Region 1A-2:

Preview and
Predictions

FRIDAY-SATURDAY FEBRUARY 24-

25, 2023 - At Palm Bay 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 1A-2

will play out.

You can print the 1A-2 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

Kabra's Picks

1. #6 Adrian Day (Cocoa Beach)

2. #9 Ernie Covert (Space Coast)

3. #10 Cole Webb (Cocoa)

4. #11 Nick Guy (Weeki Wachee)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong:

Brayden Brown (Mount Dora); Austin
Frauenfeld (McKeel)

Opening round match to watch: Webb

vs. Tyler Baer (Nature Coast)

Kabra says: 2A-8 has three wrestlers in the

top 10 and that has them on the podium - but
watch out for Guy who we are still learning
about but has 23 wins this year.

Kabra's Picks

1. #3 Mario Del Vecchio (Cocoa Beach)

2. #9 Blaine Reed (Crystal River)

3. #10 Kyle Pearson (Hernando)

4. Ethan Reilly (First Academy)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong:

Michael Bonanno (Avon Park); Javon Keys
(Lake Region)

Opening round match to watch: Dante

Sauter (Weeki Wachee) vs. Keys

Kabra says: Del Vecchio has been coming

on strong and looks to be the one to beat
here. A tough quarterfinal matchup looms with
Pearson potentially being his first opponent of
the weekend but he does have a pinfall win
over his this season.

Kabra's Picks

1. #5 Jordyn Valle (Hernando)

2. #15 Ben Goyeneche (Nature Coast)

3. #20 Raymen Jackson (Palm Bay)

4. Dylan Dangle (Mulberry)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong:

Riley Taylor (Space Coast); Gavin Shelley
(McKeel)

Opening round match to watch: Samuel

Deliz (Lake Region) vs. Luke Wilke (The
Villages)

Kabra says: Valle seems to be the class of

the bracket and his main challenge could be a
district final rematch where he won by a pin.

Kabra's Picks

1. #7 Addison Breeding (Weeki Wachee)

2. #10 Mason Medina (Bishop Moore)

3. #12 Presten Pineiro (Astronaut)

4. #15 Kris Hunter (Tenoroc)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong:

#16 Kurtavious Terrell (Avon Park); Dominic
Buckwalter (Nature Coast)

Opening round match to watch: Wyatt

Crouser (Cocoa Beach) vs. Jonathan
Overstreet (The Villages)

Kabra says: Breeding in our favorite

coming in but he hasn’t faced anyone in the
bracket according to our records. If the
bracket plays out the way we drew it up,
Medina has three wins over Hunter.

Kabra's Picks

1. #3 Roman Maldonado (Palm Bay)

2. #8 Kenneth Pritz (Hernando)

3. #11 Zackery Wells (Avon Park)

4. #12 Blaise Nelson (The Villages)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong:

#20 Jacob Reber (McKeel); Noah Bailey
(Mulberry)

Opening round match to watch: Bailey

vs. Elliot Neal (Cocoa Beach)

Kabra says: Maldonado is unbeaten and

will be the favorite in his home gym. The Pirate
senior owns a 7-4 win over Pritz.

Kabra's Picks

1. #3 Ronald Theilacker (Palm Bay)

2. #8 TJ Rodier (Hernando)

3. #17 Jean Benavidez (McKeel)

4. Jayce Charpentier (The Villages)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong:

Chris McDonel (Space Coast); Kaden
Etheridge (Nature Coast)

Opening round match to watch:

McDonel vs. Cebastian Beam (Lake Weir)

Kabra says: Theilacker should win another

region title on his home floor with Rodier the
other top 10 wrestler in the bracket. The back
end of the podium is a toss-up for who might
make it there.

