Class 1A state wrestling preview and predictions

BY BRANT PARSONS —Welcome to our 2025 state tournament preview and predictions.

This is yearly tradition that is meant to be both a viewing guide and fun way to look ahead to the best three days of the season.

For this set of predictions, the process didn’t change.

I take each bracket and make notes on it - including Kabra Wrestling rankings - and then play out each match in each bracket to determine the state placers and add a couple wrestlers to watch.

Since these are based on my rankings, and I am fully confident in my rankings, you’ll notice my picks never stray too far from them.

The final standings don’t always match my rankings because some brackets just don’t play out that way - and there are a couple notable times where I take a flyer and disagree with the rankings. I’m a fun guy like that.

What you’ll read in this preview is a snapshot in time on what I felt would happen in this tournament when I wrote the preview. If I was to go through and write it again, I’m sure there are some that would be different. There does tend to be a good deal of scratching out on my brackets when I do this.

As always, there is no bias that goes into these picks and they are meant for entertainment purposes only. I don’t cheer for my bracket to be right, in fact, the most memorable moments related to these previews are the kids that proved me wrong and then told me that they did.

In fact, when I’m covering the state tournament, I often don’t even remember the picks that I made. I’m too excited just watching the great action.

Best of luck to each of the state qualifiers that will compete this weekend. Just reaching the state tournament is such a tremendous accomplishment and no matter what you do this weekend at Silver Spurs Arena, you are a success that has accomplished great things through this powerful sport.

And if you prove Kabra wrong, please let me know, we have a sticker for you.

The Picks

Team Race

Final standings

1. Mater Lakes Academy

2. Zephyrhills Christian

3. Cardinal Gibbons

4. Merritt Island

5. First Baptist

Predicted total state champions

2 - Cardinal Gibbons, First Baptist, Mater Lakes Academy, Suwannee, Zephyrhills Christian

1 - Merritt Island, Palm Bay, St. John Neuman, The Villages

Predicted state placers

10 - Zephyrhills Christian

9 - Mater Lakes Academy

6 - Cardinal Gibbons, Cocoa Beach, Merritt Island

5 - St. John Neuman, Suwannee

4 - First Baptist, Hernando, North Bay Haven

3 - Aubrey Rogers, Wakulla, Yulee

2 - Bayshore, Bishop Verot, Episcopal, Florida High, Fort Myers Evangelical, Lake Weir, Miami Christian, Palm Bay, Weeki Wachee, Wewahitchka

1 - Baker County, Bell Creek, Bishop Moore, Bolles, Cardinal Newman, CCC, Chamberlain, Cocoa, Fernandina Beach, Key West, King's Academy, Lemon Bay, Liberty County, Lincoln Park, McKeel Academy, Oasis, Pine Crest, Robinson, Rocky Bayou Christian, SLAM Academy, South Walton, Tarpon Springs, The Villages, True North

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Eli Jolicoeur (Suwannee)

2. #3 Cale Wimberly (Zephyrhills Christian)

3. #2 Elijah Castanon (Miami Christian)

4. #4 Bryce Stone (Bell Creek)

5. #5 Benito Barnhart (St. John Neumann)

6. #7 Hudson Sweitzer (Bishop Verot)

7. #6 Jett Johnson (Cocoa Beach)

8. #8 Luke Piedrahita (True North)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #9 Gemarri Daniel (Robinson); #11 Thiago Finuff (Liberty County)

First round matches you can't miss: Johnson vs. Sweitzer; #12 Costa Tuttle (Coral Shores) vs. Finuff

Kabra says: One of the weight classes where the potential semifinal screamed out at me when I first pulled up the brackets. Jolicoeur is our favorite here and has wins over most of his competition here, except his potential quarterfinal opponent Stone. The Suwannee senior and four-time state qualifier beat Castanon 7-1 this season and beat Wimberly 9-4. The bottom half could get interesting and if Barnhart makes his way to the final, he wrestled Jolicouer tight, losing 1-0. A first round match that we’ll be making sure to check out is the Johnson-Sweitzer bout. Both are ranked high in Kabra Wrestling’s rankings.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Kellen Mesina (Mater Lakes Academy)

