Region 3A-1: Preview and Predictions

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

Friday: Weigh-in: 1:30 p.m. | Gates open: 2:45 p.m. | Wrestling starts: 3 p.m.

Saturday: Weigh-in: 8 a.m. | Wrestling starts: 9:30 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 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:

Kabra's Picks

1. #9 Chase Wolgamuth (Hagerty)

2. #16 Gabriel Ramos (Buchholz)

3. #17 Joseph Dailey (Flagler Palm Coast)

4. #19 Luke Mims (Creekside)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #23 Jimmy Godwin (Oviedo); Junior Bonilla (South Lake)

Opening round match to watch: Achilles Rodriguez (Lake Mary) vs. Landon Locantora (Fletcher)

Kabra says: Wolgamuth has shown the most promise to win based on his season performance. But these wrestlers have not seen each other so this bracket could be tossed around when it’s all done on Saturday night.

Kabra's Picks

1. #5 Kevin McLean (Flagler Palm Coast)

2. #8 Josh Sabbia (Oviedo)

3. #9 Connor Barnes (Oakleaf)

4. #11 Damonyai White (Lake Mary)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #10 Brentley Crawley (Hagerty); #18 Sadra Davadevlabet (Timber Creek)

Opening round match to watch: William Taylor (Ocoee) vs. Kaiden Olavarria (DeLand)

Kabra says: McLean enters the weekend as the favorite but there are tough wrestlers across the bracket here. Sabbia placed fourth in the state last year and Barnes has had a solid district champion season. McLean does own a major decision win over Crawley.

Kabra's Picks

1. #9 Tiago Neves (Timber Creek)

2. #10 Gabriel Brown (Buchholz)

3. #11 Aidan Hubbell (Tocoi Creek)

4. Jacob Imboden (South Lake)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Phoenix Carrasco-Hall (Lake Brantley); Nathan Walck (Lake Mary)

Opening round match to watch: Walck vs. Jason Choi (Nease)

Kabra says: Not just a toss-up of three wrestlers that all reached the state tournament last year, but none of them faced each other this season too.

Kabra's Picks

1. #5 Mario DiBella (Bartram Trail)

2. #6 Robert Twilley (Flagler Palm Coast)

3. #7 Hunter Jessee (Hagerty)

4. #9 Giordanny Perez (West Orange)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #8 Joey Davis (Lake Brantley); #12 Mathew Pishotta (West Port)

Opening round match to watch: Justin Umali (Creekside) vs. Ashtin Diggs (Timber Creek)

Kabra says: DiBella owns a 5-2 win over Twilley and he teched Jessee this season so that makes him our favorite but with six wrestlers in the Top 12 competing here, we’ll have tough matches starting in the quarterfinal round.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Dario Duany (Lake Brantley)

2. #4 Kyle Brown (Sandalwood)

3. #12 Carmen DiBella (Bartram Trail)

4. #18 Douglas Dowda (Oviedo)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #20 Aurelio Gutierrez (Hagerty); #22 David Birdsey (DeLand)

Opening round match to watch: Hugh Davis (Buchholz) vs. Gutierrez

Kabra says: Duany enters the postseason as the top-ranked wrestler in the state and Brown has not lost a match this season.

Kabra's Picks

1. #6 Raphael Taquechel (Windermere)

2. #7 Finn Buchanan (Buchholz)

3. #14 Brady Stoutamire (Nease)

4. #16 Ozy Aquino (Timber Creek)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Kellon Duncan (Oakleaf); James Zena (Hagerty)

Opening round match to watch: Grant Ray (Winter Park) vs. Tegan Beltram (South Lake)

Kabra says: In a recurring theme, we have four district champions in here that have not faced each other this season. So this podium could look a variety of different ways when the dust settles on Saturday.

