Region 1A-2: Preview and Predictions

FRIDAY-SATURDAY FEBRUARY 28-MARCH 1, 2025 - at Palm Bay High School

Friday: Weigh-in: 12 p.m. | Wrestling starts: 1:30 p.m.

Saturday: Weigh-in: 9 a.m. | Wrestling starts: 10:15 a.m.

Welcome to one of my favorite traditions - the region previews.

For those that are reading one for the first time, here's a quick summary of what the region preview is.

I start first by printing out each bracket - yes, this is one of the things I'm old school on.

I notate where wrestlers are ranked in the Kabra Wrestling Rankings and then start to break it down even more.

I look for head-to-head matchups, common opponents, and how each wrestler has been trending in the stretch run.

I then question my rankings - and myself - and play out the entire bracket.

What follows is my best guess for how 1A-2 will play out.

You can print the 1A-2 region bracket here. (PDF)

I've carefully predicted the four state qualifiers in the order that I think the will finish. I've also listed wrestlers that could prove me wrong and make it to Kissimmee.

I will be wrong with these picks, and I'm okay with that. In fact, I love when kids prove me wrong (or prove me right).

These previews and predictions are meant to bring excitement to one of the exhilarating and heartbreaking weekends in sports.

I assure you that I have no bias in my picks and truly wish the best for every wrestler competing this weekend.

And as always, these picks are for entertainment purposes only.

Now onto the preview:

Kabra's Picks

1. #3 Jett Johnson (Cocoa Beach)

2. #5 Bryce Stone (Bell Creek)

3. #4 Cale Wimberly (Zephyrhills Christian)

4. #12 David Serrano (Merritt Island)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #9 Isaac Reynolds (Citrus); #15 Zackary Myers (Nature Coast)

Opening round match to watch: Jayden Cadiz (Mulberry) vs. Serrano

Kabra says: The biggest matches in this bracket might all take place before the finals on Saturday. Johnson and Wimberly could renew acquaintances in the semifinal round. Johnson won their first meeting 7-3. In the top half, you could have a top ten matchup in the quarterfinals where the loser will face a tough road to the podium. This is one of the toughest region weight classes this weekend.

Kabra's Picks

1. #3 Anthony Acquafredda (Cocoa Beach)

2. #10 Nadir Shalaby (Zephyrhills Christian)

3. #8 Nicholas Guy (Weeki Wachee)

4. #17 Zakary Cordova (Space Coast)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #18 Justus Giglietti (Merritt Island); #23 Atreyu Contes (Keystone Heights)

Opening round match to watch: Giglietti vs. #25 Shane Parrott (Brooksville Central)

Kabra says: Acquafredda is our favorite here but the rest of the podium is not the easiest to predict. Nine ranked wrestlers and just four spots makes this a stressful bracket.

Kabra's Picks

1. #3 Izak Rodriguez (Zephyrhills Christian)

2. #7 Louden Grooms (Lake Weir)

3. #15 Ashton Swanson (Space Coast)

4. #17 Kaden Barrial (Merritt Island)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #19 Chris Dominguez (Avon Park); #24 Duane Malloy (Cocoa Beach)

Opening round match to watch: Dominguez vs. Malloy

Kabra says: Rodriguez is looking to return to Kissimmee for the second straight season and is the favorite here.

Kabra's Picks

1. #3 Alex Giglietti (Merritt Island)

2. #7 Zion Wimberly (Zephyrhills Christian)

3. #10 Cole Webb (Cocoa)

4. #13 Devinn Dunn (The Villages)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #16 Cannon Sommer (Mount Dora); #18 Dylan Dangle (Mulberry)

Opening round match to watch: Nate Webster (Space Coast) vs. Sommer

Kabra says: Giglietti is a two-time state qualifier and one-time state placer and Wimberly has placed twice in the state in his career. When they met during the state duals series, Giglietti won 4-2.

Kabra's Picks

1. #5 Landon Quiroga (Merritt Island)

2. #6 Adrian Day (Cocoa Beach)

3. #9 Jackson Bennett (Citrus)

4. #12 Matthew Thorn (Menendez)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #11 Nevin Hayes (Zephyrhills Christian); #24 Jonathan Overstreet (The Villages)

Opening round match to watch: Angel Jones (Space Coast) vs. Thorn

Kabra says: Quiroga and Day are 1-1 on the season against each other. Day won their first meeting 10-7 and then Quiroga scored a 7-5 win in the district final. Bennett is also 1-1 against Day this season.

Kabra's Picks

1. #5 Yianni Marinis (Zephyrhills Christian)

2. #4 Timothy Boda (Merritt Island)

3. #3 Kealan Sieni (Cocoa Beach)

4. #12 Jacob Reber (McKeel Academy)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #14 Levi Chancey (Weeki Wachee); #17 Robert Hunt (Palm Bay)

Opening round match to watch: Reber vs. Hunt

Kabra says: We picked this bracket a few different times before settling on this. Yes, Sieni beat Boda and Boda beat Marinis but the transitive property escapes us this time. But who knows, flip a coin and you could get another outcome.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Talon Maple (Zephyrhills Christian)

2. #2 Ricky Bowermaster (Weeki Wachee)

3. #8 Wyatt Crouser (Cocoa Beach)

4. #10 Nolan West (Merritt Island)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #15 Dominick Maldonado (Palm Bay); #17 Jacob Fetzner (Hernando)

Opening round match to watch: Maldonado vs. Fetzner

Kabra says: Yes a potential 1 vs. 2 could loom in this weight class but Maple is still the heavy favorite. The Zephyrhills Christian senior pinned Bowermaster in their one meeting this season.