2. #2 Lukah Zherka (Aubrey Rogers)

3. #3 Anthony Acquafredda (Cocoa Beach)

4. #4 Jason Ramirez (SLAM Academy)

5. #5 Everett Stephens (First Baptist-Naples)

6. #7 Koa DeLoach (North Bay Haven)

7. #6 Erik Perez (St. John Neumann)

8. #11 Logan Bajor (Cardinal Gibbons)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #8 Nicholas Guy (Weeki Wachee); #9 Tyler Johnson (Wewahitchka)

First round matches you can't miss: Ramirez vs. Guy; Bajor vs. #12 Scott Knight (Crystal River)

Kabra says: 4x state qualifier and 1x state placer Mesina leads a solid field at 113 pounds. The road won’t be an easy one with a potential Perez, Acquafredda/Stephens, and Zherka/Ramirez run to the final. Mesina does have a 4-0 win over Perez this season and has beaten Ramirez twice, 2-0 and 1-0. The top quad is loaded with Deloach, Dean, Ramirez, and Guy. All four of them have podium potential.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Keagan Mesina (Mater Lakes Academy)

2. #2 Preston Neufeld (North Bay Haven)

3. #3 Izak Rodriguez (Zephyrhills Christian)

4. #4 Bekim Zherka (Aubrey Rogers)

5. #5 William McGowan (St. John Neumann)

6. #6 Justin Contreras (Suwannee)

7. #8 Matthew Thaxton (Wakulla)

8. #9 Louden Grooms (Lake Weir)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #7 Kaden Barrial (Merritt Island); #10 Leland Flaherty (Fort Myers Evangelical)

First round matches you can't miss: Grooms vs. Thaxton; Barrial vs. Contreras

Kabra says: Mesina enters his first state tournament as the favorite at 120 pounds. If we get a 1-2 final here with Mesina-Neufeld, it should be a good one. The Mater Lakes freshman won their meeting during the season 6-3. The bottom half of the bracket is likely the one to watch around Mesina with six of the Top 9 competing and first round matches that will play a huge role in how the podium shapes up. Accorindg to Kabra Wrestling’s bracket, the loser of the Barrial-Contreras opener will face a tough road to placing.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Alex Giglietti (Merritt Island)

2. #3 Broc Dahlin (Bayshore)

3. #2 Jack Oliver (Lemon Bay)

4. #4 Ethan Tran (Mater Lakes Academy)

5. #5 William Harvey (Wakulla)

6. #6 Zion Wimberly (Zephyrhills Christian)

7. #7 Damien Zherka (Aubrey Rogers)

8. #9 Cole Webb (Cocoa)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #8 Jordan Anderson (Hudson); #10 Dylan Lunsford (Bishop Kenny)

First round matches you can't miss: Webb vs. Lunsford; Wimberly vs. #11 Rylan Milian (Suwannee)

Kabra says: At Kabra Wrestling, we try to do lots of research to get ready for our previews and picks. We had to get into the way-back machine for this one with Giglietti topping Oliver 3-1 back in the 2023 Super 32 Early Entry. A lot has changed since then but they are also two of the top wrestlers in the weight class here so we used that in our rankings this week. Last season, Giglietti placed fifth in 3A for Viera while both Oliver and Dahlin reached the state final in their weight class. The 1A-11 district rivals have given us some great moments this season with Dahlin winning their regular season meeting 6-4 and Oliver winning their two matches so far in the postseason. The three of them are all capable of winning a state title here.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Lincoln Sledzianowski (St. John Neumann)

2. #2 Chris Greene (Mater Lakes Academy)

3. #3 Jasper Croom (Florida High)

4. #4 Landon Quiroga (Merritt Island)

5. #5 Mikah Ikeda (Episcopal of Jacksonville)

6. #6 Nevin Hayes (Zephyrhills Christian)

7. #7 Adrian Day (Cocoa Beach)

