Region 1A-3: Preview and Predictions
FRIDAY-SATURDAY FEBRUARY 27-28, 2026 - at Bayshore High School
Friday: Weigh-in: 10 a.m. | Wrestling starts: 11:30 a.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-3 will play out.
You can print the 1A-3 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. #6 Greyson McDonald (St. John Neumann)
2. #11 Mason McLemore (Robinson)
3. #16 Ice McCormick (Fort Myers Evangelical)
4. #17 Bradley French (Admiral Farragut)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #21 Collyn Mihelic (Berkeley Prep); #25 Jace Frederickson (Dunedin)
Opening round match to watch: Chuck Haas (Canterbury) vs. Gabriel Hartman (Bayshore)
Kabra says: McDonald has been steady a a freshman this season for St. John Neumann. He and McLemore have not faced each other so it could make for an exciting final here.
Kabra's Picks
1. #5 James Sanders (St. John Neumann)
2. #12 Logan Dean (Lemon Bay)
3. #8 Declyn Wilson (SLAM Tampa)
4. #13 Yanuel Pantoja (Bayshore)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #15 Cameron Papp (Oasis); #25 Jeffery Croft (Dunedin)
Opening round match to watch: Cameron Davis (Robinson) vs. Tommy Bury (Cardinal Mooney)
Kabra says: Sanders is another solid St. John Neumann freshman who has been making his mark this season. We’ll have our top-two ranked wrestlers potentially meeting in the semifinal here. Sanders is 2-0 this season against Wilson, with one of them being a sudden victory decision. Dean hasn’t faced Sanders or Wilson but owns a 7-3 district final win over Pantoja.
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Benito Barnhart (St. John Neumann)
2. #4 Everett Stephens (Aubrey Rogers)
3. #6 Hudson Sweitzer (Bishop Verot)
4. #8 Luke Ladle (Cardinal Mooney)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #10 Benjamin Iorio (SLAM Tampa); #13 Thomas Kupsch (Anclote)
Opening round match to watch: Cornelius Bristol (Admiral Farragut) vs. Quentin Smith (Booker)
Kabra says: Barnhart amazingly returned from a serious injury at the Knockout. He sat out the district final but has had another week to get back into rhythm and we could see he and Stephens meet in the final here. With five wrestlers in the Top 10 here, one top wrestler will be left behind on Saturday afternoon.
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Erik Perez (St. John Neumann)
2. #4 Lukah Zherka (Aubrey Rogers)
3. #22 Tyler Kupsch (Anclote)
4. #24 Jeremiah Coleman (Bayshore)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Kimontae Keyes (Robinson); Isaac Leota (SLAM Tampa)
Opening round match to watch: Leota vs. Kaydon Hoang (Island Coast)
Kabra says: After losing last year’s district final to him, Perez bounced back to beat Zherka this season and owns a 2-0 series record this season. Those two are miles ahead of the field on paper and should have a third meeting here.
Kabra's Picks
1. #4 Bekim Zherka (Aubrey Rogers)
2. #6 Leland Flaherty (Fort Myers Evangelical)
3. #7 Jalal Naghib (St. John Neumann)
4. #10 Tiago Passos (Bishop Verot)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #21 Josh Jines (Lemon Bay); #22 Jacob Maye (Seminole)
Opening round match to watch: Passos vs. Maye
Kabra says: District 1A-12 is a favorite here as we have all four wrestlers from that podium repeating their spots here. The question here is if there is anyone in this field that can break those four up?
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Broc Dahlin (Bayshore)
2. #8 Damien Zherka (Aubrey Rogers)
3. #10 Michael Rodriguez (Dunedin)
4. #12 Russ Haas (St. John Neumann)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #20 Viktor Swain (CCC); #21 Justus Hatch (Lemon Bay)
Opening round match to watch: Haas vs. John Garcia-Fernandez (Jefferson)
Kabra says: Dahlin has twice finished as region runner-up and is the favorite to take home his first region crown this weekend. On the other half of the bracket is Zherka, a two-time state qualifier who has a much easier path to the final on the bottom side.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Lincoln Sledzianowski (St. John Neumann)
2. #10 Giovanni Perez (Dunedin)
3. #17 Dominic Capuano (Evangelical)
4. #23 Tristan Nee (Lemon Bay)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Noah McCarthy (Bayshore); Tripp Wilson (SLAM Tampa)
Opening round match to watch: Mathew Elyash (Aubrey Rogers) vs. Wilson
Kabra says: Sledzianowski’s return to Florida has been a resounding success. The returning state champion is undefeated and unlikely to be challenged this weekend. The rest of our podium are the other three ranked wrestlers, none of who have faced each other this season. Last year’s state qualifier Perez is our pick to reach the region final for the second straight season.
