Region 1A-2: Preview and Predictions
FRIDAY-SATURDAY FEBRUARY 27-28, 2026 - at Weeki Wachee High School
Friday: Weigh-in: 12 p.m. | Wrestling starts: 1:30 p.m.
Saturday: Weigh-in: 8 a.m. | Wrestling starts: 9:30 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 look at each bracket notate where wrestlers are ranked in the Kabra Wrestling Rankings and then start to break it down even more. You can find those rankings marked on the bracket images in the previews this year.
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 they 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). We even have the stickers to hand out.
These previews and predictions are meant to bring excitement to one of the most 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:
Picks made based on current brackets at 10:00 p.m. on February 25, 2026.
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 Jett Johnson (Cocoa Beach)
2. #3 Corbin Helm (Hernando)
3. #13 Vindarious White (Palm Bay)
4. #14 Aiden Frauenfeld (McKeel Academy)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #15 Zackary Myers (Nature Coast); #18 David Serrano (Merritt Island)
Opening round match to watch: #22 Liam McGann (Avon Park) vs. Serrano
Kabra says: Johnson is the long returning state placer in this weight class and after missing the second half of the season due to injury, he’s back and our favorite here. Helm seems a solid pick for the other finalist spot but this podium could look a variety of different ways when the dust settles.
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Asher Cabral (Cocoa Beach)
2. #14 Isaac Reynolds (Citrus)
3. #6 Gavin Najera (Bell Creek)
4. #16 Shane Parrott (Brooksville Central)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #17 Azriel Roberts (Palm Bay); #18 Cameron Flood (Weeki Wachee)
Opening round match to watch: #22 Austin Henderson (Menendez) vs. #21 Jacob Walker (Hernando)
Kabra says: We weren’t expecting Cabral and Najera on the same side of the bracket when this came out, but here we are. The Cocoa Beach seventh grader has wrestled an ambitious schedule and has noteworthy wins and has battled some of the best in the state to tight decisions. Najera is the long returning state qualifier in the field here and has his own set of quality wins. The podium battle should be fun with six wrestlers ranked 14-22 here.
Kabra's Picks
1. #3 Anthony Acquafredda (Cocoa Beach)
2. #7 Makana Tieri (Merritt Island)
3. #11 Braedyn Jones (Crystal River)
4. #14 Damian Quinonez (Mount Dora)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #12 Isaiah Hench (Bell Creek); #16 Jimmikal Jackson (Citrus)
Opening round match to watch: Jackson vs. Clarence Shivers (Palm Bay)
Kabra says: Acquafredda and Tieri could meet in a district final rematch here. The Cocoa Beach junior won that meeting 13-7. This is another bracket with a logjam in the rankings around the 3-4 spots on the podium. We like how the bracket plays out for Jones and Quinonez, but anything could happen here.
Kabra's Picks
1. #8 DJ Dunn (The Villages)
2. #12 Chris Dominguez (Avon Park)
3. #14 Louden Grooms (Lake Weir)
4. #18 Atreyu Contes (Keystone Heights)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #19 Ashton Swanson (Space Coast); #21 Duane Mallory (Cocoa Beach)
Opening round match to watch: Mallory vs. Dallin Filetti (Mount Dora)
Kabra says: This is about as open a region race as you’ll find in this tournament. Dunn and Dominguez both have solid wins this season and while we don’t have in our notes for Grooms, he is one of two here with state tournament experience. Swanson also is a returning state qualifier.
Kabra's Picks
1. #9 Christian Day (Cocoa Beach)
2. #11 Luke Snyder (Crystal River)
3. #14 Matthew Thorn (Menendez)
4. #16 Jackson Bennett (Citrus)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #17 Brayden Austin (Palm Bay); #18 Anthony Rice (Astronaut)
Opening round match to watch: Kollen Staab (Mount Dora) vs. Rice
Kabra says: We foresee a final between Day and Snyder, two district champions that have not faced each other this season. It would also be a meeting between a 7th grader and senior so there’s a few intriguing storylines there. Of course with this deep bracket, nothing is guaranteed here.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Timmy Boda (Merritt Island)
2. #4 Adrian Day (Cocoa Beach)
3. #16 James Copeland (Crystal River)
4. #23 Nikolas Thorn (Menendez)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #24 Curtis Wright (Palatka); Wyatt Bryant (Mulberry)
Opening round match to watch: Thorn vs. Ruslan Molina (Nature Coast)
Kabra says: Boda and Day battled hard in their district final, a match won by the defending state champion from Merritt Island 4-1. They could rekindle that growing rivalry in the final here.
