Region 2A-3: Preview and Predictions

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

Friday: Weigh-in: 10 a.m. | Wrestling starts: 12 p.m.

Saturday: Weigh-in: 8 a.m. | Wrestling starts: 9 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 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:

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Matthew Schuler (Charlotte)

2. #3 Joseph Obstaculo (Hollins)

3. #12 Michael Maher (Riverdale)

4. #16 Aidden Giles (Port Charlotte)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #17 Kenly Estevez (Palmetto Ridge); #19 Kai Drapala (Manatee)

Opening round match to watch: Blake Pettite (South Fort Myers) vs. #24 Tyrek King (St. Pete Northeast)

Kabra says: Schuler has been the dominant 106-pounder in Class 2A this season and that should continue this weekend. Hollins sophomore Obstaculo has had a breakthrough year, but Schuler owns a tech fall win between the two. The last spot on this podium could see a few different wrestlers on it.

Kabra's Picks

1. #2 Eric Bush (Riverdale)

2. #4 Caden Moore (Charlotte)

3. #13 Jayden Russell (Braden River)

4. #18 Ibrahim Albaghdadi (Naples)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #19 Jared Cruz (South Fort Myers); #20 Riley Craig (Manatee)

Opening round match to watch: Craig vs. #22 Wyatt Alexander (North Fort Myers)

Kabra says: Bush won the Class 1A state title in Illinois last season and is one of the favorites in the state to win this weight class here. He defeated Moore by a technical fall in their district final last week.

Kabra's Picks

1. #2 Jake Austin (Charlotte)

2. #5 Matthew Ireland (Braden River)

3. #13 Jeremy Velasco (Cape Coral)

4. #18 Porter Daniels (Manatee)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #19 Ethan Nadeau (Hollins); #22 Tyler Jeskie (Barron Collier)

Opening round match to watch: Chauncey Alexander (Dunbar) vs. Nicholas Delboccio (Naples)

Kabra says: The freshman Austin already has won a state title and reached two state finals. Ireland has piled up the wins this season but three of his four losses have come to Austin. Expect them to meet for a fourth time in the finals with the rest of this podium being a competitive toss-up.

Kabra's Picks

1. #5 Kael Seneca (Fort Myers)

2. #11 Evan Cope (Charlotte)

3. #9 Domonic Benjamin (Parrish)

4. Jaime Nunez (Naples)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #16 Isaac Towenko (Cape Coral); Bruce Mesagno (Osceola Fundamental)

Opening round match to watch: Benjamin vs. Towenko

Kabra says: Seneca and Benjamin are the favorites on paper and they have not met this season. Both are in the top half of the bracket and would meet in the semifinals.

Kabra's Picks

1. #5 Ayden Balma (Riverdale)

2. #6 Luke Arthur (Manatee)

3. #9 Jacob Fuentes (Braden River)

4. #15 Cody Holt (Charlotte)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #18 Logan Chornoby (Pinellas Park); #20 Jaxon Perry (South Fort Myers)

Opening round match to watch: Titan Vuong Trinh (St. Pete Northeast) vs. Cameron Wilk (Fort Myers)

Kabra says: This is one that we could easily get proved wrong, no matter who we chose to win. Balma missed out on the postseason last year and Arthur made the finals. Balma has a much larger collection of bigger wins this season and against a like opponent in Fuentes, Balma won by pin and Arthur won 7-3 and by a major decision.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Maximus Brady (Mariner)

2. #8 Angel Ojeda (Manatee)

3. #10 Preston Thompkins (Riverdale)

4. #23 Aidan Boesch (Pinellas Park)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #11 Clinton Thompson (South Fort Myers); #22 Amarion Jackson (East Bay)

Opening round match to watch: Michael Soquita (Charlotte) vs. #25 Anthony D Annunzio (Barron Collier)

Kabra says: Brady is as big a sure thing as this region has but the podium could feature a mixture of different wrestlers when the dust settles. The Ojeda-Thompkins quarterfinal could be the match to watch here.

Kabra's Picks

1. #5 Solomon Lucas (North Fort Myers)

2. #14 Landon Murphy (Riverdale)

3. #12 Joseph Alvarez (Spoto)

4. #16 Daniel Santana (Mariner)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #18 Anthony Cuthbertson (Osceola Fundamental); #19 Marlin Rodriguez (Blake)

Opening round match to watch: Rodriguez vs. Santana

Kabra says: The top half features Lucas and Alvarez and the bottom half of this bracket houses six ranked wrestlers from 14-24. We expect Lucas to win his first region title while booking his first Kissimmee trip.