Kabra's Picks

1. #4 Titus DeYoung (Merritt Island)

2. #6 Aiden Hutchins (Zephyrhills Christian)

3. #8 Cade Beke (McKeel Academy)

4. #10 Micah Wittenberg (Cocoa Beach)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #11 Noah Leota (Hernando); #15 Ricky Corbett (Weeki Wachee)

Opening round match to watch: Corbett vs. Printis Johnson (Mulberry)

Kabra says: If DeYoung and Hutchins reach the finals, expect a good one. DeYoung won their meeting this season 9-2. There is a tricky quarterfinal for each that could keep that from happening. DeYoung could face Beke in his second round on Friday and Wittenberg could be waiting for Hutchins on the bottom half.

Kabra's Picks

1. #4 Judge DeYoung (Merritt Island)

2. #5 Javier Lopez (Zephyrhills Christian)

3. #7 Caleb Causey (McKeel Academy)

4. #12 Kevion Williams (Palm Bay)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #9 Diego Maysonet (Weeki Wachee); #18 Liam Molloy (Menendez)

Opening round match to watch: #23 David Mooney (The Villages) vs. Jamal Hicks (Avon Park)

Kabra says: DeYoung has gone 2-0 against Causey with a 14-7 decision and a win by major decision. If the Merritt Island senior navigates that and a challenge in the semis, he could face Lopez in the final here. Those two wrestled to a huge 1-0 decision in their region dual meet.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Kyle Gallo (Zephyrhills Christian)

2. #5 Angel Prieto (Bishop Moore)

3. #6 Tre Driggett (Merritt Island)

4. #7 Colton Fickett (Mount Dora)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #8 Alexander Roman (Avon Park); #16 Deacon Warren (McKeel Academy)

Opening round match to watch: Warren vs. #20 Jerrell Dossous (Space Coast)

Kabra says: Nine wrestlers in the Top 20 are in this bracket and we still have a clear favorite in Gallo here. A potential blood round #8 vs. #9 meeting (according to our projections) could take place. When they met during the season, Fickett won 13-9. No matter how this plays out, some talented wrestlers will have their season end a week earlier than it should.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Jonathan Clohecy (The Villages)

2. #6 Shaw Garrett (Hernando)

3. #7 Courtland Campbell (Merritt Island)

4. #18 Desmond Valdes (Menendez)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #19 Benjamin Williams (Crystal River); #20 Santiago Velasco (Bell Creek)

Opening round match to watch: #25 Dalvin Dallas (Palatka) vs. #22 Xavier Pena (Zephyrhills Christian)

Kabra says: New York state placer Clochecy has been dominant this season for The Buffalo. He’ll put his 48-0 record on display in a bracket that has at least five wrestlers with a legit shot for the final spot on the podium.

Kabra's Picks

1. #2 Jeremiah Chavis (Hernando)

2. #4 Christopher Brunson (Palm Bay)

3. #8 Dominick Smith (Merritt Island)

4. #9 Curtis Tyler (Zephyrhills Christian)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #16 Maddoxx Lehman (Menendez); #24 Connor Treadway (Mulberry)

Opening round match to watch: #23 Dominic Berger (Space Coast) vs. Zaid Moore (Crystal River)

Kabra says: The mantra this season for the freshman Chavis has been “Vision Quest.” And for those wondering, we at Kabra Wrestling have already watched it twice this postseason. He’ll be a strong favorite here to head to Kissimmee as a region champion but the bracket is not for the faint of heart when it comes to the podium. Some tight battles should take place here.

Kabra's Picks

1. #2 Kian Blyss (Hernando)

2. #11 Ethan Caudill (The Villages)

3. #6 Nathan Pond (Cocoa Beach)

4. #12 Alexis Escobar (Cocoa)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #13 Andrew Sapp (McKeel Academy); #16 Yandel Goyco (Mulberry)

Opening round match to watch: Escobar vs. #18 Jashaun Contegiacomo (Weeki Wachee)

Kabra says: Blyss has been steady all season and the returning state qualifier will look to punch his ticket this year as a region champ. The quarterfinal possibility of Caudil-Sapp caught our eye.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Leonard Christian (Palm Bay)

2. #3 Madden Fredenburg (Cocoa Beach)

3. #6 William Richardson (Dunnellon)

4. #7 Joel Smith (Lake Weir)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #11 Ethan Kent (Zephyrhills Christian); #12 Daniel Young (Weeki Wachee)

Opening round match to watch: Zackary Selback (Nature Coast) vs. #18 Ransom Rhodes (Menendez)

Kabra says: Christian and Fredenburg know each well with the Palm Bay senior holding a 2-0 lead this season including a 2-1 win last week in the district final. Last year in the third place match at state, Fredenburg won in sudden victory. So if they meet again here, you can bet it will be close. Adding to the fun is six wrestlers ranked in the Top 12 in this region and a quarterfinal round that will rival most weight classes’ semifinal rounds.

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2025 Region 1A-1 Preview
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2025 Region 1A-3 Preview