Kabra's Picks

1. #4 DJ Richards (Mount Dora)

2. #10 James Gadson (Hernando)

3. #8 Ricky Bowermaster (Weeki Wachee)

4. Alexis Escobar (Cocoa)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong:

Cade Beke (McKeel); Kolby Alsenday (Avon
Park)

Opening round match to watch: Jaiden

Fields (Lake Region) vs. Robert Hunt (Palm
Bay)

Kabra says: Richards, the 2020 Virginia

state champion, has been solid all season in
one of the toughest weight classes in the state.
He’ll look the region title here to set up for a
big weekend in Kissimmee.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 Nathan Furman (Palm Bay)

2. #6 Daniel Ward (First Academy)

3. #12 Caeden Hadry (Space Coast)

4. #13 Brett Wilke (The Villages)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong:

#14 Shaw Garrett (Hernando); #16 Bradley
Torres (McKeel)

Opening round match to watch: Colton

Fickett (Mount Dora) vs. Antonio Christian
(Lake Region)

Kabra says: Furman is unbeaten on the

season and a favorite to win a region title.
Ward returned from a late season injury for
the postseason, bumping up a weight and
ready to take on the new challenge.

Kabra's Picks

1. #12 Alexander Roman (Avon Park)

2. #18 Payton Godfrey (Crystal River)

3. #20 Anthony Dawson (Mount Dora)

4. Zachary Emery-Foster (Palm Bay)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong:

JJ Hall (Titusville); Richard Keegan (Nature
Coast)

Opening round match to watch:

Maximillian Marino (Bishop Moore) vs.
Deacon Warren (McKeel)

Kabra says: This as much a toss-up of any

region bracket in the state of Florida. I don’t
have much else to say about it. It’s a guessing
game at its best.

Kabra's Picks

1. #3 Brycen Turner (Palm Bay)

2. #5 Owen McNabb (McKeel)

3. #16 Mason Alsobrook (Space Coast)

4. #17 Parker Bryant (Titusville)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong:

Jerclarion Hilton (Avon Park); Grant
Kincannon (The Villages)

Opening round match to watch: Kian

Blyss (Hernando) vs. Shairon Green (Lake
Region)

Kabra says: Turner has a major decision

win over McNabb and at least on paper, it
appears they’re on track to meet again in the
final here.

Kabra's Picks

1. #8 Javarious Jackson (Lake Region)

2. #13 Ben Lietz (McKeel)

3. #10 Joel Velazquez (Crystal River)

4. #16 Jisir Allen (Weeki Wachee)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong:

Elliott Bell (Palm Bay); Dante Johnson-Turner
(Mount Dora)

Opening round match to watch: Allen

vs. Caleb Nation (Mulberry)

Kabra says: A district final rematch could be

in the cards - but will it be a 1A-7 or a 1A-5
repeat?

Kabra's Picks

1. #4 Octavion Osby (Palm Bay)

2. #10 Jayshawn Nantce (Hernando)

3. #11 Jaydon Sheely (Space Coast)

4. #12 Nicholas Caudill (The Villages)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong:

#13 Jordan Jandro (Weeki Wachee);
Carmine Santiago (Avon Park)

Opening round match to watch: Jeremy

Batista (Tavares) vs. Andrew Williams (Nature
Coast)

Kabra says: Osby is the solid favorite here

as the undefeated junior has had a
dominating season, but the rest of the podium
could be any order of four ranked wrestlers.

Kabra's Picks

1. #1 DJ Gillins (Tenoroc)

2. #4 Tim Gray (Crystal River)

3. #7 Omarion James (Lake Region)

4. #16 Russell Fickett (Mount Dora)

Wrestlers who could prove me wrong:

#19 Christopher Brunson (Palm Bay);
Madden Fredenburg (Cocoa Beach)

Opening round match to watch: Carlos

Nolasco (Mulberry) vs. Fredenburg

Kabra says: Gillins continues his quest to

become the school’s first state champion in
any sport. The next step of the journey is a
region title and he could face Gary in the
final, an opponent he beat 2-1 during the
season.