Class 3A brackets
106
Briar Jackson, 10, 50-5, Fleming Island
Key opponents: Bretli Reyna, South Dade, 9, 54-0, in semifinals; Christian Sheppard, Flagler, 10, 31-15. Note: Reyna beat Jackson 12-3 at Osceola Knockout Tournament semifinals in December.
Outlook: Jackson has been on a tear in second half of season with Clay and Flagler Rotary wins, a district and region title and a ferocity that will portend well at state. In the state bracket, there are only four upperclassmen and no returners from last year’s roster which is a good thing, but Reyna looks to be the target with an unbeaten record. Tyler Forrest, a sophomore at Riverview High, is also unbeaten, but in Reyna’s side of the bracket so one of them will have a loss by Saturday.

113
Albie Snedaker, 11, 17-1, Fleming Island (106 state qualifier in 2016, 2-1, lost to Ryan Boncamper, MIKI, by pin)
Ryan Rosano, 11, 41-8, Oakleaf, (113 state qualifier, 1-2, lost 4-3 to Freedom’s Marcus Jean Baptiste in consolations)
Key Opponents: Elijah Varona, 12, 54-1, South Dade, 106 champion 2016.
Snedaker returned to the lineup at Clay Rotary after a back injury and has competed hard and fast at his new weight with district and region title, but the faces at state will be familiar with Donovan Ortiz, formerly of Wellington, now at St. Thomas Aquinas (40-13) and Ryan Boncamper of Miami Killian (34-9) in Snedaker’s bracket. The newcomer is Saul Mayorga, a junior from Osceola (22-9). Boncamper knocked Snedaker out in the consolation quarterfinals by pin. Both could meet in the quarterfinals.
Rosano, who opens with Michael Bush of Sarasota (48-9, fifth at 106 in 2016), struggled to get through from regions, but can provide a Fleming Island v. Oakleaf semifinal if he and Snedaker survive their gauntlets with Varona probably awaiting them in the finals.

120
Deandre Demus, 10, 37-11, Fleming Island, (state qualifier 0-2)
Demus traveled to state last year with a tweaked knee and got knocked out after his first two matches; the first loss to eventual state champion Alex Victor of Braddock of Miami. This year, Demus has duked it out with Flagler Palm Coast’s Michael DeAugustino, the runnerup at 120, and has yet to find the formula to not beat DeAugustino in four close matches.
Both could meet for a state title in the finals, but the road is very bumpy on both ends with DeAugustino pitted against Malyke Hines of Osceola on his side of the bracket and Demus bracketed with South Dade’s Tyler Orta-Khawly (48-9) and Edward Mar Craig V, a senior at Manatee at 56-1, who was third at 113 last year.

126
Jacob Sandoval, 11, 38-16, Fleming Island (state qualifier 1-2)
Sandoval has been a just-miss performer for the season with close matches being his forte until the third period. Flagler’s Avery Holder (11, 46-1, fifth at 113 in 2016) is at top of bracket and top seeded and a possible semifinal match should Sandoval advance. Sandoval’s bracket has seasoned upperclassmen all with lots of wins and a handful of losses.

132
Trace Insalaco, 10, 38-9, Fleming Island
Insalaco is new addition to Fleming Island team and comes with Flagler Palm Coast experience though without state meet fervor. Insalaco, whose older brother Evan was fifth at 145 last year and is now at Southeastern University, is tough, slick competitor with surprise moves in his back pocket, but his first opponent is St. Thomas Aquinas veteran Vinny Sessa, a junior that finished at 126 last year with a second round loss to eventual champion Jordan Marshall of Merritt Island. Should he get by Sessa, there are two senior veterans awaiting; either Jose-Ignac Fuertes of Cypress Bay (58-6) or Jose Cuevas of Osceola (52-11).

152
Paul Detwiler, 11, 50-4, Fleming Island (state qualifier 2-1 in 2016)
Detwiler has been the talk of 152 pounds state wide with Winter Springs foe Dimitri Alicea going to 145 to avoid him at regions this year. Alicea knocked Detwiler around last year at 138, but the newer, bigger Detwiler has proven his mettle against Alicea this year. Detwiler’s losses have been to 1A powerhouses Anthony Artalona at Tampa Prep and Lake Highland Prep’s Jake Brindley. The other two losses, unfortunately, have come from South Dade’s Todd Perry who is on the bottom end of the 152 bracket. Detwiler beat Perry at the Super 32 Regional, but Perry had the upper hand twice at Osceola’s Knockout with a 4-3 quarterfinals’ win and a 6-2 win for third place. Detwiler’s state bracket, with 138 third placer Anthony Kinsey of Miami Southridge (8-4) a second round matchup, seems undaunting to semifinals with St. Thomas Aquinas senior Bryce Marcus (40-3), who beat Perry in the Knockout semifinal, a prime timer who nearly pinned Artalona twice at the Osceola Knockout before eventually losing 12-8 in a thriller.

