By MATMEN, Friday, 11:20 p.m.
Second-day pairings for 2A-Region 1 at Chiles. (NOTE: Per Chiles head coach, Rd 2 of consis did NOT finish. It will begin the action on Saturday morning):
106
Semis: Garrett Ferguson (Gulf Breeze, 9th) v Matthew Newman (Fleming Island, 5th); Timothy McLean (Matanzas, 8th) v Jacob Bucci (Clay, 6th).
Consi qtrs: Jason Barrett (Ridgeview, 18th) v Joe Tucker (Lincoln, 10th); Jacob Jackson (Westside) v Connor Barnes (Oakleaf).
Picks still OK?: Not too bad. Three projecteds still in the front half and all four in the mix (I expected one to be in the consis). More issues in the margins as compared to the overall picture.
113
Semis: Shane Duhaylungsod (Fleming Island, 7th) v Shamar Jones (Terry Parker, 15th); Vaniel Caceres (Lincoln, 10th) v Santiago Mayic (Ft Walton Beach).
Consi qtrs: Patrick Brooks (Chiles) v Drew Holmquist (Clay); James Oliver (Arnold) v Aiden Macken (Gulf Breeze, 9th).
Picks still OK?: Not wonderful, with the highest-ranked area wrestler not competing, but that does happen from time to time. A couple of misses in the depth of the weight, but two projecteds in semis and a third in consi though.
120
Semis: Coby Shields (Gulf Breeze, 11th) v Ion Hortinela (Oakleaf, 20th); Jashawn Washington (Lincoln, 13th) v Grady Woodard (Middleburg, 18th).
Consi qtrs: Collver Hipp (Niceville) v Zak Vosburgh (Ft Walton Beach); William Sites (Seabreeze) v Sam Tolomeo (Chiles, 19th).
Picks still OK?: Three projecteds in the front-half and I expected a fourth in the consis, so that holds serve. Pretty good. A couple of depth picks were misses, due in part to a non-competing wrestler.
126
Semis: Brady Glavin (Clay, 11th) v Sebastian Bonochea (Oakleaf, 10th); Zakary Jurado (Lncoln, 20th) v Laird Duhaylungsod (Fleming Island, 6th).
Consi qtrs: Landon Burbidge (Ft Walton Beach) v Ethan Jackson (Chiles); Merrick Miller (New Smyrna Beach) v Alexander Mendez (Pace).
Picks still OK?: For nowwwww, yes, with all four projecteds still in it, but two are going to need to win twice off the back tomorrow; not an impossible task, but by no means an easy one.
132
Semis: Keon Barrientos (Oakleaf, 20th) v Jonathan Bruner (New Smyrna Beach, 12th); Wyatt Leduc (Middleburg, 4th) v Jayce Paridon (Fleming Island, 1st).
Consi qtrs: Jacob Johnston (Chiles) v Nate Weber (Gulf Breeze, 18th); Jayden Thomas (Columbia) v Garrett Jarvis (Niceville).
Picks still OK?: Three projecteds in the front half and all four still alive; my dark horses met in consi rd 2; that’s not a bad overall look for this weight class.
138
Semis: Maeson Otwell (Pace, 9th) v Christian Garcia (Ridgeview); Garrett Marschka (Chiles, 4th) v Michael Mancuso (Gulf Breeze, 14th).
Consi qtrs: Aidan Sutton (New Smyrna Beach) v Zaire Fernanders-Jackson (Lincoln); Landen Solomon (Clay) v Caleb Pope (Oakleaf).
Picks still OK?: Really the first weight where I truly missed on a projected (none of us, no matter how good, can project non-competing kids), but some of my depth picks have performed at or a little above expectation so far.
145
Semis: Steven Banfield (Ft Walton Beach, 13th) v Cooper Hill (Chiles); Logan Moore (Middleburg, 8th) v Kaden Schaefer (Fleming Island, 2nd).
Consi qtrs: Gha-is Cooper (Westside, 20th) v JJ Martinez (Niceville); Ben Helton (Terry Parker) v Sam Ayodele (Mainland).
Picks still OK?: All four projecteds in the front half, which is ideal for a first day; Ayodele making a nice run and has performed above expectations, leaving me with one depth pick not predicted.
152
Semis: Matthew Sinclair (Ft Walton Beach, 20th) v Matthew Kotler (Fleming Island, 7th); Connor Edwards (Lincoln, 5th) v Dylan Parkinson (Matanzas, 16th).
Consi qtrs: Nathan Williams (Westside, 10th) v Scott Greenwald (Chiles); Daniel Raines (Middleburg) v Jerimiah Baker (Oakleaf).
