Region 3A-1: Preview and Predictions
FRIDAY-SATURDAY FEBRUARY 23-24, 2024 - At DeLand 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 3A-1 will play out.
You can print the 3A-1 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
10. Hagerty, 11. Flagler Palm Coast, 15. Buchholz, 17. Lake Mary, 19. Lake Brantley
Kabra's Picks
1. #7 Hunter Jessee (Hagerty)
2. #19 Gabriel Ramos (Buchholz)
3. #12 Matthew Pishotta (West Port)
4. #20 Landon Locantora (Fletcher)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Nathan Walck (Lake Mary); Mohammad Davtalabsabat (Timber Creek)
Opening round match to watch: Walck vs. Davtalabsabat
Kabra says: The Hagerty freshman has had a strong first varsity season for the Huskies and is our pick here but there could be a thrilling semifinal here. Pishotta is also wrestling well and comes in with his own resume of big wins. We couldn’t find even a comparative result between the two, so we’re in the dark here and are looking forward to this match should it take place.
Kabra's Picks
1. #7 Josh Sabbia (Oviedo)
2. #15 Jason Choi (Nease)
3. #18 Tiago Neves (Timber Creek)
4. Santiago Carrion (Creekside)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Caden Larauso (Lake Mary); Matthew Cobb (Olympia)
Opening round match to watch: Choi vs. Jacob Rothman (Winter Park)
Kabra says: Our podium picks are based on a healthy Choi. He did have an MFF in the district final but we don’t know how serious his injury is. If he’s healthy, he’s good enough to make the finals here. Sabbia is the choice to win though. In this group, he’s been the most consistent this season and is battle-tested for the region grind.
Kabra's Picks
1. #5 Damonyai White (Lake Mary)
2. #12 Marlo Clark (Timber Creek)
3. #18 Kyle Brown (Sandalwood)
4. Aden Pierce (South Lake)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #20 Justin Umali (Creekside); Gabriel Brown (Buchholz)
Opening round match to watch: Conner Rodriguez (Oviedo) vs. Nazzio Huyler (Ocoee)
Kabra says: White and Clark are our picks for the final and when they faced each other during the season it was close, with White earning a 5-4 victory. The way the bracket is laid out gives us a potential ranked match in the blook round, where Brown holds a 2-0 advantage this season.
Kabra's Picks
1. #4 Raymond Cavey (West Orange)
2. #6 Jedidiah Brown (Buchholz)
3. #7 Dario Duany (Lake Brantley)
4. #11 Robert Twilley (Flagler Palm Coast)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #14 Mason Damis (Bartram Trail); #20 Keegan Clark (Timber Creek)
Opening round match to watch: Wayne Brady (Ocoee) vs. Mason Kaye (Atlantic Coast)
Kabra says: Cavey has wracked up some solid wins in his second year in Florida and he’s our pick, but the match to watch here is the potential 6 vs. 7 semifinal in the bottom of the bracket. The two wrestlers are 1-1 this season with Brown winning 7-0 and while Duany owns a 1-0 victory.
Kabra's Picks
1. #3 Toryian Stallings (Flagler Palm Coast)
2. #7 Josue Batista (Timber Creek)
3. #9 Jaylen Clayton (Evans)
4. #18 Finn Buchanan (Buchholz)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Lucian Slayden (Nease); Giordanny Perez (West Orange)
Opening round match to watch: Stephan Carrion (Creekside) vs. Clayton
Kabra says: Stallings has excelled in his new surroundings and enters this weekend as a favorite to win a region title here. There are four ranked wrestlers and they’re in the the same two quads together. So look for an interesting quarterfinal round, with us thinking all four will finish on the podium.
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Nikolas Blake (Hagerty)
2. #4 Cole O’Brien (Fletcher)
3. #13 Aidan Benson (Timber Creek)
4. #18 Luke Manghisi (Creekside)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #20 Brent Ryals (Forest); Tony Ho (Olympia)
Opening round match to watch: Jhusthino Miranda (West Port) vs. Willie Sims (Tocoi Creek)
Kabra says: Blake and O’Brien seem likely to face each other in the final here barring a big upset. They’re both having strong seasons but haven’t faced each other. You’d have to go back to last year’s state tournament to find a meeting, a match won by Blake (by fall) in the consolations.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Cavarius Liddie (Buchholz)
2. #8 Giovanni Duany (Lake Brantley)
3. #7 James Gonzalez (Winter Park)
4. #10 Elias Twigg (Fletcher)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #14 Carson Baert (Flagler Palm Coast); #16 Grady Hutchinson (Bartram Trail)
Opening round match to watch: Baert vs. Benjamin Wolgamuth (Hagerty)
Kabra says: There are seven ranked wrestlers in this bracket and six of them are in the Top 16. The quarterfinal round is going to be dicey and how it goes will heavily influence what is going to be a heartbreaking and treacherous consolation side of the bracket. The top spot seems secure with the dominant returning state champion here and if Duany and Gonzalez should meet at some point, they’re now 2-2 against each other this season.
