Region 3A-3: Preview and Predictions
FRIDAY-SATURDAY FEBRUARY 23-24, 2024 - At Seminole Ridge 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-3 will play out.
You can print the 3A-3 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
4. Wellington, 6. Harmony, 7. Viera, 8. Olympic Heights, 18. Park Vista
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Nathan Lyttle (Harmony)
2. #15 Nathan Halulko (Martin County)
3. #8 Chris Schnobrick (Olympic Heights)
4. #18 Eli Valdez (Lake Worth)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Tom Freitas (Spanish River); Xavier Santiago (Orlando Freedom)
Opening round match to watch: Freitas vs. Santiago
Kabra says: There’s very little in our mind as to who to put on the top line here with Lyttle having a dream first season with the Longhorns. The rest of the podium is more interesting because even though we have four ranked wrestlers here, there’s no guarantee they all make it because weight class has been parity-filled all year and there is some depth here.
Kabra's Picks
1. #4 Cameron Gibson (Wellington)
2. #5 Alex Schnobrick (Olympic Heights)
3. #6 Jorge Bravo (Palm Beach Gardens)
4. #8 Tristan Horn (Harmony)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #11 Nicholas Degrossi (Park Vista); #16 Makana Tieri (Viera)
Opening round match to watch: Degrossi vs. #19 Gregori Rodriguez (Vero Beach)
Kabra says: The top half of this bracket has four wrestlers ranked in the Top 11. Wow. The big matches will come quick and often in this weight class. Schnobrick is the slight favorite in the top, he has a 4-3 win over Bravo, so expect a super tight semifinal match if they both reach it. Gibson is 3-0 against Schnobrick this season and looking for a third consecutive region title.
Kabra's Picks
1. #4 Alex Giglietti (Viera)
2. #10 Corbin Fjalstad (Martin County)
3. #14 Max Butler (Harmony)
4. #16 Walt Munoz (Olympic Heights)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #15 Mark Bontante (Wellington); #19 David Andrade (Santaluces)
Opening round match to watch: Myles Henkel (Ft. Pierce Central) vs. Dionsyus Browne (Colonial)
Kabra says: Giglietti and Fjalstad had a thrilling district final with the Martin County junior nearly pulling off the win, with Giglietti winning 9-6. Could we have a rematch in the works here? It won’t be an easy road to that for Giglietti with Munoz possibly lurking in the quarters and Butler in the semis. Butler has been red hot since taking over the starting spot in the Longhorns lineup.
Kabra's Picks
1. #3 Jesten Conty (Orlando Freedom)
2. #5 Luke Agcaoili (Viera)
3. #16 Gabriel Nascimento (Harmony)
4. #19 Kyle Leaich (Treasure Coast)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Luca Johnson (Boca Raton); Sam Gilbert (Jupiter)
Opening round match to watch: Kai Benedetti (Wellington) vs. Nascimento
Kabra says: Fans at this region tournament would be lucky to get to watch a Conty-Agcaoili final here. Both wrestlers have risen to another level this season and we think a second meeting could be in the cards here. Conty beat Agcaoili 8-2 in their lone meeting. On the back side, we like our ranked guys to finish 3-4, with Nascimento owning a major decision win already against Leaich.
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Sam Marvel (Wellington)
2. #5 Adriel Pina (Olympic Heights)
3. #15 Carlos Rodriguez (Harmony)
4. #17 Caden Smith (Colonial)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Ben Green (Jupiter); Camren Baker (Viera)
Opening round match to watch: Jack Murray (Park Vista) vs. Christopher Whitehead (Ft. Pierce Central)
Kabra says: Marvel looks to be hitting his stride at the right time. After celebrating 100 career wins toward the end of the season, the senior then won his fourth all-time district title. He and Pina could meet for the fifth time this season (that we have record of) and he leads the season series 3-1 between the two. Marvel has won by a pin, 4-3, and 6-4 in the district final. Pina earned a 6-4 win early in the season. The way we played our bracket out has a district final rematch taking place in the third-place bout too.
Kabra's Picks
1. #6 Nate Barrett (Tohopekaliga)
2. #7 Carson Estrada (Harmony)
3. #8 Russell Crum (Wellington)
4. #9 Zoltan Aldana (Boca Raton)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #10 Cash Ciliento (Jupiter); #16 Jack Duke (Martin County)
Opening round match to watch: Ruben Baez (Centennial) vs. Estrada
Kabra says: On the season Barrett is 2-1 against Estrada but there’s no guarantee each can make it to the finals here. Estrada could face a path where he faces #10 and #8 on the bottom half of the bracket. District champion Crum has not faced Estrada this season and is 2-1 against Ciliento. With six wrestlers ranked in the Top 16, the blood round could be interesting to watch.
Kabra's Picks
1. #3 James Kosza (Wellington)
2. #12 Daniel Ospina (Park Vista)
3. #19 August Zoratti (Jupiter)
4. #20 Elan Bennett (Viera)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Jayden Romanello (Ft. Pierce Central); Santiago Alvarez (Spanish River)
Opening round match to watch: Ospina vs. Cristian Rodriguez (Harmony)
Kabra says: These are the words I wrote down when first looking over this bracket - Depth, Competitive, Blood Round. While the top seems a little easier to figure out with Kosza and Ospina possibly on track for a district final rematch (won 3-0 by Kosza), the rest of the podium is much harder to figure out.