Kabra's Picks
1. #8 Elliott Sear (Lemon Bay)
2. #6 Noah Leota (SLAM Tampa)
3. #7 William Buckley (St. John Neumann)
4. #17 Eli Smolanoff (Aubrey Rogers)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #15 Lorenzo Vasquez (Bishop Verot); #24 Lennox Renfroe (Dunedin)
Opening round match to watch: Vasquez vs. Caden Robinson (Jefferson)
Kabra says: The top three wrestlers each have beaten one of the others, and lost to one. Sear beat Leota with a sudden victory at the Braves, Leota edged Buckley 5-4 at the state duals and Buckley owns a major decision win over Sear in the region duals. Your guess is as good as ours as to who tops this weight class.
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Jason Schiavello (CCC)
2. #4 Thiago Vianna (Admiral Farragut)
3. #18 Matthew Lopez-Rojas (Lemon Bay)
4. #23 Richmerlins Celiferme (St. John Neumann)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: Nezji Jones (Gibbs); Calvin Nguyen (SLAM Tampa)
Opening round match to watch: Jones vs. Seth Varty (Anclote)
Kabra says: Schiavello pinned Vianna in the final weekend at the Bidwell Invitational. That’s enough to get the nod here. We’re pick our other two ranked wrestlers to complete the podium as we pick four district champions to advance here.
Kabra's Picks
1. #2 Garry Woessner (Dunedin)
2. #8 Evan Saunoris (Lemon Bay)
3. #3 Braeden Mills (St. John Neumann)
4. #10 Sebastian Hernandez (CCC)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #11 Randy Wallace (LaBelle); Sean Cameron (Bishop Verot)
Opening round match to watch: Gage Leonard (Anclote) vs. Cameron
Kabra says: This is another bracket where we’ve picked the four district champions to advance, but we don’t have much insight into the order as the only result we found between the four of them was a four-point decision victory for Saunoris over Mills.
Kabra's Picks
1. #1 Jacob Bacon (Aubrey Rogers)
2. #5 Bennett Sweitzer (Bishop Verot)
3. #6 Jonathan Moder (St. John Neumann)
4. #22 Logan Panega (Gateway Charter)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #25 Thomas Mendez (Anclote); Carter Shaffer (Lemon Bay)
Opening round match to watch: William McCormick (Tarpon Springs) vs. Weston Cattin (Sarasota Military Academy)
Kabra says: Bacon returned to Florida for his senior season and he has hit his stride heading into the postseason. He had narrow wins over both Sweitzer (3-2) and Moder (SV) during the season. He did not face either while winning his district title.
Kabra's Picks
1. #5 Arron McCarty (Robinson)
2. #8 Ari Rupe (SLAM Tampa)
3. #9 Koletin Washington (Chamberlain)
4. #13 Atticus Randall (Lemon Bay)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #18 Banner Brockington (Canterbury); Andre Steavpack (Boca Ciega)
Opening round match to watch: Steavpack vs. Dominic Banski (Aubrey Rogers)
Kabra says: Returning state qualifier McCarty has been tough all season, building up a 50-2 record and his second straight district title. The bottom half of this bracket is where it’s at as you’ll find four of the five ranked wrestlers there.
Kabra's Picks
1. #6 Blake Roulund (Cardinal Mooney)
2. #10 Quinn Enguita (Bishop Verot)
3. #12 Elijah Willis (Anclote)
4. #13 John Gomez-Hernandez (Jefferson)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #17 Hunter Born (St. John Neumann); #18 Zeke Washington (Fort Myers Evangelical)
Opening round match to watch: Yves Jean-Baptiste (Dunedin) vs. Washington
Kabra says: Roulund owns a 2-1 decision victory over Enquita. It took place in the Florida SW 10 Invitational final. Willis and Gomez-Hernandez are tasked with chasing those to for a spot in the finals and both could get it done and have it not be a shock. This weight class will have some great semis (and final).
Kabra's Picks
1. #3 Lennox Washington (Fort Myers Evangelical)
2. #6 Tyce Cole (Jefferson)
3. #8 Nathanael Lovelace (Berkeley Prep)
4. #12 Gabe Harris (St. John Neumann)
Wrestlers who could prove me wrong: #13 Andrew Upp (Oasis Charter); #24 Manuel Ramirez (Sarasota Military Academy)
Opening round match to watch: Marley Kinsey (Lemon Bay) vs. Upp
Kabra says: Washington, Cole, and Lovelace were all in this spot last year and didn’t face each other. Lovelace was the best that day, finishing second while Washington advanced to Kissimmee in fourth place. Cole came up a match short. Last week Cole topped Lovelace in the district final so its safe to say that three-man race here is a toss-up.