Region 3A-4: Preview and Predictions
FRIDAY-SATURDAY FEBRUARY 28-MARCH 1, 2025 - at South Dade High School
Friday: Weigh-in: 10 a.m. | Wrestling starts: 12 p.m.
Saturday: Weigh-in: 8 a.m. | Wrestling starts: 10 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-4 will play out.
You can print the 3A-4 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:
Check out Kabra Wrestling’s Region Previews
Girls: Region 1 preview | Region 2 preview | Region 3 preview | Region 4 preview
Class 3A: Region 1 preview | Region 2 preview | Region 3 preview | Region 4 preview
Class 2A: Region 1 preview | Region 2 preview | Region 3 preview | Region 4 preview
Class 1A: Region 1 preview | Region 2 preview | Region 3 preview | Region 4 preview
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Lazaro Soto (SW Miami)
2. #5 Donovan Jenkins (South Plantation)
3. #6 Alexander Laguardia (Miami Southridge)
4. #7 Tyler Metellus (Monarch)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #8 Jose Callava (South Dade); #14 Bryce Siddens (Douglas)
Opening round match to watch: Max Rodriguez (Cypress Bay) vs. Siddens
Kabra says: Wow is this bracket crazy loaded. There are five wrestlers in the Top 8 here and four of them are in a loaded half of this bracket. The four placers here at the end could look a lot of different ways.
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Antonio Morales (SW Miami)
2. #3 Rocco Duygulu (Douglas)
3. #14 Damel Martinez (Miami Southridge)
4. #20 Janmichael Broche (Braddock)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #16 Naidrick Saint-Fleur (South Plantation); #22 Marco Vides-Olivencia (Miami Palmetto)
Opening round match to watch: Saint-Fleur vs. Vides-Olibienca
Kabra says: Morales and Duygulu are the two favorites here and they’re on opposite sides of the bracket so we’d see them meet in the finals here. The thrills will start here in the first round with a top 25 matchup.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Jovanni Tovar (Miami Southridge)
2. #5 Kaleb Williams (South Dade)
3. #4 Victor Zanolini (Columbus)
4. #16 Gary Jackson (Miami Palmetto)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #19 Lincoln Derby (South Plantation); #20 Logan Shapiro (Cypress Bay)
Opening round match to watch: Samuel Charles (Flanagan) vs. Dylan McKeon (Coral Springs)
Kabra says: Tovar is one of the bigger favorites in the state to repeat as a state champion and he shouldn’t be slowed up here, no matter how tough this bracket might be.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 David Leiva (Douglas)
2. #2 Guillermo Jaramillo (South Dade)
3. #3 Rocco Ruiz (Columbus)
4. #10 Stefano Garcia (Miami Southridge)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #13 David de Armas (Doral Academy); #15 Skyler Barreto (Cypress Bay)
Opening round match to watch: #19 Oscar Llaguno (SW Miami) vs. Jaxson Madgey (South Plantation)
Kabra says: Leiva is trying to reach his first region final and comes in the favorite to win here. He owns a 10-4 win over Jaramillo this season.
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Illia Kyryianenko (South Broward)
2. #5 Alfredo Cheang (Miami Southridge)
3. #6 Nathaniel Williams (South Dade)
4. #8 James Messmer (Douglas)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #17 Mateus Sgai (Doral Academy); #21 Michael Carsten (Cypress Bay)
Opening round match to watch: Carsten vs. Lajuan Ingraham (Miami Beach)
Kabra says: We are intrigued to see the Kyryianenko brothers compete this weekend. The Ukrainian wrestlers have dominated their competition this season and now we get to see them compete in the region of doom.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Jovani Solis (South Dade)
2. #2 Dillon Smith (SW Miami)
3. #3 Tomas Campian (Columbus)
4. #19 Dionel Ramos (Homestead)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #5 Ivan Kyryianenko (South Broward); #25 Imran Dzhabrailov (Miami Beach)
Opening round match to watch: Dzhabrailov vs. Ramos
Kabra says: Four of the Top 5 wrestlers in the state are here and the bracket genie was not favorable to all four reaching the state tournament. Barring an upset elsewhere, there could be a blood round match here between two of the best five wrestlers in the state.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Elvis Solis (South Dade)
2. #3 Andres Rojas (Miami Southridge)
3. #4 Didier Novoa (SW Miami)
4. #13 Victor Dixon (Taravella)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #15 Lian Castro (Miami Beach); #17 Jeremiah Louis (Dr. Krop)
Opening round match to watch: #18 Andres Viera (Ferguson) vs. #20 Anthony Agriesti (South Broward)
Kabra says: Solis is looking to punctuate a great high school career with a third state title and four region crown. The true fun in this bracket will be the top half where four Top 15 wrestlers will battle it out.