160
Ben Sann, 12, 17-5, Fleming Island
For his return to wrestling after a two-year hiatus, give credit to a brave guy traversing some pretty treacherous waters. Sann got through to districts pretty comfortably, but met with Winter Springs’ 160 state runnerup Max Wohlabaugh and it was ugly. Wohlabaugh banged up the slight-built Sann as a favor to keep the rivalry fires going between Fleming Island coach P.J.Cobbert and Winter Springs’ coach Scott Gomrad who enjoyed each other’s company as the Golden Eagles took a dominating region title from the former dominant team in the region for a second year in a row.
Sann is a good candidate for a comeback of the year nod just for getting to the state meet.

182
Jason Davis, 12, 44-2, Fleming Island (Third at 195, 2A with Oakleaf High 2015, 3A with Fleming Island 2016)

Davis is the leader of his brethren in the upper weights for Cobbert and the Golden Eagles and is the standout leader by example for the fairly young team. He will be the target at the state meet with Winter Springs’ Jason DeGroat maybe harboring some ill will from regions, but Davis should be on top of the podium come Saturday.
South Dade junior Corey Harvey was a top seed last year but got benched early (0-2) from George Schanck of Orlando Evans, formerly of Ocoee. Both Shanck and Harvey were early outs last year. Seniors dominated the lineup for 182 last year.

195
Ryan Smenda, 11, 45-5, Fleming Island (Third at 182 2016)

Smenda, by virtue of a last second slip up against Fletcher’s Narek Stepanyan in the region final, is not at the top of the brackets despite a quick pin of Stepanyan a week prior in the district final.
That being said, Smenda’s bracket features two unbeatens; senior Josiah Gittman of St.Thomas Aguinas and Marshal Sweet, a senior from Miami Killian at 31-0. Should he get to the final, Stepanyan, whose first rounder last year at state was South Dade champ Chei Hill, will probably go through his own unbeaten in Kevin Clayton, a senior from East Bay High (65-0).

220
Brandyne Mackey, 12, 31-7, Fleming Island

Mackey switched with teammate Jose Concepcion to match his 215 pounds up against 220-ers instead of 285-ers and he has survived mainly on escapability. Mackey gets a quick look at the state’s best guy in South Dade’s Chei Hill, the defending champion who is 54-0. Hill knocked Jason Davis out in the semifinals with a wicked pin, so Mackey should get some coach pointers before that match.

285

Jose Concepcion, 11, 50-10, Fleming Island (state qualifier at 220, 1-2)

Concepcion is lucky on one look because two biggies; Winter Springs’ T.J. Boyd (51-5), last year’s top seed, and South Dade defending champion Kyron Taylor (45-0) are in their own bracket below Concepcion. That leaves Concepcion two matches to warmup to face either of the two. If that happens and Concepcion gets to the final, defending 220 champion Dylan Meeks of Dr. Phillips (23-0), state qualifier Jordan Earle of FHC (49-1) and Hagerty’s Christian Gomez (46-10) all await him up there.


Class 2A Brackets

106
Tazz Hampton, 9, 28-16, Middleburg

Hampton will get a first state meet trial by fire. First match is against Anthony Valverde, a senior from South Broward who finished fourth last year at 106. If that goes well, state qualifier Chase Ayers of Pasco, who lost to Valverde in last year’s first round, may be next. At the top of the bracket is Cochran from Tate.

120
Marcus Reid, 12, 6-0, Ridgeview, (Third in 2A last year)

Reid has beaten some pretty good guys all year including 3A-Osceola’s Malyke Hines, and matches up pretty good in his bracket until the semifinal where he may face Diamonte Perry, of Land O’Lakes, the 2A runnerup at 113 last year. Alex Porter of Tate, sixth at 113 last year, also lurks on Reid’s side of the bracket.

138
Saeid Ejmali, 10, 39-10, Ridgeview (0-2 in 2A state meet)
Emjali lost his first state match in overtime to third place finisher Lawrence Scrivens of Brandon last year and wants his second shot. If Ejmali makes the final, Jalen Soto, a junior at (25th in 2A 2016) Cypress Lake, awaits him with a 41-1 record. Soto was runnerup last year at 132.

170
Nartorian Lee, 12, 53-5, Orange Park (state qualifier, finished 1-2)

Lee and Creekside’s Brandon Dickman would make a nice story for this final and that’s how it would play out if both kept winning. Venice (8th in 2A 2016) senior Luke Veigel is Lee’s second match and was fourth last year. Travis Williams, from Springstead, was a state qualifier last year at 1-2 and is Veigel’s first match.

182
Bryan Heflin, 11, 37-12, Middleburg; Reed Danielson, 11, 33-11, Orange Park

Danielson opens with state qualifier Arlen Dean of Palm Bay (11th in 2A 2016) while Heflin is up against very good freshman Chad Nix (48-6) of Jensen Beach (6th in 2A 2016)). After that, Danielson has Brandon (2A champs) senior Alex Popke with his 73-4 record. Heflin has region champion Jonathan Grant of Leon (8th in 2A 2016) for a possible semifinal opponent on Saturday.

