G1A-R1: Who qualified for state and how did I do on my picks
We’ll take a look at what happened today and then also see how my picks for the region went down. Some would say that my picks are so good they make you want to pretend that you made them yourself. I would say that hopefully my preview and picks brought some thought and insight into an exciting tournament.
If you want to look back on my picks, you can read them here if you are a Kabra+ member.
First: #8-Camdyn Elliott (Gulf Breeze) dec. #4-Gracie Bradshaw (Middleburg) 9-7
Third: #10-Sayrui Caceres (Lincoln) p. #15-Talia Robbins (Buchholz) 0:16
What happened: Elliott rallied in the third period, outscoring Bradshaw 7-3 in the final two minutes to win the region title.
How did I do? I picked all four state qualifiers here but Elliott surprised me in the final and still has not lost to a Florida wrestler this season.
First: #2-Adrianna Barrientos (Oakleaf) maj. #6-Helena Alcantar (Gulf Breeze) 14-0
Third: #10-Skyla Fisher (Middleburg) p. #15-Jaelyn Sunseri (Orange City University) 3:01
What happened: Barrientos continues to prove she’s one of the best in the state with a dominating performance at the region tournament.
How did I do? A perfect bracket. I picked all four to finish exactly where they finished.
First: #3-Mariah Mills (Matanzas) dec. #4-Sigrun Metzger (Crestview) 5-2
Third: #14-Memphis Moses (Middleburg) dec. #11-Makayla Johnson (Baker County) 13-7
What happened: I predicted this would be one of the best finals in the region and the two didn’t disappoint with the match tied up at 2-2 with less than a minute to go before Mills escaped and secured the region title with a takedown.
How did I do? So far I’ve picked 12 of 12 state qualifiers, but Moses did well to take third place over Johnson.
First: #2-Erin Rizzuto (Ponte Vedra) p. Zakiya Williams (Ed White) 1:25
Third: #12-Freydis Metzger (Crestview) p. #14-Lilah Nation (Lake Brantley) 0:09
What happened: Rizzuto wasn’t slowed this weekend as she won all four of her matches in the first period to claim the region crown.
How did I do? As far as picks go, this was the first shocker of the night with Williams pinning her way to the final. So I picked the champion and third place finisher correct and one of my wildcards finished fourth.
First: #3-Christina Borgmann (Matanzas) ID #7-Lahela Turnquest (Tate)
Third: #17-Kierston Flanagan (Winter Springs) p. #8-Natalia Choquegonza (Ponte Vedra)
What happened: Borgmann winning was the story of the day as the Matanzas sophomore won her first three matches by fall before taking the final by injury default, while up 7-2 in the match.
How did I do? With #2 Kailiani Barrientos not wrestling, a spot opened up in my predictions and the wild card Flanagan took it. I predicted a semifinal between Barrientos and Borgmann to determine the winner.
First: #16-Ashley Shaw (Chiles) dec. #10-Brianna Pena (Sanford Seminole) 7-5
Third: #2-Tiana Fries (Matanzas) p. Leslie Donavanne Reinhard (Ponte Vedra) 1:18
What happened: Shaw dominated the second period in the final, outscoring Pena 7-0 and it was enough to earn the Chiles junior a region title. Fries suffered a shocking loss in the quarterfinals but bounced back to finish third and qualify for Kissimmee.
How did I do? I picked Shaw to finish fourth and she proved me wrong all the way up to the top of the podium. I didn’t foresee a quarterfinal loss for Fries and that messed up my bracket just a little bit. I had Pena at the second spot at least.
First: #8-Aireaana Gavere (Milton) maj. #1-Brielle Bibla (Matanzas) 12-4
Third: #4-Ana Vilar (Flagler Palm Coast) p. Devon Baumgardner (Lake Brantley) 1:59
What happened: Gavere earned one of the wins of the tournament with a major decision win over Bibla, who eked out a semifinal win over Bry Kaminsky. This weight class has gotten much more interesting.
How did I do? I can admit to not knowing much of Gavere coming into this weekend and I bet heavy on Bibla winning the region. I did not even have Gavere on the podium so she stunned quite a bit. I also had Vilar making it, but this was not my best work as a prognosticator.
First: #2-Aubrianna Apple (Clay) p. #10-Sara Goodman (Sandalwood) 1:44
Third: #20-Saiomy Cabrera (Matanzas) p. #11-Holly Sanders (Lincoln) 1:40
What happened: Apple was the class of the region, winning all of her matches by fall and earned her second career region title.
How did I do? I picked the final correctly and had Sanders qualifying for the state tournament too, but Cabrera was left on my wildcard list in the preview.
First: #3-Olivia Richie (Ponte Vedra) p. #13-Gabby Proctor (Matanzas) 0:44
Third: #5-Shyann Tate (Hagerty) p. #19-Jasmine Gore (Riverside) 1:15
What happened: As expected, Richie had little trouble with this bracket and she’ll look to get some revenge wins from the season in Kissimmee in less than a fortnight.
How did I do? I picked the champion but missed my pick on the quarterfinal match between Proctor and Tate. Three of the four on the podium though.
First: #1-Katherine Stewart (Bartram Trail) p. #3-Kendall Bibla (Matanzas) 5:00
Third: #4-Aryan Benson (Tocoi Creek) FF #14-Lanyla Hudspeth (Lake Brantley)
What happened: One week after a 5-4 meeting in the district final, Stewart turned a 4-3 deficit into a pinfall win in the third period of the region final.
How did I do? My fourth place finisher didn’t lace them up this weekend but I picked the top three correctly with Stewart earning another win over Bibla.
First: #8-Ava Burre (Bartram Trail) p. #7-Jah`Mya Hill (Mainland) 0:57
Third: #4-Karla Ortiz (Westside) p. Isabella Tietje (Matanzas) 4:53
What happened: Burre scored four pins to win the region, including a fall in the finals less than a minute in. One of the minor shocks of the day was Hill scoring a pin over Ortiz in the quarterfinals.
How did I do? Shamefully, I didn’t have Burre on my podium because I picked the opposite to happen in the semifinals - and then Burre went on to score an upset in the finals according to my rankings - but not on the mat today.
First: #2-Cadence Lyons (Chiles) p. #3-Jayla Harrison (Oakleaf) 3:26
Third: #15-Brooklyn Watt (Matanzas) p. Eva Rojas (Mainland) 1:07
What happened: Lyons picked up her second pinfall win over Harrison this season to win the region title just one year after losing in the region blood round.
How did I do? I actually picked three of the four spots on the podium exactly right and the one I missed was on my wildcard list.
First: #1-Cheyenne Cruce (Middleburg) p. Lillian Heflin (Ridgeview) 0:29
Third: Hannah Matalobos (Bartram Trail) p. #9-Katherine Meza Perez (Mainland) 3:01
What happened: One of the biggest favorites of the tournament, Cruce made quick work in the final, winning in 29 seconds. Her longest match was her quarterfinal victory over Meza Perez.
How did I do? I correctly picked a near sure thing, so go me? The rest of my picks did not come as easily, getting just one other qualifier correct (and in the wrong spot).
First: #19-Ahmya Stokes (Lake Mary) p. #4-Cheyenne Wigley (Mainland) 1:02
Third: #14-Ani Brown (Matanzas) dec. Alaysia Linton (Lake Brantley) SV-1 3-1
What happened: Stokes shook up the future rankings with a first period win over one-time #1 wrestler Wigley.
How did I do? With just five wrestlers in the bracket, I was guaranteed three - and that’s how many I got right and none in the right spot.
