Region 1A-3: Preview and Predictions
FRIDAY-SATURDAY FEBRUARY 23-24, 2024 - At Lemon Bay High School
Welcome to one of my favorite traditions - the region previews.
This is the sixth season I've written these but 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-3 will play out.
You can print the 1A-3 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:
Teams to watch
3. Zephyrhills Christian, 4. First Baptist-Naples, 10. CCC, 14. Bayshore, 20. Lemon Bay
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Broc Dahlin (Bayshore)
2. #7 Everett Stephens (First Baptist)
3. #3 RJ Phelan (Zephyrhills Christian)
4. #10 Hudson Sweitzer (Bishop Verot)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #11 Logan Dean (Lemon Bay); #13 Jonathan Espinoza (LaBelle)
Opening round match to watch: Espinoza vs. Domenic Carpio (Hudson)
Kabra says: Seven wrestlers in the Top 15 are in this bracket and we could have three quarterfinals featured ranked matchups with the fourth having a district champ facing a ranked wrestler. This is a deep bracket that is going to see some blood round matches that will rival some region final bouts across the state. Dahlin gets the pick as the favorite with a semifinal to watch in the bottom half of the bracket potentially against Phelan.
Kabra's Picks
1. #4 Timmy Boda (First Baptist)
2. #14 Leland Flaherty (Evangelical)
3. #11 Izak Rodriguez (Zephyrhills Christian)
4. Tyler Parton (Hudson)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Lukah Zherka (Aubrey Rogers); Jakhari Jones (Boca Ciega)
Opening round match to watch: Zherka vs. Enzo Cocola (Jefferson)
Kabra says: Boda has shown that he’s one of the best 113-pounders in Class 1A and he should win his first region title here. The toughest match could come in the semifinals with district champion Rodriguez on the same side of the bracket. The race for second and fourth will be fun to watch since a state tournament trip comes along with it.
Kabra's Picks
1. #4 Uy’Kwon Zi Wimberly (Zephyrhills Christian)
2. #9 Samir Redden (Booker)
3. #10 Logan Kelly (Lemon Bay)
4. #12 Bekim Zherka (Aubrey Rogers)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #14 Jordan Anderson (Hudson); Jonathan Sawicky (Foundation Christian)
Opening round match to watch: Isfan Khodiev (Berkeley Prep) vs. Michael Rodriguez (Dunedin)
Kabra says: Wimberly has had a strong first year with the Warriors and he’s the favorite here, but for what’s its worth, a coach from another school wrote me a few weeks ago and said that Redden is so good, he’s going to win the region. So that could be a fun final to watch.
Kabra's Picks
1. #3 Jack Oliver (Lemon Bay)
2. #12 Jason Schiavello (CCC)
3. #5 Nevin Hayes (Zephyrhills Christian)
4. #15 Damien Zherka (Aubrey Rogers)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Gavin Ramon (Sarasota Military); Carter Wright (Bradenton Christian)
Opening round match to watch: Luis Enamorado (Jefferson) vs. Ramon
Kabra says: The bottom half of the bracket features the two highest-ranked wrestlers. Oliver holds a 2-0 edge on the season with Hayes, getting two decision wins. A side story we are watching is how many Zherkas make school history for reaching the state tournament in the school’s first year.
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Jonathan Moder (First Baptist)
2. #13 Derrique Mytial (Fort Myers Gateway)
3. #4 Kyle Gallo (Zephyrhills Christian)
4. #14 Dominic Hernandez (Robinson)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Riley Gonzalez (Hudson); Micky Bonnyasiriwat (Bradenton Christian)
Opening round match to watch: Gabriel Dejesus (Tarpon Springs) vs. Savieon Garrison (Gibbs)
Kabra says: Another bracket where the top two ranked wrestlers are matched up in the bottom part of the bracket. Moder was a state finalist last year and is one of the guys who could reach it again.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Asher Bacon (First Baptist)
2. #3 Dominic Fouche (CCC)
3. #11 Seth Colton (Dunedin)
4. #17 Marco Gandy (Jefferson)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #19 Cooper Pickering (Tampa Prep); Wiley Paver (Lemon Bay)
Opening round match to watch: Arthur Cloud (Boca Ciega) vs. Bryan Osorio (Aubrey Rogers)
Kabra says: A senior vs. a seventh-grader in the final - it’s a big possibility with Fouche’ and Bacon the two favorites in this weight class. They haven’t faced each other this year and we don’t know of any key common opponents, so this one is going to be interesting.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Michael Kersey (First Baptist)
2. #2 Talon Maple (Zephyrhills Christian)
3. #7 Devon Jackson (LaBelle)
4. #11 Julian Bell (Anclote)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #18 Connor Murphy (Lemon Bay); Giovanni Perez (Dunedin)
Opening round match to watch: Jackson vs. Cameron Anthony (Gulf)
Kabra says: It’s becoming a theme, but we have a potential big time match-up here, and they haven’t faced each other this season. The two wrestlers have 102 total wins between the two of them and both finished high up on the podium a year ago (Kersey 2nd at 145, Maples 3rd at 132).