Kabra's Picks

1. #6 Elias Twigg (Fletcher)

2. #10 Luke Manghisi (Creekside)

3. #8 Benjamin Wolgamuth (Hagerty)

4. #19 Prince Fortuna (Buchholz)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Jeremiah Pagan (Lake Mary); Cole Crouch (West Orange)

Opening round match to watch: Joao Cardoso (Olympia) vs. Gabriel Moy (Flagler Palm Coast)

Kabra says: In Twigg’s 28 wins this season are technical fall wins over Wolgamuth and Manghisi this season.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Nikolas Blake (Hagerty)

2. #13 John Antonucci (Tocoi Creek)

3. #12 Ronden Ricks (Flagler Palm Coast)

4. #24 Noah Stidfole (Fletcher)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #16 Laine Slayton (Buchholz); Skyler Hackl (Ocala Forest)

Opening round match to watch: Hackl vs. Edward Guzman (Evans)

Kabra says: Two-time state placer Blake is the big favorite here. The quarterfinal match between Antonucci and Slayton should play a big role in defining the podium at the end.

Kabra's Picks

1. #2 Juan Viera (Timber Creek)

2. #11 Nikita Chechkovsky (Tocoi Creek)

3. #4 Carson Baert (Flagler Palm Coast)

4. #17 Josue Batista (Hagerty)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #20 Khalil Baker (Lake Mary); #23 David Hill (West Port)

Opening round match to watch: Hill vs. Batista

Kabra says: Viera and Baert ended up on the same site of the bracket, meaning we will see them meet up in the semifinals if they go 2-0 on Friday. Viera is capable of big wins and that’s enough to give him a slight favorite edge. Whoever wins that one won’t have smooth sailing - watch for Chechkovsky.

Kabra's Picks

1. #4 Vladislav Chechkovsky (Tocoi Creek)

2. #16 Aiden Wood (Hagerty)

3. #17 Ghais Cooper (Oakleaf)

4. #22 Demarcus Stokes (Wekiva)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #24 Joshua Folsom (DeLand); #25 Caden Martz (Oviedo)

Opening round match to watch: Martz vs. Rodney Ruiz (South Lake)

Kabra says: Chechkovsky was last year’s region champion and is undefeated on the season. Wood and Cooper could meet up in the quarterfinals with the winner our choice to reach the region final.

Kabra's Picks

1. #3 Jonathan Morrison (Creekside)

2. #7 William Muniz (Timber Creek)

3. #6 Gavin Nelson (Hagerty)

4. #8 Theodore Brase (Fletcher)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #20 Rex Graff (Tocoi Creek); Joseph Saint Melus (Wekiva)

Opening round match to watch: Adarius Quezada (Ocoee) vs. Michael Fries (Flagler Palm Coast)

Kabra says: Four wrestlers in the Top 8 are scattered across the landscape here with the two district champions in the top half of the bracket and the two runners-up in the bottom.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Gavin Isaacs (Lake Mary)

2. #4 Colton Leavell (Creekside)

3. #9 Killian Lonergan (Fletcher)

4. #14 Thomas Thorne (Hagerty)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #21 Silas Metayer (Ocoee); #23 William Buchanan (Buchholz)

Opening round match to watch: #25 Ellis Lawson (Ocala Forest) vs. Nevin Thomas (Wekiva)

Kabra says: Isaacs and Leavell both got later starts to the season with the Lake Mary junior started in January and Leavell getting started a few weeks ago. They come into the weekend our favorites with Isaacs finishing third in the state last year.

Kabra's Picks

1. #7 Grady Isaacs (Lake Mary)

2. #8 Bryant Taylor (Oakleaf)

3. #12 Jude DiCicco (Hagerty)

4. #19 Elijah Jean (Wekiva)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #13 Yosef Mohaisen (Oviedo); #20 Melique Joseph (Flagler Palm Coast)

Opening round match to watch: Josiah Twigg (Fletcher) vs. Jean

Kabra says: Isaacs and Taylor lead a bracket that houses seven ranked wrestlers. They have not faced each other this season.

Kabra's Picks

1. #2 Cole Anderson (Creekside)

2. #14 Tyler Duvermont (Ocoee)

3. #8 Derryl Godbolt (Buchholz)

4. #25 Micah Thorpe (Oviedo)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Braylen Lawrence (Tocoi Creek); Gerald Logan (DeLand)

Opening round match to watch: Logan vs. Hardley Germain (Oakleaf)

Kabra says: Anderson placed seventh in the state last season and gets the edge here as we picked four district champions to finish on the podium.

Next

2025 Region 3A-2 Preview