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Armand Williams (South Dade)
2. #6 Dylan Lopez (Braddock)
3. #18 Jorge Pacheco (Ferguson)
4. #19 Zachary Ruiz (Columbus)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #20 Jacob Rosen (Taravella); #21 Julius Gonzalez (Western)
Opening round match to watch: Pacheco vs. #25 Jacob Balk (Douglas)
Kabra says: Williams majored Lopez in their district final last week and is the leading favorite here.
Kabra's Picks
1. #3 Tyree Graham (South Dade)
2. #1 Jose Gutierrez (Doral Academy)
3. #6 Tyrell Robby (Miami Beach)
4. #9 Shai Keery (Coral Springs)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #10 Julian Sierra (Columbus); #15 Isiah Rojas (Western)
Opening round match to watch: #25 Corey Lester (Homestead) vs. Kealeandre Flaman (Fort Lauderdale)
Kabra says: Three returning state placers punctuate this bracket. We’re taking the two-time state placer and finalist from a season ago to knock-off Gutierrez.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Willie White (South Dade)
2. #2 Drake Bonney (Miami Palmetto)
3. #5 Leonard Gilley (Miami Southridge)
4. #8 Gabriel Noguel (SW Miami)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #19 Keegan Lake (Douglas); #21 Alex Haley, Jr. (Coral Springs)
Opening round match to watch: Joshua Perez (Western) vs. Haley
Kabra says: The undefeated White is rocketing up the national rankings during his solid season and even with a really deep bracket, he’s as solid a favorite as we can find. We also are picking 3A-16 to sweep the spots on the podium.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Connor Bonney (Miami Palmetto)
2. #2 Evangelo Mercado (SW Miami)
3. #5 Jonathan Moreno (South Dade)
4. #10 Aryeh Rosenberg (South Plantation)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #12 Xander Ortiz (Nova); #17 Daniel Sanchez (Miami Southridge)
Opening round match to watch: Moreno vs. Ortiz
Kabra says: Bonney has wins over Mercado, Moreno, and Rosenberg this season and the Miami Palmetto junior is our pick to win this region title. On Friday, you’ll have a Top 12 match to kick things off with Moreno-Ortiz meeting up.
Kabra's Picks
1. #5 Eliel Santos (Miami Southridge)
2. #11 Tedrick Lee (Columbus)
3. #7 J'Vier Romeus (Coral Springs)
4. #15 Tiberius Buckley (Miami Beach)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #18 Sage Suarez (South Broward); #22 Fabio PerezLeguizamo (Homestead)
Opening round match to watch: Caden Rodriguez (Cooper City) vs. Adel Corrales (Goleman)
Kabra says: Santos is a returning state qualifier but hasn’t faced any of the potential challengers in this weight class. It’s not an easy road with a possible Top 15 or better wrestler at every stop after the first round.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Myron Mendez (SW Miami)
2. #2 Apollo Benito (Columbus)
3. #3 Christian Soto (Miami Southridge)
4. #11 Gregory Gonzalez (Coral Reef)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #14 Jamie Freeney (South Dade); Jason Sastre (Doral Academy)
Opening round match to watch: Freeney vs. Jeffrey Lujano (South Plantation)
Kabra says: Who will get to challenge Mendez in the final. Benito owns an ultimate tie-breaker win over Soto this season. Watch for a potential blood round tussle between Gonzalez and Freeny too, the Corel Reef senior won their meeting in the districts by fall.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Ryan Miret (Miami Southridge)
2. #4 Daguy Massillon (South Dade)
3. #6 Manario Dickenson (South Broward)
4. #23 Diddier Castillo Carril (Monarch)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #21 Jaelen Smith (Dr. Krop); #24 Jackson Zajkowski (Douglas)
Opening round match to watch: Chase Moen (Cooper City) vs. Miguel Barnes (Fort Lauderdale)
Kabra says: Miret has been our top-ranked heavyweight since the Way-Too-Early rankings came out last spring. He’s also not lost this season. The match we will be watching is the potential quarterfinal between Massillon and Dickenson.