Region 1A-4: Preview and Predictions
FRIDAY-SATURDAY FEBRUARY 23-24, 2024 - At Jensen Beach High School
Welcome to one of my favorite traditions - the region previews.
This is the seventh 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-4 will play out.
You can print the 1A-4 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
1. Somerset Academy, 2. Mater Lakes Academy, 5. Cardinal Gibbons, 6. Jensen Beach, 18. Key West
Kabra's Picks
1. #5 Jovani Tovar (Miami Christian)
2. #9 Cano Austin (Somerset)
3. #18 Andres Garcia (Cardinal Gibbons)
4. Trey Viens (Jensen Beach)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Johnny Lago (Benjamin); Steven DeRobertis (Coral Shores)
Opening round match to watch: Luke Piedrahita (True North) vs. Lago
Kabra says: There is a possibility to have two middle school wrestlers in the final here if our rankings play out. Tovar hasn’t lost this season and has some wins against ranked 3A wrestlers and that’s enough to earn him the favorite position here. Don’t count out the young Austin, who became Somerset’s youngest-ever district winner last week.
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Jake Austin (Somerset)
2. #1 Kellen Messina (Mater Lakes)
3. #6 Jason Ramirez (SLAM Miami)
4. #8 Andres Rojas (Miami Christian)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #12 Jaxon Walker (Jensen Beach); #13 William Bussott (Clewiston)
Opening round match to watch: Bussott vs. Ramirez
Kabra says: Messina’s district title win last weekend vaulted him to the top of the rankings, but Austin still hods a 3-1 season lead and we’ll go with him bouncing back this weekend. The bracket is deep with six wrestlers in the Top 13, and Ramirez will started with a Top 13 matchup and with a win, advance to a Top 8 bout. The bottom quad should go a long way to shaping how this bracket ends up.
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Gian Ortiz (Jensen Beach)
2. #3 Matteo Gonzalez (Somerset)
3. #7 Christopher Greene (Mater Lakes)
4. #13 Gumaro Martinez (Clewiston)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #11 Matthew Davila (Keys Gate); #16 Leonardo Trejos (Florida Christian)
Opening round match to watch: Miguel Ramirez (SLAM Miami) vs. Trejos
Kabra says: Ortiz has a major decision win over Gonzalez this season and that’s enough to give him the nod here, but, it won’t be the easiest ride for Ortiz, who could end up facing the seventh-ranked Greene in the quarterfinals.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Sebastian Degennaro (Jensen Beach)
2. #2 Ethan Tran (Mater Lakes)
3. #6 Dylan Fernandez (Somerset)
4. #14 RJ Linares (Westminster Christian)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Brody Cox (St. Andrews); Ryan McWilliams (Cardinal Gibbons)
Opening round match to watch: Cox vs. Joshua Moss (Miami Jackson)
Kabra says: The top wrestlers in the state could meet in the final here, but the two-time state champion Degennaro is the favorite in any bracket he’ll be in this postseason. The rest of the bracket seems to favor the other ranked wrestlers, but there are some tough wrestlers in the field ready to make it tougher.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Jovani Solis (Somerset)
2. #3 Anthony O’Dell (Mater Lakes)
3. #9 Ben Norris (Jensen Beach)
4. #20 Abram Canet (Key West)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #12 Michael Palermo (Cardinal Gibbons); Elijah Perez (Coral Springs Charter)
Opening round match to watch: Adrian Gonzalez (Westminster Christian) vs. Dominick McGarry (St. Andrews)
Kabra says: Solis is another top-ranked wrestler that will be a heavy favorite in any bracket that he’s in this postseason. The first 8th-grader to win the Knockout is unbeaten and has a long list of top wrestlers he’s beaten this season, including O’Dell. The potential quarterfinal match between O’Dell and Palermo should have some bracket consequences here also.
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Mikel Pierce-Walker ( Jensen Beach)
2. #4 Malikai Badillo (Mater Lakes)
3. #7 Darion Shannon (Somerset)
4. #8 William Parker (Cardinal Gibbons)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #16 James Searcy (Key West); Ryan Winters (King’s Academy)
Opening round match to watch: Travanti Times (Miami Jackson) vs. Erick Santa Cruz (Keys Gate)
Kabra says: Four wrestlers in the Top 8 will line-up here with eyes on Kissimmee and the top of this bracket. Pierce-Walker and Badillo haven’t met this season, but the Jensen Beach senior did win by major decision over the summer.
Kabra's Picks
1. #3 Eric Hodge (Somerset)
2. #8 Preston Lindsay (Coral Springs Charter)
3. #4 Frankie Florio (Cardinal Gibbons)
4. #10 Dostmukham Bakhtiyorov (Key West)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #9 Blake Walker (Jensen Beach); George Terzado (Miami Jackson)
Opening round match to watch: Mihalov Bellevue (Keys Gate) vs. Patrick Zele (Cardinal Newman)
Kabra says: Five Top 10 wrestlers are here and a bracket that will make a quarterfinal match really important. Lindsay and Walker are in the top quad and the winner there will advance to the semifinals, while the loser will have to battle back in the bottom half consolations, where they likely will find the semifinal loser between Florio and Hodge. Lindsay has a 13-6 win over Walker this season.