Kabra's Picks
1. #7 Jovan Vukajlovic (Lake Brantley)
2. #8 Justin St. John (Hagerty)
3. #9 Andres Sanchez (Sanford Seminole)
4. #13 Laine Slayton (Buchholz)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #12 Vladislav Chechkovsky (Tocoi Creek); Noah Stidfole (Fletcher)
Opening round match to watch: Doyvonne Leadon (Flagler Palm Coast) vs. Luca Barros (Windermere)
Kabra says: Five wrestlers ranked in the Top 13 means there is going to be at least one wrestler who doesn’t advance here. The quarterfinal to potentially watch here would be the St. John-Sanchez meeting. They’re 1-1 this season with Sanchez winning in sudden victory and St. John owning a 2-1 win. Vukajlovic will have some navigating to do in the top half of the bracket, but if he reaches the final, he does have a major decision win over Sanchez this season.
Kabra's Picks
1. #14 Juan Viera (Timber Creek)
2. #19 Clayton Mitchell (Oviedo)
3. #6 Joshua Folsom (DeLand)
4. Madden Bourst (Olympia)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Bradley Mier (Mandarin); David Hill (West Port)
Opening round match to watch: Folsom vs. Elisha Purdy (Fletcher)
Kabra says: Folsom comes in with the highest ranking, but question marks after he had an ID in the district final. That will be worth watching here. We’ll take a flyer (side note: this is the final weight class we’re writing up out of 156 total) and go against our rankings. Viera has shown he can compete with anyone and we’re expecting him to show that side this weekend.
Kabra's Picks
1. #5 Malachi Mista (Sandalwood)
2. #13 Colton Leavell (Creekside)
3. #15 Aden Ellison (Lake Mary)
4. Isaiah Diltz (Mandarin)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #18 Kelton Howard (Flagler Palm Coast); Aiden Wood (Lake Howell)
Opening round match to watch: Harrison Caputo (West Port) vs. Andrew Wittenberg (Timber Creek)
Kabra says: Mista is the heavy favorite in this weight class and enters the weekend 37-1 with his only loss being to two-time state champion Kendrick Hodge of Somerset. The runner-up spot could be decided in the quarters with Leavell and Eliason meeting in the bottom half of the bracket.
Kabra's Picks
1. #4 Gavin Isaacs (Lake Mary)
2. #6 Jake Jessee (Lake Brantley)
3. #7 Connor Gilliam (Hagerty)
4. #12 Malik Wilson (Sandalwood)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #14 Theodore Brase (Fletcher); #17 Alphonso Parsons (First Coast)
Opening round match to watch: Parsons vs. Gilliam
Kabra says: Isaacs has wins over his top two competitors here, a 3-1 decision over Gilliam and a major decision triumph over Jessee. He’ll need to count on that experience quickly with the Hagerty senior likely waiting in the quarterfinals.
Kabra's Picks
1. #4 Alan Rivera (Nease)
2. #9 Hunter Tate (Hagerty)
3. #8 Grady Isaacs (Lake Mary)
4. #14 Christopher Swanson (Lake Brantley)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Silas Metayer (Ocoee); Garrett Perkins (DeLand)
Opening round match to watch: Perkins vs. Tristen Darling (Creekside)
Kabra says: Rivera has wrestled really well this season and is our pick for the top spot on this podium. The semifinal between he and Isaacs could be for all the marbles because both of them have victories over Tate. The Hagerty senior is the top pick in the bottom half and has a 3-2 loss to Isaacs and a loss by pin to Rivera.
Kabra's Picks
1. #3 Ethan Laupepa (Flagler Palm Coast)
2. #12 Jacob George (Bartram Trail)
3. #6 Rocco Jonigan (Timber Creek)
4. #17 Jayden Velazquez (Winter Park)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Joseph Gioa (Oviedo); Ryan Sirico (Mandarin)
Opening round match to watch: Luke Prieto (Lake Mary) vs. Gioa
Kabra says: Look for the semifinal in the bottom half to hold some interest with a potential 3 vs. 6 meeting of district champions. Laupepa and Jonigan haven’t faced each other, so we’re not quite sure what to expect. The four ranked wrestlers here seem likely to advance to the state tournament.
Kabra's Picks
1. #3 Jermael Paul (Evans)
2. #5 Marion Smokes (DeLand)
3. #9 Cole Anderson (Creekside)
4. #10 Jerome Johnson (Sanford Seminole)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #16 Trevor Covelli (Hagerty); #20 Yosef Mohaisen (Oviedo)
Opening round match to watch: Thomas Graham (Sandalwood) vs. Mohaisen
Kabra says: A final you won’t want to miss could loom here with undefeated Paul and returning state placer Smokes on track to line up in a barnburner to finish this tournament off. Not that they have easy paths, both will have challenging quarterfinals and potential ranked semis. Don’t blink when this one is going on.