Keystone’s Canyon Hayes and Lake Weir’s Hunter Peake.
152
The picks: 1. Jack Dinberg (Palm Bay, 2nd). 2. Gregory Mitchell (Rockledge). 3. Jason Perez (Hernando, 10th). 4. Jonathan Cardona (Cypress Creek-WC).
The Friday match I’m most intrigued by: Mitchell v Cardona in round 1.
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Dylan Rios (Cocoa Beach); Idael Reyes (Zephyrhills); Logan Simpson (Citrus, 13th).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Peyton Chancey (Central).
Local outlook: Lake Weir’s Dean Marquis can get to Saturday, but the consi quarter matchup is very likely to be a tall order. Menendez’s Justin Whitty and Palatka’s Adaris Medina might win first-rounders but getting a fourth match would be an upset; getting a third would be a good tournament for Keystone’s Alyx Nichols.
160
The picks: 1. Cameron Komat (Palm Bay, 4th). 2. Billy Fetzner (Hernando, 10th). 3. Gavin Wheeler (Bishop Moore, 3rd). 4. Cole Kanehl (Hudson, 18th).
The Friday match I’m most intrigued by: Komat v Kevin Coon (Villages, 13th) in the second quarterfinal.
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Jessiah Cobo (Citrus); Caleb Murray (Nature Coast).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Caleb Griffith (Satellite); Dylan Turknett (Merritt Island).
Local outlook: Palatka’s Gaitlin Carreras might get a third match and maybe even a fourth, but things get dicey after that. Match 3 might get tricky for Keystone’s Sheppard Wingate and Menendez’s Luke Johnson.
170
The picks: Dylan Kohn (Master’s Academy, 1st). 2. Michael McCarthy (Satellite, 13th). 3. Khalil Mitchell (Rockledge, 4th). 4. Anthony Holden (Palm Bay, 15th).
The Friday match I’m most intrigued by: Holden v Noah Anderson (Atlantic).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Cole Yeager (Bishop Moore, 19th); Nate Greene (Hernando, 9th).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Matthew Tanner (Hudson).
Local outlook: Anderson can get through the first round, but Holden will be the key match. Holden struggled some at districts, placing third. If Anderson can win that, he has a chance to get out to Kissimmee. Going into the bottom half of the consis with a quarterfinal loss will be much harder to get to state. A third match might be the top end of the weekend for Palatka’s Vincent Washington and Menendez’s Tabias Brown, while Lake Weir’s Lamar Williams would do quite well to get a third match Friday.
182
The picks: 1. Blake Coleman (Citrus, 5th). 2. Aidan Mayberry (Weeki Wachee, 15th). 3. Alexzander Owens (Palm Bay, 2nd). 4. David Arcieri (Atlantic).
The Friday match I’m most intrigued by: Mayberry vs either Izaiah Jauma (Villages) or Troy Sawyer (Cocoa, 10th) in the second quarterfinal.
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Jacob Suggs (Bishop Moore).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Zane Schaediger (Hudson); Maddox Romain (Hernando, 16th).
Local outlook: For Arcieri, the best chance to have a chance is to get to Saturday on the front side of the bracket. Those first two rounds need to be won. A loss in the quarters sends him into either Owens or Coleman with state on the line. Schaediger/Romain’s a better possibility, but still not easy. Menendez’s Ryon Pickles might get a third match, but more might be too tall an order.
195
The picks: 1. Ryan Cody (Master’s Academy, 2nd). 2. Octavion Osby (Palm Bay, 12th). 3. Matthew Kovalskiy (Weeki Wachee, 5th). 4. Johnathan Ahne (Hernando).
The Friday match I’m most intrigued by: Where to begin. Either the second or third quarterfinal. Some terrors will be unleashed into the consis.
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Joey Dobbs (Zephyrhills Christian); Jaden Markus (Villages, 20th).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Torianno Macklin (Rockledge, 16th); Christian Taylor (Cocoa Beach, 14th).
Local outlook: The Matmen semi-magic 8-ball says outlook not good. I think there’s an OK chance for Keystone’s Steven Raab to get a third match in the consis, but his opponent in that round will be tough. Both Menendez’s Dane Litzinger and Atlantic’s John Wyman have had decent seasons, but this bracket is just a nightmare. Maybe a third match (particularly for Litzinger, just on bracketing alone).
220
The picks: 1. Ozkan Aydin (Palm Bay, 6th). 2. Nicholas Heise (Villages, 12th). 3. Chris Spellman (Hernando). 4. Elijah Austin (Zephyrhills Christian).
The Friday match I’m most intrigued by: Mason Martinez (Space Coast) v Stuart Martin (Pedro Menendez).
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Jack Tilton (Palatka); Syncere Sampson (Master’s Academy); Tim Gray (Crystal River).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Theotis Smith (Zephyrhills, 20th); Howard Craft (Rockledge).
Local outlook: Tilton can certainly make quarters, but Spellman’s a good pick for a state medal (he’s not ranked, but I think so leastways); Tilton has a very good chance for Saturday, and if he can get past Austin, a possible state option. Martin, I think, is going to be very very good down the line, and three matches tomorrow is very doable. Lake Weir’s Preston Guyton would definitely take a third match on Friday.
285
The picks: 1. Jordan Love (Rockledge, 1st). 2. Carlos Gerardino (Palm Bay, 5th). 3. Jared Jackson (Atlantic, 7th). 4. Dajuan McCullough (Zephyrhills, 12th).
The Friday match I’m most intrigued by: Jackson v Gerardino in the top quarter.
Dark horses (top half of bracket): Briac Riles (Wesley Chapel); Mark Ward (Villages).
Dark horses (bottom half of bracket): Sam Fleming (Hernando, 9th); Jesse Harmon (Central).
Local outlook: Don’t think that Jackson can’t make the final; I won’t be surprised if it happens. But Gerardino in the quarters and McCullough in the semis will be a tough road. The consis would include two winnable matches and the most likely Fleming in the blood round. I think Keystone’s Gabe Adams and Lake Weir’s Corian Williams can get three matches, mayyyyybe four. It’ll be tough for Menendez’s Ron Coleman or Palatka’s Carson Tibbs to get a third match Friday.
North Florida Matmen 