Class 3A State Duals Preview

Region Finals

5:30 PM

NOTE: Team rankings are Kabra Wrestling’s team dual rankings for Class 3A.

#6 Flagler Palm Coast

vs.

#2 Hagerty

3A-1 Region Final

All-Time region finals record | How they got here

Flagler Palm Coast: 1-0, In 2023, the Bulldogs defeated Hagerty in their lone region final appearance.

The Bulldogs beat Tocoi Creek 59-15 and needed late-match heroics to come from behind to edge Buchholz 35-33.

Hagerty: 0-4, This is the fifth region final appearance for the Huskies.

A 66-15 win over South Lake was followed by a 46-25 defeat of Timber Creek to set the Huskies up for the first region title success.

Hagerty is back in the region finals and come in this time as a favorite. The Huskies could send 11 ranked wrestlers out to compete against a Flagler team that is quickly developing into a strong side. Both teams are tough in the first four weight classes and will look to distance themselves from the other there.

Hagerty keeps getting closer to earning that first region final win and this is the year they get it done and advance to Saturday.

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#7 Kissimmee Osceola

vs.

#3 Wellington

3A-3 Region Final

All-Time region finals record | How they got here

Kissimmee Osceola: 3-4, The Kowboys have reached the region final in every year and followed up their three region titles by reaching the state final those three times.

The Kowboys battled a tough Fort Pierce Central team to a 35-30 victory and then regrouped with a 47-24 win over Viera to advance.

Wellington: 4-2, The Wolverines reached the state final in 2022.

In the region quarterfinals, 3A-12 champion Wellington eased past Dwyer 65-9 and then edged Olympic Heights 37-27 in a district title rematch.

What they’re saying

Kissimmee Osceola enters its eighth region final in eight years in its home gym. The Kowboys have often found magic during this tournament and a team that has battled injury and illness will be looking for that lift. Wellington has made reaching the region finals a habit and the Wolverines are deep and committed to the program and it’s team mentality. There are no easy outs against Wellington.

We’ve seen some big things happen here for the Kowboys, but even with a couple big performances, that might not be enough to overcome a strong duals team like the Wolverines. Wellington advances, but don’t be surprised if this goes down to the wire.

Kissimmee Osceola: “It's been definitely a different kind of year for us this year. I mean, obviously, our lineup isn't what we thought it was going to be this time last year and we've just been battling a lot of injuries and illnesses…We're excited about the opportunity and we got a really tough draw having to go through Wellington and whoever we could face in the semis. They're going to be tough matches. We're going to have our work cut out for us…That's the part of coaching that I've always just really loved. Even back when I was an assistant at Dixie Hollins or my first head coaching job at Lyman, I would, and this is back before the internet, so you're pouring through newspaper articles and you're calling friends and you're saying, 'Okay, what's this guy? Who do they have where and whatnot?' And you're looking at the lineup and trying to figure out where you can maybe make an adjustment here or there and maybe steal one and it's always cool when a kid on a team that's been struggling for most of the year will end up impacting the outcome of the match in a big way.”

Wellington: “We tried to get some more duals this year, more than we have in the past. We got to go to a couple dual tournaments, which I think was good for us. We did lose a great group of seniors and wanted to get these kids that environment and experience of how a dual works. Sometimes there are sacrifices that need to be made and people shifting weights and fighting for the team points and stuff. So I think it's good and I think it prepares us a lot for the individual season too…It really is going to take all 14 wrestlers. You can't have a lull. We don't want to give up pins. They have got some hammers in there and I think we got some hammers where maybe they are a little bit weaker, but I'm sure there's going to be some gamesmanship that's going in there and shifting around. At the end of the day, we want to get our best 14 on the mat against their best 14 and we'll see what happens. I think it's going to be a really fun dual meet…That experience of seeing those high level wrestling teams and having fun with it. Duals are the most fun part about the sport, I think. Those individual tournaments where we're spending all weekend in a gym, and parents can partially see one mat and they can't see another mat. Those are great and they have obviously pros to them, but this is the fun and I want the kids to see a fun side of it. We try to bring a bunch of extras with us to gain that experience.”

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#10 George Jenkins

vs.

#20 Palmetto

3A-2 Region Final

All-Time region finals record | How they got here

George Jenkins: 0-0, This is the first appearance for the Eagles.

After winning the school’s first district duals title, the 3A-5 champions beat Steinbrenner 43-26 and Palm Harbor University 53-18.

Palmetto: 0-0, This is the first appearance for the Tigers.

The Tigers lost to Venice at district duals but then the 3A-8 runners-up topped Bloomingdale 53-23 and avenged their loss to the Indians with a 47-26 win.

What they’re saying

Two region final debutants that are both looking to keep making a name on the bigger stages in the sport. George Jenkins has broken out under the shadow in its district and boasts a team both talented and deep. Palmetto has been looking to make a name for itself and a come-from-behind performance against Venice after losing the district duals title shows the Tigers are on the move.

It’s easy to root for each of these teams competing here and Palmetto does have the ability to jump out here, but I expect the deeper line-up will propel George Jenkins to soar in the next round.

George Jenkins: “ It's something that took a lot of time and effort. We traveled the country all summer and all off season and preseason trying to wrestle the best and our message to the kids was ‘Why not us?’ That's something that we've really been preaching the last few days going through the district tournament and the beginning portion of the regional tournament. Trust the process that we've put in and that we've worked extremely hard because, wrestling is what you earn, not what you deserve or what you think you deserve, and the success that we're having, we've earned it…Palmetto is a team that a lot of times where we went throughout the summer, traveling the state, they were there, too. They are a team that's put in a lot of work, just like we have. And, it's going to be a fun one. I think, the matchups in my opinion, they might match up a little bit better in the light middle weights and where we match up a little bit better, in the upper weights. So, we've written it down a thousand different ways on paper, obviously, trying to prepare for this dual…We have got to perform. That's the biggest thing. We don't want to just be there to be here. We're not happy with just making it. We want to make it all the way to the top.

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#18 Douglas

vs.

#1 South Dade

3A-4 Region Final

All-Time region finals record | How they got here

Douglas: 0-0, This is the first appearance for the Eagles.

Won 3A-13 district title, defeated Western 57-22 and Coral Springs 55-21.

South Dade: 7-0, Have won six state duals championships.

The Bucs breezed through Goleman 63-17 and then beat SW Miami in the region semifinals 54-18.

What they’re saying

Douglas’ seniors pushed their team to reach the goal of making the state duals in Kissimmee and now they’ll face the top team in the state. Rocco Duygulu and David Leiva should have some tough battles to see where they sit in the state. South Dade is loaded with 15 wrestlers ranked in the Top 11 in Class 3A. The Bucs also don’t take any matches off and will be pushing for a huge weekend.

The Class 3A state duals weekend feels like a ceremonial parade for the six-time champion Bucs. But there are some intriguing individual match-ups here we want to see. South Dade improves to 19-1 in the state duals series at Osceola.

Douglas: “A lot of them have been together for three or four years. So, it's a big moment for them. We've won team championships like districts or a tournament during the year. But actually make it to the state dual championships for this team is pretty special because we've always been close…We told him that we're making this trip because of the four years of the sacrifice or three years of the sacrifice that a lot of the other individuals put into it year round. So I'm trying to give them that vision that if you guys want to keep making this trip then it's going to take a lot of work from younger wrestlers… I think the veterans like the David and Rocco, they're looking more for that individual matchup against South Dade. For the rest, this will be the first real bonding overnight trip that this team's ever done. So, I think that they're going to take that and have a good time with it and learn from it.

Quick look

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