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Landon Quiroga (Merritt Island)
2. #7 Kealan Sieni (Cocoa Beach)
3. #9 John Jones (Avon Park)
4. #12 Jacob Fetzner (Hernando)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #14 Eric Williams (Titusville); #19 Henry Vasquez (Mount Dora)
Opening round match to watch: #21 Jonathan Sawicky (Foundation Christian) vs. Mark Marino (Bishop Moore)
Kabra says: Last week, Quiroga won his fourth-career district title. This week, the Merritt Island senior will look to win his fourth region title too. He’s the favorite here in a weight class that has a dearth of talented wrestlers vying for the state tournament.
Kabra's Picks
1. #3 Wyatt Crouser (Cocoa Beach)
2. #2 Jacob Reber (McKeel Academy)
3. #5 Nolan West (Merritt Island)
4. #16 Terence Shields (Hernando)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #18 Jackson Keller (First Academy-Leesburg); #20 Fran Carrion (Titusville)
Opening round match to watch: Dino Jeudy (FSDB) vs. Fran Carrion (Titusville)
Kabra says: Reber’s only losses have come outside of Class 1A and after getting hurt in the first week of the season, Crouser has been getting back up to speed. Last year’s state finalist, Crouser go back on the good foot with a 7-2 win over West. That’s enough to convince us to go against our rankings and pick him to win.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Gustavo Ferreira (Cocoa Beach)
2. #3 Titus DeYoung (Merritt Island)
3. #7 Kevion Williams (Palm Bay)
4. #12 Drayton Gamradt (Space Coast)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #15 Wilberto Luna (Brooksville Central); #22 Dameon Lopez (Hernando)
Opening round match to watch: Jaiden Esau (Palatka) vs. Christopher Merritt (Weeki Wachee)
Kabra says: Ferreira has been a terror on the mat this season for opponents and has really hit his stride for the Minutemen. He punctuated his season to this point with a technical fall win over #3 DeYoung in last week’s district final. As of right now we have a 1-4 finish for District 1A-8. Will that come true?
Kabra's Picks
1. #4 Aaron Horr (Cocoa Beach)
2. #15 Jamal Hicks (Avon Park)
3. #7 Logan Pericht (Citrus)
4. #18 Levi Chancey (Weeki Wachee)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #17 Evan Chatterton (Menendez); #25 Jerrell Dossous (Space Coast)
Opening round match to watch: Dossous vs. Maddex Meade (Crystal River)
Kabra says: Our pick for the final will take place on Saturday morning here with Horr and Pericht on the same side of the bracket. Hicks looks to be the top pick on the bottom half to reach the final to face the winning of the semifinal on top.
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Angel Prieto (Bishop Moore)
2. #9 Caleb Causey (McKeel Academy)
3. #11 Ciaran Braton (First Academy-Leesburg)
4. #12 Jeremiah Rodriguez (Nature Coast)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #14 Desmond Valdes (Menendez); #16 Dalvin Dallas (Palatka)
Opening round match to watch: Mason Pauliot (Hernando) vs. Carson Bryant (Titusville)
Kabra says: Prieto is a two-time state placer and looks set to take home his first region title this weekend. The action to watch will be on the back side as four wrestlers ranked 11-16 will compete for the final two state bids.
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Tre Driggett (Merritt Island)
2. #3 Colton Fickett (Mount Dora)
3. #4 Kian Blyss (Hernando)
4. #6 Nathan Pond (Cocoa Beach)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #14 James Nielson (Weeki Wachee); #15 Riley Darby (Nature Coast)
Opening round match to watch: #20 Bryce Velez (Citrus) vs. Nielson
Kabra says: The podium looks easy to pick the four on it, though the order could change. But a look deeper at this bracket show six more ranked wrestlers with the capability to shake things up. Driggett is two-time returning state placer, Blyss placed fifth last year and Fickett is a one-time qualifier. Fickett and Blyss are 1-1 against each other this season with Fickett getting the latest win in last week’s district.
Kabra's Picks
1. #5 Jashaun Contegiacomo (Weeki Wachee)
2. #9 Zaid Moore (Crystal River)
3. #20 Dominic Berger (Space Coast)
4. #23 Dashon Tolbert (Mulberry)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Landon Fischer (Cocoa Beach); Chris Brobst (Lake Weir)
Opening round match to watch: Fisher vs. Kaleb Olson (Mount Dora)
Kabra says: We feel like the four on the podium make the most sense as they are the four we have ranked, but this weight class could get a little crazy as the weekend goes. We are more confidence in our picks for the final.
Kabra's Picks
1. #9 Yandel Goyco (Mulberry)
2. #15 Elijah Cardwell (Astronaut)
3. #16 Jeremy Priest (Titusville)
4. #19 Richard Hauter (Crystal River)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #23 William Blair (Hernando); Trevor Peterson (McKeel Academy)
Opening round match to watch: Peterson vs. Muntaser Wadi (FSDB)
Kabra says: Goyco jumped to the heavyweight spot after competing at 215 pounds all season. If he can limit his disadvantage in size, he has the skillset to be the champion here. The podium could look a few different ways here.