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Gavin Nolan (CCC)
2. #3 Aiden Hutchins (Zephryhills Christian)
3. #13 Leo Tiannoi (Boca Ciega)
4. #19 Curtis Peacock (Fort Myers Gateway)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Ethan Swanson (Bishop Verot); Ethan Josephik (Hudson)
Opening round match to watch: Kealan Clifton (Oasis) vs. Ayden Wheldon (Robinson)
Kabra says: Two-time state champion Nolan is the favorite here with Hutchins giving us a potential Top 3 final here - and no, they haven’t wrestled this season. We like the four district champions to play out here, but watch for a little shakeup.
Kabra's Picks
1. #3 Andres DiGrigoli (First Baptist)
2. #16 Owen Brown (SW Florida Christian)
3. #14 Damari Green (Lakewood)
4. Nicholas Pawlak (Tarpon Springs)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #19 Juvandy Robinson (Bell Creek); Liam Brown (Admiral Farragut)
Opening round match to watch: Madiyan Abumunshar (Sarasota Military) vs. Maxim Giserman (Fort Myers Gateway)
Kabra says: A state finalist two seasons ago, DiGrigoli finished off the podium in a tough weight class last season. He’s back as one of the best wrestlers in Class 1A and he should earn his second region title in as many years.
Kabra's Picks
1. #14 Curtis Tyler (Zephyrhills Christian)
2. #20 Gavin Vasbinder (Lemon Bay)
3. #19 Jace Craft (Bradenton Christian)
4. Giulliano Ferro (Tarpon Springs)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Davyd Kolensykov (Admiral Farragut); Colin Anderson (Oasis)
Opening round match to watch: Justin Tudor (Robinson) vs. Brandon Lopez (Boca Ciega)
Kabra says: Here’s a bracket that is wide-open, but we also have some past results to factor in. Vasbinder and Ferro are loaded in the top part of the bracket and the Lemon Bay senior has a 3-1 win between the two. Tyler is our pick from the bottom, with Jace Craft waiting to derail him, and the Zephyrhills Christian junior has a pinfall win over Vasbinder.
Kabra's Picks
1. #3 Bennett Sweitzer (Bishop Verot)
2. #13 John Kelly (Boca Ciega)
3. #8 Javier Lopez (Zephyrhills Christian)
4. #15 Kaleb Mathis (Lakewood)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #18 Santiago Velasco (Bell Creek); #20 Jacob Cornelius (Hudson)
Opening round match to watch: Luke Smith (Dunedin) vs. Jordan Parks (Booker)
Kabra says: Six ranked wrestlers dot this landscape with Sweitzer and Lopez the two favorites from our rankings and on the same side of the bracket. Two quarterfinal matches will have huge blood round implications.
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Jeremiah Chavis (Zephyrhills Christian)
2. #5 Arron McCarty (Robinson)
3. #12 Tyron Huffman (Bayshore)
4. #14 Derek Washington (Evangelical)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #15 Frederick Harley Jr (Oasis); #16 Tyler Simms (Jefferson)
Opening round match to watch: #18 Avery Tucker (Lakewood) vs. Travis Treadwell (Aubrey Rogers)
Kabra says: Another bracket with some ranked wrestlers that have the talent for state, but will come up short as there are seven ranked wrestlers here. We have Chavis and McCarty lacing it up again in the finals this weekend. The other two spots will be fought over by five wrestlers ranked 12-18.
Kabra's Picks
1. #8 Marcos Silos-Sanchez (Bayshore)
2. #9 Darian Alvarez-Garcia (Aubrey Rogers)
3. #16 Saul Martinez (Dunedin)
4. #20 John Gomez-Hernandez (Jefferson)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Jeremy Eubanks (Zephyrhills Christian); Brian Ordonez (LaBelle)
Opening round match to watch: Blair Keats (Robinson) vs. Lexander Coleman (Lakewood)
Kabra says: A potential top 10 matchup could be in the finals here and it will be a rematch from the season, a match won by Silos-Sanchez. Across the bracket, the district champions look to be the podium fillers here.
Kabra's Picks
1. #3 Gavyn Uribes (Hudson)
2. #8 Elijah Austin (Zephyrhills Christian)
3. #10 Miguel Diaz (Lemon Bay)
4. #20 Edward Nolan (Bishop Verot)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #14 Jayden Shannon (Bayshore); Ray Lane (CCC)
Opening round match to watch: Josenrique Lorences (LaBelle) vs. Tyce Cole (Jefferson)
Kabra says: Uribes reached the state tournament as a 220 pounder last season and should return this year as a region champion. He is 2-0 against Austin if the two should meet in the final.