Region 2A-3: Preview and Predictions
FRIDAY-SATURDAY FEBRUARY 23-24, 2024 - At Charlotte 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 2A-3 will play out.
You can print the 2A-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
1. Tampa Jesuit, 7. Charlotte, 8. Manatee, 10. Mariner, 15. North Fort Myers, 18. Palmetto, 19. Braden River
Kabra's Picks
1. #3 Matthew Schuler (Charlotte)
2. #10 Maynor Herrera (Immokalee)
3. #13 Joseph Obstaculo (Hollins)
4. #14 Yeddy Bourdier (Barron Collier)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #18 Brock Glover (Tampa Jesuit); #19 Miguel Morales-Cruz (Leto)
Opening round match to watch: Chance Pino (Osceola Fundamental) vs. Aidden Giles (Port Charlotte)
Kabra says: Schuler has been consistent in one of the harder weight classes to get a grasp on this year. He’s a solid favorite here but the rest of this podium could have a variety of different looks when the dust settles on Saturday.
Kabra's Picks
1. #3 Malachi Ortiz (Tampa Jesuit)
2. #8 Matthew Ireland (Braden River)
3. #7 Kael Seneca (Fort Myers)
4. #15 Caden Moore (Charlotte)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #19 Wallace Foster (Hollins); Jackson Zunzunegui (Lely)
Opening round match to watch: Tyler Jeskie (Barron Collier) vs. Jordan Dasilva (Seminole)
Kabra says: The top half of the bracket has two top wrestlers as per Kabra Wrestling’s rankings and that semifinal might be for the region title. In the bottom half, some tricky quarterfinals loom but if Ireland and Moore advance, the Braden River junior does on a win by fall between the two.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Roman Lermer (Tampa Jesuit)
2. #6 D’angelo Gil (North Fort Myers)
3. #4 Sean Herlihy (Palmetto)
4. #12 Isaac Towenko (Cape Coral)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #18 Dominic Gutierrez (East Lee County); Lucas Selko (Seminole)
Opening round match to watch: Joseph Willis (Osceola Fundamental) vs. Jaden Roett (Braden River)
Kabra says: The two-time defending state champion Lermer is the clear favorite in this weight class and Herlihy gets the top half of the bracket draw. In the bottom, Gil is the pick to reach the finals and if the bracket goes as we see it, Herlihy and Towenko could meet for third place. The two are 1-1 against each other this season.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Camren French (Mariner)
2. #4 Reid Yakes (Tampa Jesuit)
3. #6 Kaiden Ballinger (Charlotte)
4. #8 Isaac Cedeno (Manatee)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #17 Jacob Fuentes (Braden River); Jacob Devinny (St. Pete Northeast)
Opening round match to watch: Dawson Finucan (Barron Collier) vs. Derek Cutino (Leto)
Kabra says: French is the prohibitive favorite here which puts the attention on the top half of the bracket where we could see a Top 6 matchup in the semifinals. Yakes has a major decision win over Ballinger this season should they meet again. With four in the Top 8 in the bracket, the podium is a little easier to pick, but there is talented depth here and someone (or someones) could mess all of that up.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Maximus Brady (Mariner)
2. #5 Kevin Salas (Fort Myers)
3. #2 Xavier Albo (Tampa Jestui)
4. #11 Gavin Pozzie (Parrish)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #7 Luke Arthur (Manatee); #12 Maddox Williams (Port Charlotte)
Opening round match to watch: Pozzie vs. Williams
Kabra says: This bracket features seven ranked wrestlers and there are five in the Top 14 in the bottom half. One of the most notable matches to watch would be a potential quarterfinal bout between Salas and Arthur, the winner would be considered the favorite in the semifinals, while the loser would most likely have to face the Brady-Albo loser in the blood round. The bottom quad is also intriguing with three wrestlers ranked 11-14 and an experienced senior in the group.
Kabra's Picks
1. #4 Jayden Bowles (Tampa Jesuit)
2. #9 Wyatt Nevling (Charlotte)
3. #8 Jake Wyatt (Palmetto)
4. #10 Jeson Carbajal (Manatee)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #18 Solomon Lucas (Cypress Lake); #19 Joseph Conrad (Fort Myers)
Opening round match to watch: Mason Fox (Mariner) vs. Alen Kamami (Barron Collier)
Kabra says: Some intriguing semifinals could be on tap here. If they go according to rankings, Bowles has a 9-4 win over Wyatt this season and Nevling topped Carbajal in a dual between the schools this year. The third place match could also feature a district final rematch between Wyatt and Carbajal.