8. #8 Jake Parker (Wewahitchka)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #9 Viktor Swain (CCC); #10 Jonathon Walker (Baker County)

First round matches you can't miss: #12 Abram Canet (Key West) vs. Day; Parker vs. Swain

Kabra says: Sledzianowski returned to Florida this season after two years at Bishop McCort in Pennsylvania. As an eighth grader at Somerset, he finished third at 106 pounds. He’s one of the biggest favorites we see in Class 1A. The rest of the bracket here at 132 is noticeable for being unexceptional. The four region champs all have fair draws to reach the semifinals and even the quarterfinals don’t have any potential gotcha matches. In the team race, Kabra Wrestling’s bracket has an interesting match in consolations at 1318 with Hayes and Day possibly meeting up with a spot in the consi semis on the line. Hayes owns a sudden victory between the two.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Jonathan Moder (First Baptist-Naples)

2. #4 Timothy Boda (Merritt Island)

3. #2 Yianni Marinis (Zephyrhills Christian)

4. #5 Anthony O'Dell (Mater Lakes Academy)

5. #3 Kealan Sieni (Cocoa Beach)

6. #7 Cael Kubatzke (Fernandina Beach)

7. #6 Jay Brown (Liberty County)

8. #8 Daniel Ellis (Robinson)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #9 David Drake (Bay); #11 Ryan Winters (King's Academy)

First round matches you can't miss: Sieni vs. Ellis; Winters vs. Drake

Kabra says: Moder owns the distinction of having appeared in three state finals thus far in his career and the junior is looking to return there a fourth time and this time finish on top. If he does so, he’ll so it in one of the deepest brackets in Class 1A. Region champion Marinis could be a tough hurdle to get past in the semifinals and any of Sieni, Boda, O’Dell, or Brown could be in the final. The quarterfinals in the top half will be matches to watch on Friday morning too.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Talon Maple (Zephyrhills Christian)

2. #2 Ricky Bowermaster (Weeki Wachee)

3. #3 Jack Mulnix (North Bay Haven)

4. #4 Keaton Ellis (Florida High)

5. #5 Andrew Isek (Cardinal Gibbons)

6. #7 Jareb Lauramore (Baker County)

7. #6 Nate Jacobs (Wakulla)

8. #8 Ryo Ushikubo (King's Academy)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #9 Wyatt Crouser (Cocoa Beach); #10 Nolan West (Merritt Island)

First round matches you can't miss: Ushikubo vs. Crouser; Lauramore vs. #11 Jaymin Saunoris (Lemon Bay)

Kabra says: On paper, this looks like Maple’s bracket. The Zephyrhills senior has placed three times in his career and reached the final last year where he fell to First Baptist’s Michael Kersey, who unfortunately was unable to compete this postseason. Maple has two wins over Bowermaster, who could come out of the top half of the bracket. The Weeki Wachee senior will be in the mix with Mulnix, Ushikubo, and Lauramore. The Baker County senior placed fifth here last year. Ellis and Isek should battle for a spot in the semifinals opposite Maple. Ellis is a two-time state qualifier and Isek placed twice in Colorado.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Asher Bacon (First Baptist-Naples)

2. #2 Gavin Nolan (CCC)

3. #4 Bryan Picallo (Cardinal Gibbons)

4. #3 Mason O'Dell (Mater Lakes Academy)

5. #5 Noah Leota (Hernando)

6. #6 Cade Beke (McKeel Academy)

7. #7 Aiden Hutchins (Zephyrhills Christian)

8. #8 Titus DeYoung (Merritt Island)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #9 Terence Hinson (Florida High); #10 Julian Bell (Anclote)

First round matches you can't miss: Hinson vs. DeYoung; Hutchins vs. #11 Alex Solorio (Rutherford)

Kabra says: There are three state champions in this bracket. Nolan is a three-time state champion and looking to join the exclusive four-timer club this weekend. Bacon won a state title last year in the seventh grade for First Baptist and in 2023, O’Dell won a state title at 106 pounds. We’ve already seen Bacon and Nolan square up one with Bacon winning the region title 4-2 this past Saturday. His reward is getting O’Dell on his side of the bracket. Nolan gets an arguably deeper half with Picallo-Leota possibly battling to reach the semifinal.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Marshall White (Suwannee)