Kabra's Picks
1. #4 Bryan Picallo (Cardinal Gibbons)
2. #5 Luis Bellon (Somerset)
3. #7 Jason Flynn (Key West)
4. #8 Bradyn Peters (Jensen Beach)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #10 Kenny Alvarado (Mater Lakes); Parker Dettor (Pine Crest)
Opening round match to watch: Landyn Munz (Westminster Christian) vs. Dettor
Kabra says: Yet another bracket where we will see a Top 10 wrestler not make it to Kissimmee. Curiously at the top, Peters has a major decision win over Bellon, but a loss to Flynn. Matchups could play a huge role in how this bracket plays out.
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Kalias Nazario (Mater Lakes)
2. #8 Brayden Hogg (Jensen Beach)
3. #11 Alfredo Corrales (Key West)
4. #9 Nicholas Lopez (Cardinal Gibbons)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #13 Joseph Richardson (Lincoln Park); #15 Dylan Gonzalez (Florida Christian)
Opening round match to watch: Andrew Chen (Pine Crest) vs. Logan Fisher (Jupiter Christian)
Kabra says: Nazario is the favorite in this bracket that features six Top 15 wrestlers spread out across the weight class. Hogg has a win over Lopez, which gives him the edge on the top half of the bracket.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Kendrick Hodge (Somerset)
2. #10 Nathan Lang (Cardinal Newman)
3. #3 Jason Simmons (Cardinal Gibbons)
4. #13 Bluny Davilma (Miami Central)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #17 Trenton Hogan (Lincoln Park); Braeden Silva (Florida Christian)
Opening round match to watch: Silva vs. Ace Amerigan (Jensen Beach)
Kabra says: A two-time state champion is the one to beat here and likely region champion. Even with a 1 vs. 3 semifinal in the bottom half, the top-half semifinal between Lang and Davilma might be one of the better semis on the day.
Kabra's Picks
1. #4 Dominic Pantusco (Cardinal Gibbons)
2. #5 Myles Sadeek (Mater Lakes)
3. #7 Noah Perez (Somerset)
4. #17 Ethan Stone (Pine Crest)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Greg Reyes (Jensen Beach); Andrew Lopez (Westminster Christian)
Opening round match to watch: Duke Rimes (Jupiter Christian) vs. Ibrahim Gowon (Miami Central)
Kabra says: There is a key quarterfinal in this one with Pantuso and Perez lined up for a meeting there. They haven’t met this year. Sadeek is 2-1 with Perez after winning the district title last week.
Kabra's Picks
1. #9 Peter Mocco (Coral Springs Charter)
2. #8 Rafael Lopez (Somerset)
3. #7 Tobby Rooney (Jensen Beach)
4. Carlos Garcia (Westminster Christian)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #19 Quinn Lundgren (Cardinal Newman); Nicholas Winter (Cardinal Gibbons)
Opening round match to watch: Winter vs. Samuel McKoy (Lincoln Park)
Kabra says: We’ve not seen much of Mocco this season, but when he’s wrestled, he’s been dominant. We’re going against our rankings twice here and saying that the young Coral Springs Charter wrestler will score two upsets this weekend. Not a huge risk of a prediction, but it does always feel a little odd to go against our rankings.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Michael Mocco (Cardinal Gibbons)
2. #3 Adrian Tejada (Somerset)
3. #2 Damian Soto (Mater Lakes)
4. #6 Nathan Chen (Pine Crest)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #18 Tristan Yokoyama (Key West); Teagen Nelson (Jensen Beach)
Opening round match to watch: Ricky Hospedales (Florida Christian) vs. Elias Almanza-Garcia (Clewiston)
Kabra says: There isn’t any doubt in picking this Mocco to win. The defending state champion and Fargo national champion might already be one of the best wrestlers in the state and we don’t see him tripping up here. The bracket does host the Top 3 wrestlers in the weight class along with the sixth-ranked athlete and we have all four going to Kissimmee.
Kabra's Picks
1. #4 Ralph Riche (Key West)
2. #9 Darren Georges (SLAM Miami)
3. #11 Gavin Hooten (Cardinal Gibbons)
4. #12 Dartavius Saintelus (King’s Academy)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #17 Abdur Bey (Somerset); #19 Blake Elder (Jensen Beach)
Opening round match to watch: Elder vs. Roosevelt Castor (Miami Central)
Kabra says: We have four worthy district champions here, and none of them have faced each other. So your guess may be as good on ours here.