8 brackets where the #1 and #2-ranked wrestlers are on the same half-bracket.
See all of DubStat’s bracket predictions here
Brackets with the #1 and #2 on the same half:
- D1 132: Blaze (Perrysburg) and Morency (Anderson)
- D1 165: Birden (Coffman) and Peterson (St. Eds)
- D2 113: Bartos (Buckeye) and Ohl (Ontario)
- D2 150 Saccoccia (Steubenville) and Younger (Watterson)
- D2 165 McKinney (Perkins) and Bunting (John Glenn)
- D3 113 Mattin (Delta) and Shore (Miami East)
- D3 120 Dean (Bethel-Tate) and Wilcox (Otsego)
- D3 165 Horvath (Edison) and King (Barnesville)
8 brackets in total amounts to almost 20% of all state brackets.
D1 – 132 pounds
#2 Marshall Morency knocked off previous number 2 Shawger at districts and was rewarded by drawing into the same half-bracket as Marcus Blaze. The top-half of the bracket is now wide-open with #3 Shawger, #4 Davis, #5 Sarabia, #6 Butler, and #8 Parks all as potential state finalists.
How would the bracket look if we seeded the district 1’s?
Top half: #1 Blaze, #3 Shawger, #7 Deboe, #8 Parks
Bottom half: #2 Morency, #4 Davis, #5 Sarabia, #6 Butler
D1 – 165-pounds
The bottom half of this bracket is brutal. #4 Rizzo was upset in the district finals, but spent most of the year ranked #2. He has #5 Willen first round with the winner meeting #2 Peterson in the quarterfinals. The winner of that match will see #1 Birden in the semifinals.
Any one of #3 Kostoff, #6 Watts, #7 Johnson, #8 Holm, or #9 Saito could emerge in the finals from the top half.
How would the bracket look if we seeded the district 1’s?
Top half: #1 Birden, #5 Willen, #7 Johnson, #8 Holms, #9 Saito
Bottom half: #2 Peterson, #3 Kostoff, #4 Rizzo, #6 Watts
D2 – 113-pounds
In what you will see is a theme as we move through these brackets, the top-2 contenders are on one side of the bracket and all other challengers on the other.
#1 Bartos and #2 Ohl sit in the same half-bracket and will likely not be challenged until they see each other in the semifinals.
The other half of the bracket has #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, and #8. I think the freshman Trukovich is the most talented. He’ll meet #3 Snair in the quarterfinal with the winner likely getting #4 Lugabihl in the semifinal.
How would the bracket look if we seeded the district 1’s?
Top half: #1 Bartos, #4 Lugabihl, #5 Trukovich, #8 Finley
Bottom half: #2 Ohl, #3 Snair, #6 Barker, #7 Bean
D2 – 150-pounds
This bracket is criminal. #1 Brody Saccoccia has had one of the finest seasons of any wrestler in D2, knocking off 3 different state champions (Ty Wilson, Reese Stephen, and Mitchell Younger).
He will meet #2 Younger, the 2x defending state champion from Watterson, in the semifinals.
The match should be a barn burner and the winner will be the heavy favorite Sunday night to take home a state title.
Again, all other challengers are on the opposite side of the bracket. #3 Hertenstein, #4 Craddock, #5 Reedy, #6 Kaise, #7 Isaac, and #8 Murphy.
How would the bracket look if we seeded the district 1’s?
Top half: #1 Saccoccia, #4 Craddock, #7 Isaac, #8 Murphy
Bottom half: #2 Younger, #3 Hertenstein, #5 Reedy, #6 Kaiser
D2 – 165-pounds
This bracket is bit better balanced than the others on our list but we do have #1 McKinney, #2 Bunting, #4 Kohler, and #6 Kroninger on the bottom half. Kohler spent most of the year ranked #2, but took an upset to the freshman Boyle at districts. He and Bunting will meet in the quarters for a shot at McKinney in the semis.
The top-half is a bit lighter with #3 Boyle as the favorite to make the finals. #5 Callock and #7 Davis are his top challengers.
How would the bracket look if we seeded the district 1’s?
Top half: #1 McKinney, #4 Kohler, #5 Callock, #6 Kroninger, #7 Davis
Bottom half: #2 Bunting, #3 Boyle, #8 Badiu, #9 Lopez
D3 – 113-pounds
The freshman Shore of Miami East has established himself as the top-contender to returning state champion Mattin. He has wins this year over #3 Begley (at districts), #5 Fuller, and #9 Skelly. His lone loss coming to D2 #1 Bartos of Buckeye.
I don’t see him taking out Mattin in the semifinals, but he’s likely the only wrestler in the bracket who will push the returning champ.
On the other half of the bracket, #3 Begley looks to be the favorite with #5 Fuller, and #4 Slack also potential finalists.
How would the bracket look if we seeded the district 1’s?
Top half: #1 Mattin, #3 Begley, #6 Huber, #7 Lawson, #8 Huntsmann
Bottom half: #2 Shore, #4 Slack, #5 Fuller, #9 Gfell-King
D3 – 120-pounds
We have yet another case of the top-2 on one side of the bracket and all other contenders on the other. It’s a strange dynamic.
#1 Dean and #2 Wilcox should meet in a Saturday night showdown to determine the favorite to win the title on Sunday.
On the other side, #3 Pikor looks to be the best, but #5 Campbell also has the ability to get hot for a weekend and win the whole thing.
How would the bracket look if we seeded the district 1’s?
Top half: #1 Dean, #4 Rossiter, #7 Barnes, #8 Miller
Bottom half: #2 Wilcox, #3 Pikor, #5 Campbell, #6 Cantrell
D3 – 165-pounds
Again, we have #1 and #2 on the top-half, and #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, and #8 on the bottom-half.
#1 Horvath is the favorite, but #2 King is his top challenger. Their semifinal will have big team point ramifications as Barnesville and Edison will be battling it out to take home the team championship.
The other half is wide open as there are 6 wrestlers who have realistic chances at making the finals. I’ll give the slight nod to #4 Quaintance.
How would the bracket look if we seeded the district 1’s?
Top half: #1 Horvath, #5 Clear, #6 Randall, #8 Bolt
Bottom half: #2 King, #3 Siders, #4 Quaintance, #7 Evans
Is it time to start seeding the district #1’s at the state tournament?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments. I think it’s at least time to start the conversation.