2. #2 Andres DiGrigoli (First Baptist-Naples)

3. #3 Javier Lopez (Zephyrhills Christian)

4. #4 Kenny Alvarado (Mater Lakes Academy)

5. #5 Judge DeYoung (Merritt Island)

6. #6 Trenton Hogan (Lincoln Park)

7. #8 Diego Maysonet (Weeki Wachee)

8. #9 Joseph Conrad (Fort Myers Evangelical)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #7 Thiago Vianna (Admiral Farragut); #11 Camden Garcia (Providence School)

First round matches you can't miss: #13 Andrew Chen (Pine Crest) vs. Garcia; DeYoung vs. Vianna; Maysonet vs. Conrad

Kabra says: In last year’s third-place match, White topped DiGrigoli 7-3. This year the undefeated White and three-time region champ DiGrigoli are favorites to meet again - this time in the final. There are a few results that can color this bracket for you with DiGrigoli owning a 4-1 decision win this season. Along with this third-place win last season, White has two wins over Lopez this season, a 4-3 decision and win in sudden victory. In Kabra Wrestling’s bracket, we have Lopez and Alvarado in the third place match in what could be a key team race bout. Lopez won their meeting this season 8-1.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Kyle Gallo (Zephyrhills Christian)

2. #2 Kalias Nazario (Mater Lakes Academy)

3. #3 Frankie Florio (Cardinal Gibbons)

4. #4 Bear Siegal (North Bay Haven)

5. #5 Michael McNair (Yulee)

6. #6 Angel Prieto (Bishop Moore)

7. #9 Nicholas Pawlak (Tarpon Springs)

8. #10 Torynn Johns (Suwannee)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #7 Tre Driggett (Merritt Island); #8 Alexander Roman (Avon Park)

First round matches you can't miss: Siegal vs. Roman; Driggett vs. McNair

Kabra says: We’ll get to it in a moment, but this bracket turns into a mess on the back-end. Gallo is our favorite coming in with a sudden victory win over Nazario when they met this season. That could be a key team race final too. It won’t be an easy path to the final for Gallo, who potentially has Florio and Siegal on the way there. If Florio should prevail there, Nazario is 5-0 between the two of them this season. First round matches between top 8 wrestler in Siegal-Roman and Diggett-McNair could see the losers in each not make the podium. We’ll be watching the consis in this weight class as close as the championship side because it will get interesting fast.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Jonathan Clohecy (The Villages)

2. #3 Alfredo Corrales (Key West)

3. #2 Xavier Barnhart (St. John Neumann)

4. #5 Gibson Moore (South Walton)

5. #4 Bennett Sweitzer (Bishop Verot)

6. #7 Courtland Campbell (Merritt Island)

7. #6 Shaw Garrett (Hernando)

8. #9 Nathan Lang (Cardinal Newman)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #8 Jordan Haigler (Florida High); #11 Clay Starling (Suwannee)

First round matches you can't miss: Campbell vs. Sweitzer; #10 Darian Vargas (Mater Lakes Academy) vs. Haigler

Kabra says: Two-time New York state placer Clohecy has dominated his competition this season. According to our records, the first wrestler to score an offensive point on his this season was Garrett in their region final meeting last week. To be fair, we haven’t see Clohecy against any other of his competition here and that’s what makes a potential semifinal with Barnhart one of our semis to watch. The well-coached Barnhart reached the Knockout finals this season and knows what it’s like to wrestle one of the best in the country so he won’t be intimidated on Friday. The top half of the bracket could see the two favorites meet in the quarterfinal in Corrales and Sweitzer. The Key West senior owns a 6-5 decision victory this season between the two.