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Brian Mitchell (Viera)
2. #6 Daniel Alvarez (Spanish River)
3. #5 Matt Archambault (Olympic Heights)
4. #19 Colin Snowney (Jupiter)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #14 Jeremiah Gomez (Harmony); Talon Haynes (Tohopekaliga)
Opening round match to watch: Bryan Camilo (Cypress Creek) vs. Jaime Lugo (Dwyer)
Kabra says: A potential semifinal between Mitchell and Archambault stands out to us in this bracket. The Viera senior has two wins between the two, but they’ve been close (3-1, 3-2). The top half has an intriguing quarterfinal between Alvarez and Gomez where the loser falls into a much harder path to Kissimmee.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Shawn McCallister (Harmony)
2. #4 Giovanni De Angeles (Park Vista)
3. #5 Franco Rivas (Wellington)
4. #7 Edwin Torres (Viera)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #11 Jagger Pentney (Jupiter); Christopher Anderson (Spanish River)
Opening round match to watch: Alex Lasalle (Palm Beach Gardens) vs. Anderson
Kabra says: McCallister has solidified himself as the man to beat in this weight class for 3A, and he should be the region champ. But wow, what a top half of the bracket with the Harmony senior, #5 Rivas, and #7 Torres lurking. Rivas and Torres could be an epic quarterfinal with Rivas having a 6-3 win this season as an edge.
Kabra's Picks
1. #3 Jabore Brown (Treasure Coast)
2. #6 Stefan Povsic (Olympic Heights)
3. #7 Mac Andrews (Wellington)
4. #9 Elijah Alvarez (Orlando Freedom)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #14 Max Barrett (Tohopekliga); Evan Enrique (Viera)
Opening round match to watch: Justin Heiman (Park Vista) vs. Barrett
Kabra says: Brown enters the weekend after a phenomenal season for the senior. Andrews looms as a potential semifinal round opponent and that could be the match of the weekend here. Andrews missed the second half of the season with a serious injury and returned for postseason play. When the Wellington sophomore gets back into his groove, he’s capable of beating anyone in this bracket. Is this weekend the time that happens? An intriguing semifinal could take place in the top half of the bracket too, with a potential Top 10 meeting between Povsic and Alvarez.
Kabra's Picks
1. #8 John Fernandez (Harmony)
2. #9 Dwayne Shaw (Wellington)
3. #18 Jean Ho (Cypress Creek)
4. Marcos Sanchez (Park Vista)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Enzo Dasilva (Spanish River); Anthony Saget (Treasure Coast)
Opening round match to watch: Dasilva vs. Luis Abraham (Viera)
Kabra says: The brackets played out nicely for us, potentially giving us an 8 vs. 9 rematch in the finals here. Fernandez scored a 7-5 win during the season over Shaw. The rest of the podium seems wide open and there should be some competitive blood rounds matches here.
Kabra's Picks
1. #7 Aidan Madden (Ft. Pierce Central)
2. #10 Jordan Hayes (Viera)
3. #11 Corrado DeSantis (Dwyer)
4. #15 Alex Davis (Jupiter)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #20 Seth Scutero (Harmony); Leland Snelgrove (Wellington)
Opening round match to watch: Chase Harley (Martin County) vs. Jasiyah Frazier (Colonial)
Kabra says: This was one of the easier ones to predict because Madden has defeated Hayes and the Viera senior has pinned DeSantis. But of course region tournaments aren’t played in the past and it’s much easier to predict this bracket than get through it.
Kabra's Picks
1. #4 Jaylin Bine-Aime (Palm Beach Gardens)
2. #5 Evan Fortune (Park Vista)
3. #8 Dante DeSantis (Dwyer)
4. #20 Reece Smith (Martin County)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Nick Boselli (Olympic Heights); Connor Olivares (Wellington)
Opening round match to watch: Olivares vs. Logan Silva (Colonial)
Kabra says: This is a bracket of two tales with the Top 3 wrestlers battling for that spot, and then potentially six or more ranked/once-ranked/almost ranked wrestlers competing for the last state qualifying spot. At the top, we have Bien-Aime and Fortune. The Palm Beach Gardens senior is 2-0 this season between the two. Meanwhile the last spot on the podium will start to seriously get competed for before blood round even hits because there are a lot of worthy wrestlers here for that spot.
Kabra's Picks
1. #6 Hernan Ortiz (Ft. Pierce Central)
2. #13 Orel Joseph (Oak Ridge)
3. #17 Liam Higgins (Wellington)
4. Zacary Derilus (Orlando Freedom)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Joel Leon (Seminole Ridge); Aiden Pizarro (Colonial)
Opening round match to watch: Cody Salomon (Park Vista) vs. Eddie Keyes (Centennial)
Kabra says: Ortiz seems to be the solid favorite here but the rest of this bracket goes by my heavyweight motto that anyone can win anytime at this weight. This should be fun to watch, as for my picks, I predict chaos.