220
Tyler DeHart, 12, 45-11, Orange Park
DeHart has slimmed down from his football weight and has improved steadily all year. DeHart’s first match is state qualifier Kelton Wilemon of Lake Weir who was a top drawer last year, but lost his first match to runnerup Jesse Pryor of 2A runnerups Riverdale Fort Myers and never recovered with a second loss to Middleburg’s Ammon Meeks in consolations. Caden Norris, a senior at Merritt Island, comes in as the region 4-2Achampion and a state qualifier last year, but he also was a quick out last year.

Class 1A Brackets

106
Lou Gagliardo, 10, 43-6, Clay (Fifth 2A 106)
Gagliardo went through a pretty tough gauntlet last year as a freshman with guys like Ben Buhler of Tampa Prep, Carson Kirk of Astronaut and finally, eventual 2016 champion Ryan Chauvin of Lake Highland Prep in the semifinal; lost 11-2, before defeating Brandon Trask of Suwannee to take fifth.
This year, Gagliardo has Dylan Kohn, eighth grade brother to Devin Kohn, a state third placer at 120 last year, in his bracket as a second rounder, Carson Kirk as a second rounder and Trask or a younger Wohltman, Jake, of Lake Highland Prep, as possible finals opponents. Wohltman is little brother to Mason Wohltman, 120 champion last year also from Lake Highland Prep.

120
Chris Merring, 12, 30-5, Clay (Runnerup to Lake Highland Prep Noah Castillo at 113 2016)
Merring has been scorched Earth good from about January on after a knee tweak at Osceola’s Knockout tournament and is geared for another strong state run. Another young Lake Highland Prep guy, sophomore Vincent Menozzi lurks as a semifinal opponent with Louis Cortez of Astronaut a tough second rounder as he was last year (Merring pinned him). After that, as a finalist, there is an eighth grader from Somerset, Lucas Willis with a 51-4 record. Who Knows? Castillo was an eighth grader once.

126
Peyton Hughes, 10, 31-5, Clay
Hughes has been a strong lineup guy for coach Jim Reape and a reliable battler. Untested at the state level, Hughes brings a chip on his shoulder for missing last year behind either freshman Dylan Taylor at 120, who went last year, but missed this year and senior Dale Browning, a seasoned veteran at 126 with four state visits. Now, it is Peyton’s turn.
Castillo is on the other side of his bracket, but he is with Max Metcalf of Florida High, Ethan Pickren of Arnold, whom Hughes has beaten twice, and once beaten (19-1) Hector Candelaria of Somerset. Between the aforementioned four, the battle for a coveted semifinal position will be ruthless while Hughes will contend probably with Devin Kohn, from The Master’s Academy, who fnished third at 120 at Bishop Moore last year.

132
Dylan Fabiani, 11, 28-15, Clay
Fabiani is an electrifying, acrobatic wrestler than can surprise your standard operating guy with a quick roll. That being said, Joey Silva, state champ from Lake Highland Prep, will be his second round guy. If he makes that happen, that’s a high school career. Next up, William Pickren, fourth in 2016; lost to Mason Wohltman in semifinals, in the final. Beat Pickren and Fabiani is legend.

145
Keath Sawdo, 12, 46-5, Clay (Fifth in 2016 145)
Good news for Sawdo, Anthony Artalona of Tampa Prep and Jake Brindley of Lake Highland Prep, two guys with five state titles and two national titles between them, have moved to 152 and 160, respectively. Artalona beat Sawdo in quarters, Brindley beat Artalona in finals. Enough said. Door now is wide open for Sawdo with mostly new faces although Lake Highland Prep freshman Kai Bele (44-5) and Jake Richardson of Florida High (40-9) sit in bracket below Sawdo.

195
Kaleb Collins, 12, 42-9, Clay (Third 195 2016)
Collins has muscled through the year with a less than stellar elbow and a cumbersome brace, but he is a survivor. Ironically, Cam Brown of Florida High, the guy Collins beat for third last year, put Collins, via a semifinal win over Collins, in the third place spot at the 2017 region meet. Collins has Cardinal Gibbons unbeaten senior Christopher Williams (38-0) as a second round opponent possibility. Williams beat Brown to become the eventual runnerup last year.

220
Kurt Jackson, 12, 46-3, Clay (State qualifier in 2A with Middleburg)
Jackson has used his brutish strength with some Blue Devil style for big success this year and could be a haymaker at state. Second rounder Judas MacKenzie of Dunnellon (44-5) lost in last year’s semifinals to state runnerup Scott Tollison and fought back to finish fifth. MacKenzie beat Clay’s Jeremy Beaulieu in that round two last year. Jackson’s likely semifinal opponent should be Lake Highland Prep junior and state champion Ben Goldin (45-6). Beat him, move on to toy with a handful of state qualifiers that finished in consolation rounds with Atlantic Port Orange’s Matt Whitehouse finishing third the top candidate out.