Kabra's Picks

1. #2 Peter Mocco (Cardinal Gibbons)

2. #3 Jeremiah Chavis (Hernando)

3. #1 Damian Soto (Mater Lakes Academy)

4. #4 Christopher Brunson (Palm Bay)

5. #5 Derek Washington Jr. (Fort Myers Evangelical)

6. #7 Christian McGarity (Episcopal of Jacksonville)

7. #6 Clay Nelson (Rocky Bayou Christian)

8. #8 Curtis Tyler (Zephyrhills Christian)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #10 Arron McCarty (Robinson); #12 Grant Silverfield (Bolles)

First round matches you can't miss: McGarity vs. McCarty; Silverfield vs. #11 Kaleb Mathis (Lakewood)

Kabra says: Oh this bracket got even more interesting on Saturday when Soto topped Mocco in the region final in sudden victory. In the match, won 13-10 by the Mater Lakes senior, Soto raced out to a 9-1 lead after two only to have Mocco battle back to tie the match at 10-10 before the winning takedown in the extra frame. The reward for his win is Chavis in the semifinal. The Hernando freshman reached the final last year and fell to Mocco in the third period. Since that moment, he has been on a self-professed “vision quest” to change that outcome. Along with the three favorites, an intriguing quarterfinal match between Brunson and Washington could take place in the top half of the bracket and the round to get onto the podium in the consolations should have plenty of fireworks.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Michael Mocco (Cardinal Gibbons)

2. #2 Phoenix Barbour-Yerka (Yulee)

3. #3 Frederick Harley (Oasis Charter)

4. #4 Calvin Ross (Wewahitchka)

5. #5 Nathan Pond (Cocoa Beach)

6. #6 Koleton Washington (Chamberlain)

7. #7 Kian Blyss (Hernando)

8. #8 Brett Bearden (Bolles)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #10 Tyler Simms (Robinson); #12 Lexander Coleman-Tunsil (Lakewood)

First round matches you can't miss: Ross vs. Washington; Bearden vs. Simms

Kabra says: World champion Mocco is not just the biggest favorite this weekend, but Kabra Wrestling believes he’s the best wrestler in the building along with Mya Bethel on the girls side. The biggest question might be how he tops the sunglass celebration from last year’s title win. That doesn’t mean there aren’t things to watch here. Kabra Wrestling’s #2 and #3 both ended up on the other side of the bracket, so we would get a true second place finisher in the bracket if one reaches the final and Mocco prevails. Yerka and Harley have not faced each other this year. A super tough first round match will take place here too with Ross and Washington meeting on Thursday with a possible follow-up bout with Pond in the quarters.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Leonard Christian (Palm Bay)

2. #2 Nathan Chen (Pine Crest)

3. #3 Madden Fredenburg (Cocoa Beach)

4. #4 Cayden Ricks (Yulee)

5. #6 Jayden Shannon (Bayshore)

6. #7 Holden Corbin (Suwannee)

7. #5 Joel Smith (Lake Weir)

8. #8 Spencer Voss (Miami Christian)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #9 Taylor Davenport (Baldwin); #10 Nathan Greenfield (Merritt Island)

First round matches you can't miss: #12 Jordan Diaz (Miami Sunset) vs. Corbin; Voss vs. Davenport; Greenfield vs. Shannon

Kabra says: The heavyweights in Florida are going to make you want to stick around to the end this year with deep brackets across the Silver Spurs Arena floor. Christian is the favorite here. The Knockout champion is undefeated and is 3-0 in all close matches against Fredenburg this season. The Cocoa Beach sophomore won their third place match here last year. The top of this bracket is one oft he toughest in Class 1A with Chen, Fredenburg, Ricks, and Smith all set to line up for quarterfinal bouts. Fredenburg owns a 1-0 win over Ricks. Earning an escape and then riding him out to win their meeting. Chen is a two-time state placer and could face the 40-win Smith before setting up a can’t-miss semifinal.

Brant Parsons is the founder and executive editor of Kabra Wrestling. He has been covering high school wrestling in Florida since 2004.

He can be reached at brant@kabrawrestling.com.

Previous

2025 Class 2A State Preview/Predictions
Next

2025 Girls State Preview/Predictions