Class 2A State Duals Preview

Region Finals

2:00 PM

NOTE: Team rankings are Kabra Wrestling’s team dual rankings for Class 2A.

#7 Middleburg

vs.

#6 Clay

2A-1 Region Final

All-Time region finals record | How they got here

Middleburg: 0-0, This is the first appearance for the Colts.

The 2A-2 district champs routed Pace 69-6 and won a district final rematch with Lincoln 48-25.

Clay: 2-3, The Blue Devils reached the final in 2022.

The Blue Devils toppled New Smyrna Beach 57-20 and then beat Winter Springs 43-25 in a highly-anticipated dual.

What they’re saying

Middleburg has been building for this chance the past couple seasons and now that they’re here, they’ll look for the leaders on the team to come up big and give them a chance against the Blue Devils. Clay coach Jim Reape has said this is one of the best dual teams he’s had and the Blue Devils will look to prove that this weekend.

If this one starts in a favorable spot for the Broncos, they could put some pressure on the Blue Devils. But on paper - and on the mat - this looks like a second region duals title for Clay.

Middleburg: “I stress how important it was for us to go to state duals for the first time and I feel like we're not done…I kind of joke about this, but I just open the door for them and tell them what to do. It's not like I don't think we're doing anything special or different in the room. We just work hard but it's been consistent…I'd love to wrestle Clay straight up. Don't move anybody around and see how we do, but the state dual is more important than getting good matches. We want the best possible matchup to win. So, we'll see what they want to do and I like our chances…We're not just some team that got a lucky draw and have a easy district or anything like that. We put in the work. We're tough. We belong here. And hopefully, we make it to the second day and wrestle whoever comes out on top of the other half because there's nothing I'd love more than to go for the first time and be in the state finals.”

Clay:

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#8 Braden River

vs.

#3 Charlotte

2A-3 Region Final

All-Time region finals record | How they got here

Braden River: 0-0, This is the first appearance for the Pirates.

After beating Osceola Fundamental, the 2A-9 champions defeated Manatee 43-27 to punch its first ticket.

Charlotte: 2-5, The Tarpon have reached the region final in all eight seasons of the state duals, making it to the finals in 2019.

The Tarpons dominated South Fort Myers 60-17 before beating Riverdale 55-18 to advance to Kissimmee for the eighth time.

The depth has been coming for Braden River and the Pirates demonstrated that by reaching the region duals final for the first time. Meanwhile, Charlotte finds itself in familiar territory, as the Tarpons are making their eighth appearance in eight years in the region final.

Braden River has been checking off team accomplishments the past few years and a win here would give the Pirates another one, but Charlotte is just too good at too many places and they’ll get the tough win.

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#2 Jesuit

vs.

#1 Lake Gibson

3A-2 Region Final

All-Time region finals record | How they got here

Jesuit: 3-2, The Tigers have reached the finals after all three of their region titles, winning a state title in 2020.

The Tigers gave up just 12 total points in the first two rounds, beating Springstead 76-6 and River Ridge 64-6.

Lake Gibson: 6-1, Lake Gibson’s only region final loss was to Jesuit in 2020. All other six times that Braves have won the state duals title.

Lake Gibson also had only 12 points scored on them, beating East River 71-6 and Lyman 67-6

What they’re saying

This is the dual that everyone has been waiting for since the FHSAA reclassified the sport in the summer. Last year’s state title dual returns to Friday afternoon where these two teams gave us a classic in 2020. Tampa Jesuit enters the weekend with its normal lineup of high-end wrestlers but have depth that perhaps the Tigers have not had before in this competition. Lake Gibson again is loaded with wrestlers that can win at any match and a history of finding just the right gear at Osceola.

If this were being written on paper, there would be a pile of crumpled paper from me making a pick and then discarding it because I wasn’t quite sure. There isn’t a wrong answer to picking this dual because it might be the biggest toss-up of the weekend. Maybe a coin flip is the best way to pick this one. Tampa Jesuit squeaks out another two-point win in the region final is what the coin said. Best two out of three?

Lake Gibson: “You're going to have to beat them to win a state title, so why not go ahead and give everybody a good show on Friday and get everybody excited for the rest of the weekend…I have confidence in everything, the culture of the program, everything that's been established before and it's just as cliche as it sounds, it's just another match. That's what you just have to try to put it into their head. It's just another match. Go out there and wrestle the best that you can…They're sort of thinking the same thing that we're thinking, so again in typical Jesuit fashion I think a lot of it's going to come down to the coin toss but we got a couple things in that I think can possibly find us a few more points…grit and determination and just everything that you're doing, you're not doing it for yourself. You're doing it for your team. That's the main concept. Everything you're doing, you're doing for your team.”

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#5 Jensen Beach

vs.

#4 Somerset

2A-4 Region Final

All-Time region finals record | How they got here

Jensen Beach: 3-2, The Falcons have won two state duals title, in 2022 and 2023.

The Falcons blanked Heritage 78-0 and then defeated Sebastian River 61-14.

Somerset: 4-1, The Panthers won the state duals title in 2021 and 2024. Somerset is 2-0 against Jensen Beach at the state duals.

After shutting out St. Thomas 82-0, Somerset rolled past Miramar 65-6.

What they’re saying

Jensen Beach is lead by some key veterans and their youth is molding into shape. The Falcons enter the weekend knowing what they’ll get from their leaders and looking for some young talent to step up. Somerset is built for this tournament and this season and enters the weekend as one of the favorites for a state title. The Panthers could send out a Top 15 ranked wrestler in every weight class in Kissimmee.

When Somerset has its full line-up, they may be the best team in Class 2A. The Panthers look poised for a fun weekend run while the Falcons want to play spoiler.

Jensen Beach: “We're just trying to get better every day. That's what it's all about. And this team has showed a lot so far this year and they've been battle tested, and our records aren't what maybe teams of the past have been, but there's a reason why we wrestle the schedule we wrestle and I think that's played a big part in these kids development…Is this the 2022 team? Is this 2023 team? No. I mean, those teams were special, right? But we still got some horses in the lineup and we got some young kids developing and we're happy to be here…There's a reason why they wrestle the dual, right? Someone wants to rise to the occasion. something goes bad on another side and somebody gets pinned when they're not supposed to get pinned. We fight and scratch tooth and nail and pull out a win or something. You never know what's going to happen…We're just going to go in and focus on what everyone can do in their individual matchup. Fight tooth and nail for every point and the results are going to be what they are going to be.”

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