Kabra's Picks

1. #7 Wyatt Nevling (Charlotte)

2. #10 Joseph Wilkinson (Barron Collier)

3. #13 Gabriele Nudi (North Fort Myers)

4. #14 Maddox Williams (Port Charlotte)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #24 Isaac Maldonado (Immokalee); Jonas Lennox (Manatee)

Opening round match to watch: Maldonado vs. Justin Dominguez (East Bay)

Kabra says: Nevling owns a win over Wilkinson this year in their only meeting but they could face each other again in the final here with more on the line. Meanwhile the battle for placement on the podium could be just as - if not more - interesting.

Kabra's Picks

1. #4 Izaiah Zaitouni (Osceola Fundamental)

2. #8 Mattaniah Barth (Hollins)

3. #9 Chase Utley (Port Charlotte)

4. #20 Kaden Lawhorn (Golden Gate)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #22 Aurelio Anzualda (Immokalee); Israel Clark (Braden River)

Opening round match to watch: Kerby Milien (Lely) vs. Chandler Jules (Manatee)

Kabra says: Zaitouni is the only returning state qualifier in this bracket and he’s wrestled like a region favorite all season long. The Osceola senior majored Barth in their district final.

Kabra's Picks

1. #4 Julian Gonzales (North Fort Myers)

2. #12 Evan Rowe (Braden River)

3. #15 Hayden Hansford (Port Charlotte)

4. #18 Jayden Ryan (Countryside)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #20 Nikolai Krywko (Parrish); #21 Quinton O'Driscoll (Pinellas Park)

Opening round match to watch: O'Driscoll vs. Jameson Alejos (Manatee)

Kabra says: Another bracket with just a single returning state qualifier and Gonzales looks the solid favorite here. Rowe has wrestled anybody anywhere this season and is the most battle-tested wrestler in the top half of this bracket.

Kabra's Picks

1. #2 Kalel Hernandez (North Fort Myers)

2. #3 Nicky Bernard (Palmetto Ridge)

3. #6 Scott Cook (Braden River)

4. #15 Amari Caro (Pinellas Park)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #16 Mason Fuston (St. Pete Northeast); #18 Jaden Palmer (Charlotte)

Opening round match to watch: Richardson Joseph (Golden Gate) vs. Ronin Fernandez (Clearwater)

Kabra says: Oh this is the potential final we’ve been wanting to see for a bit now with Hernandez and Bernard potentially meeting up here in a huge 2-3 battle. Hernandez does have tech win over his potential semifinal opponent Cook.

Kabra's Picks

1. #6 West Lucas (North Fort Myers)

2. #7 Clark Daley (Mariner)

3. #8 Darius Montgomery (Middleton)

4. #11 Ashton Springfield (Parrish)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #17 Ezequiel Pedraza (Cape Coral); Kyle Paul (Countryside)

Opening round match to watch: #18 Nathan Cortes (Charlotte) vs. Paul

Kabra says: The young Lucas jumped up to 190 pounds and has been on fire, beating Daley in their district final match last weekend to go 2-0 on the season between the two. An intriguing semifinal looms up where Daley has a win over Montgomery this season.

Kabra's Picks

1. #4 Brady Comerford (Pinellas Park)

2. #9 Freedom McDaniel (Braden River)

3. #13 Noah Figueroa (East Lee County)

4. #18 John Arambasich (Mariner)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #20 Sebastian Corporan (Bonita Springs); #24 Rome Freeman (Spoto)

Opening round match to watch: Freeman vs. Milo Moreno (Charlotte)

Kabra says: The four district champions come into this weekend as the four favorites to get on the podium. We don’t have a lot of head-to-heads to get an idea on how this bracket will end up, but Comerford and Figueroa both have wins over Arambasich.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Seth Tshiams (North Fort Myers)

2. #2 Jaxon Newton (Charlotte)

3. #15 Jason Morency (Lely)

4. #22 Airion Bradley (St. Petersburg)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #17 Gabe Rojas (Braden River); #25 David Enriquez (Bonita Springs)

Opening round match to watch: Johnny Frazier (Hollins) vs. Prince Andrew Reddick (Blake)

Kabra says: We could have #1 vs. #2 for the second straight weekend here. Tshiams won the first battle, taking a tight 5-4 win in the district final.

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