Kabra's Picks
1. #3 Jonathan Martinez-Mercado (South Fort Myers)
2. #7 Jake Samuels (Manatee)
3. #4 Mason Basile (Tampa Jesuit)
4. #17 Jacob Bowers (Port Charlotte)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #18 Carson Bennett (Charlotte); Marlin Rodriguez (Blake)
Opening round match to watch: Anthony Cuthbertson (Osceola Fundamental) vs. Gavin Trebisovsky (Cape Coral)
Kabra says: The top half semifinal is a toss-up and could go a long way to determining the region champ. We don’t have any meetings between the two but they both have similar losses to the same opponent. While the top three here are clearer, the battle for the final ticket to Kissimmee should be a good one.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Draven McCall (Tampa Jesuit)
2. #8 Julian Smith (Manatee)
3. #12 Joseph Wilkinson (Barron Collier)
4. #13 Justin Tobia (North Fort Myers)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #14 Izaiah Zaitouni (Osceola Fundamental); #15 Richmyer Celiferme (Lely)
Opening round match to watch: Elijah Ellis (Spoto) vs. Guy Hoke (Charlotte)
Kabra says: Another one where the favorite seems set and even the runner-up looks likely. But wow, the rest of this podium is a battle. We’ve gone with the district champions but that doesn’t mean they can pull it off two weeks in a row against some of this competition.
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Kawayran Vazquez (Tampa Jesuit)
2. #3 Judd Cole (Cape Coral)
3. #8 Pavel Bulko (St. Petersburg)
4. #16 Colton Sharrah (Port Charlotte)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #12 Jerone Turner (Parrish); Neven Nadeau (Palmetto)
Opening round match to watch: Jonathan Semple (Mariner) vs. Raul Hosking-Cruz (South Fort Myers)
Kabra says: Vazquez has lived up to the excitement of Jesuit’s freshman class and is the favorite here. Cole won’t be an easy out should they meet in the final. The senior has experience and has wrestled top guys tight all season long. We are always watching St. Pete’s Bulko here, who is undefeated and has experience. Looking at the bracket as a whole, there are at least 10 guys who could argue at least for consideration of reaching the blood round or more here - it should be fun to watch.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Gage Wiggins (Braden River)
2. #2 Brandon Cody (Tampa Jesuit)
3. #7 Julian Gonzalez (North Fort Myers)
4. #16 Hunter White (Manatee)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Dairon Gantt (East Lee County); Laken Gamble (Parrish)
Opening round match to watch: Amari Caro (Pinellas Park) vs. Yonatan Druckman (Cape Coral)
Kabra says: Could this be the second meeting of a possible three between Wiggins and Cody this postseason? It certainly seems likely. Wiggins won in sudden victory last week and I was thisclose to picking the upset here, but we’ll go with the district champ by a very slim margin. Down the bracket, don’t sleep on how talented Gonzales is and what White is capable at this best.
Kabra's Picks
1. #5 Mason Miller (Manatee)
2. #6 Chancellor Haber (Tampa Jesuit)
3. #8 Dustin Springfield (Parrish)
4. #9 Isaac Schaeffer (Charlotte)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #15 Tyler Charette (Cape Coral); #18 Anthony Cardenas (Cypress Lake)
Opening round match to watch: Scott Cook (Braden River) vs. Charette
Kabra says: I don’t often go off my rankings, I mean they are my rankings, but they also don’t carry as much opinion as people think. I nearly picked Haber here because he’s been wrestling so well as part of Jesuit’s Tiger Train (copyright pending) but I decided to honor Miller’s undefeated season and go with my rankings. But watch his bracket to see what happens.
Kabra's Picks
1. #3 Jett McCauley (Charlotte)
2. #4 Dastan Chiketaev (Palmetto)
3. #8 Trey Hill (Naples)
4. #11 Carter Cabrera (Manatee)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #12 Marvin Mendez (Tampa Jesuit); #17 Noah Figueroa (East Lee County)
Opening round match to watch: Ezequiel Pedraza (Cape Coral) vs. Quinn Enguita (South Fort Myers)
Kabra says: This is one that I’ve been waiting for all season long. The two favorites here haven’t wrestled this season but got to face each other during the summer and I can’t wait to see what happens here (If they both reach the finals of course). This weight class is deep with five Top 12 wrestlers, meaning at least one state worthy student-athlete will be left behind.
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Frank Cornelison (North Fort Myers)
2. #7 Viliam Piekh (Charlotte)
3. #6 Damontez McDowell (Manatee)
4. #9 Logan Ngo (Mariner)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #13 Johnny Charles (Golden Gate); Gabe Rojas (Braden River)
Opening round match to watch: Hamlet Perez (Naples) vs. Markeis Thomas (Spoto)
Kabra says: Cornelison and Piekh went to sudden victory last week in their district final match and if they meet again it should be close. That’s a big IF, with Manatee’s McDowell battle-tested and looking to spring himself into the top spot on the podium. The top bracket isn’t a cakewalk, but Piekh does have decision wins (3-1 over Charles, 9-3 over Ngo) against two of the tougher potential challengers.
Kabra's Picks
1. #3 Makendy Jean (Golden Gate)
2. #8 Triston White (Cypress Lake)
3. #10 Seth Tshiams (North Fort Myers)
4. #12 Jaxon Newton (Charlotte)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #14 DeAndre Barry (Palmetto); #17 Trayvon Pinder (Manatee)
Opening round match to watch: Ruan Oliveira (East Lee County) vs. Berry
Kabra says: The heavyweights are always the toughest to project because anything can happen in a moment, but Jean has put himself into a solid favorite position here. The bracket is deep and a lot of these guys have faced each other, so they know what to expect - fireworks.