Picks still OK?: Like 145, all four projecteds in the front half, which went against the rankings somewhat, but I had a feeling that my instinct would be correct, and it was. A couple of unexpected surprises still in the bottom half of the consis, mainly due to round-1 wins I didn’t project.
160
Semis: Jordan Baxter (Pace, 10th) v Christopher Chop (Fleming Island, 4th); Alexander Davidson (Ft Walton Beach, 12th) v Benny Lewis (Ed White, 17th).
Consi qtrs: Bryce Alli (Pedro Menendez) v Andrew Yeats (Mosley); Landon Wright (Matanzas) v Luke Pickels (Chiles).
Picks still OK?: Some hits here with a projected finalist going down in round 1 (but still alive), I did say that would be the best first-rounder, I think that was borne out.
170
Semis: Dominic Martin (Clay, 11th) v Anthony Kearney (Riverside); Talan Babin (Ponte Vedra) v Ronan Bozeman (Fleming Island, 6th).
Consi rd 2: Malachi Lewis (Niceville) v Damion Stoller (Terry Parker); Maddox Lehman (Pedro Menendez) v Julian Fuentes (Milton); Lance Sanders (Crestview) by medfft; Tanner Tague (Ridgeview) v Ty Morgan (Pace, 7th).
Picks still OK?: Our finals picks are still on the front side, and all four projecteds are still alive, but with 12 still in competition, it’s tough to tell much.
182
Semis: Sawyer VanRider (New Smyrna Beach, 12th) v John Mengel (Mosley, 18th); Cody Elliott (Chiles, 16th) v Joshua Sandoval (Fleming Island, 3rd).
Consi rd 2: Connor Roberts (Ft Walton Beach, 14th) v Santana Harris (Leon); Jacob Dewald (Oakleaf) v Malik Daniels (Mainland); Brock White (Milton) v James Laycock (Ridgeview); Donald Reed (Riverside) v Isaac Waters (Pace, 7th).
Picks still OK?: As at 170, our finals picks are still on the front and our other projecteds are still in it, but (this is a recording) with 12 still in competition, it’s tough to tell much.
195
Semis: Darius Brundidge (Ft Walton Beach, 14th) v Derek King (New Smyrna Beach, 15th); Isaiah Shevchook (Oakleaf, 4th) v Dillon Elliott (Chiles, 5th).
Consi rd 2: Rayhn Hutchinson (Ridgeview) v Elijah Williams (Westside); Marshall Dixon (Mosley) v Jordan Jackson (Ed White); Jackson Pruett (Seabreeze) v Jakob Nowak (Lincoln, 3rd); Walter Poe (Fleming Island, 9th) v Aaron Stacey (Clay).
Picks still OK?: Not so great; lost a projected finalist (whom I would have picked to win had I been pressed for it), but all four are still alive; with 12 still in competition, it’s tough to tell much more.
220
Semis: Kedtric Wilbourn (Clay, 6th) v Dylon York (New Smyrna Beach, 5th); Thomas Jones (Riverside, 4th) v Jhoel Robinson (Fleming Island, 1st).
Consi qtrs: Andre Trice (Mosley) v Raymond Goforth (Ridgeview); Noah Summerlin (Leon) v Evan Brown (Oakleaf); Tyler Thomas (Matanzas) v Kendrick Scott (Lincoln); Bryce Meldrum (Middleburg) v Tyler Green (Milton).
Picks still OK?: Having 4 of 4 projecteds still in the front half of the bracket is never a bad thing, and this was one of the clearer-cut cases as to who would be the semifinalists/projecteds.
285
Semis: Alex Benitez (Ed White) v Ethan Hoffstetter (Fleming Island, 16th); Will Kelly (Clay) v Tucker Cody (Middleburg, 18th).
Consi qtrs: Christian Singleton-Hudson (Mainland) v Nicolas Bacot (Mosley); Ryder Luck (Lincoln, 17th); Demontra Burnett (Riverside) v Keith Forbes (Englewood); Trenton Manis (Ridgeview) v London Taylor (Gulf Breeze).
Picks still OK?: Three projecteds in the front half and a fourth still alive, so that’s not bad, but even at this early point with 12 still in competition, we did take some small hits, so more could be forthcoming Saturday.
Team: At the conclusion of the night’s wrestling, Fleming Island held a 16.5-point lead over co-host Chiles, 83.5-67, with co-host Lincoln in third with 58. Ft Walton Beach (53) and Oakleaf (52) rounded out the top five, with Clay (47), Middleburg (43), New Smyrna Beach (42), Gulf Breeze (39.5.) and Mosley (35) rounding out the top 10 teams.
First-day brackets for Region 1 (and Region 2) can be found HERE.
North Florida Matmen 