Wrestling: District tournament preview

3A-District 6 at Durant

TEAMS: Bloomingdale, Brandon, Durant, East Bay, Newsome, Plant, Plant City, Riverview, Tampa Bay Tech, Wiregrass Ranch

SCHEDULE: Saturday; wrestling begins at 11 a.m., finals at 4 p.m.

NEED TO KNOW: This is the toughest district featuring Hillsborough County teams, but Brandon still should have little trouble claiming the title and will push to advance all 14 wrestlers to next week's region meet. However, county champions William Joyce (Plant City) and Richard Woods (Durant) and individual runners-up Nissan Anderson and Ismael Calderon (East Bay), Cody Chaney (Plant City) and Chase Haley (Durant) will try again to prevent the Eagles from putting together a clean sweep atop the podium.

3A-District 7 at Alonso

TEAMS: Alonso, Chamberlain, Clearwater, Countryside, East Lake, Freedom, Gaither, Steinbrenner, Palm Harbor, Seminole, Wharton

SCHEDULE: Saturday; wrestling begins at 9:30 a.m., finals at 4 p.m.

NEED TO KNOW: Hillsborough County teams will be challenged by their counterparts from across the bay. Palm Harbor dominated the Pinellas County Athletic Conference tournament and is the clear favorite, while Countryside and East Lake also finished in the top five at the PCAC. Steinbrenner, behind county placers Austin Hanold, Sam Florentino and Cameron Alsup, could push for second place.

2A-District 7 at Brooksville Hernando

TEAMS: Brooksville Central, Inverness Citrus, Brooksville Hernando, Land O' Lakes, Lecanto, Brooksville Nature Coast, Spring Hill Springstead.

SCHEDULE: Saturday; wrestling begins at 10 a.m., finals at 3 p.m.

NEED TO KNOW: Defending 2A state champion Springstead should dominate this tournament, but it will get a push from Citrus and Nature Coast, who will battle for second place. There are several potentially big matchups, including at 145 pounds with Sean Redman of Springstead vs. Carter Bolestra of Nature Coast. Land O' Lakes' best bet for a region qualifier will be 160-pounder Bobby Austin.

2A-District 8 at Dunedin

TEAMS: Dunedin, Mitchell, River Ridge, Sunlake, Tarpon Springs, Zephyrhills

SCHEDULE: Saturday, first match at 10 a.m.; finals at 4 p.m.

NEED TO KNOW: Dunedin won this district last year and might be the favorite this year, but Sunlake could easily pull the upset. Dunedin is particularly strong in their upper weights, with 170-pound Kyle Goodnow and 220-pound RJ Luth leading the way. At 120, Dunedin's Clarence Arrington and Sunlake's John Ortiz should be a huge matchup, as both wrestlers have the potential to place at state.

2A-District 9 at Armwood

TEAMS: Armwood, Blake, Hillsborough, Jesuit, King, Lennard, Sickles, Strawberry Crest

SCHEDULE: Saturday; wrestling begins at 11 a.m., finals at 5 p.m.

NEED TO KNOW: Lennard had a strong showing at the Hillsborough County Championships, finishing third after placing five wrestlers in the top three, led by runners-up Darrian Mills, Kaylab Phillips and Freddy Guevara. Armwood, Hillsborough and King also finished in the top 10 at the county meet, but the lone private school in this district, Jesuit, put together a strong season and should challenge for the title.

2A-District 10 at Osceola

TEAMS: Boca Ciega, Dixie Hollins, Gibbs, Jefferson, Largo, Leto, Osceola

SCHEDULE: Today; wrestling begins at 10 a.m., finals at 4 p.m.

NEED TO KNOW: Neither of the two Hillsborough representatives here, Jefferson and Leto, fared well at the county meet, but each should send a few on to the region meet. Leto's Josue Landrove and Brenton McNutt each finished the regular season with 28 or more wins, while Jefferson's Tyrel Sanders was one win shy of placing at the county meet.

1A-District 8 at Fivay

TEAMS: Anclote, Crystal River, Dunnellon, Fivay, Hudson, Citra North Marion, Pasco, Ocala Trinity Catholic, Weeki Wachee

SCHEDULE: Saturday; wrestling begins at 10 a.m.; finals at 4 p.m.

NEED TO KNOW: Fivay, fresh off its first Sunshine Athletic Conference championship last weekend, will be the favorite. Pasco will be well represented, with JP Gamez at 120 pounds and Niko DeAugustino at 138 as favorites. Fivay's 220-pound Mike Hahn, who is undefeated this season, will be tested by North Marion's Aaron Pringle. Anclote's Chris Sorrick, at 106, begins his quest to qualify for the state tournament after he narrowly missed out last season.

1A-District 9 at Robinson

TEAMS: Berkeley Prep, Carrollwood Day, Middleton, Robinson, Spoto, Tampa Bay Christian, Tampa Prep, Wesley Chapel

SCHEDULE: Saturday; wrestling begins at 10 a.m., finals at 5 p.m.

NEED TO KNOW: Robinson, which finished fourth at the county championships behind strong showings from Luis Peguero and David Nguyen, should push for its first district title in three years. Tampa Bay Christian's Kyle Norstrem, Spoto's Eric Franklin and Tampa Prep's Eric Bach, who recently committed to Western State College in Colorado, all should challenge for district titles.

1A-District 10 at Indian Rocks Christian

TEAMS: Admiral Farragut, Calvary Christian, Clearwater Central Catholic, Gulf, Indian Rocks Christian, Lakewood, Northside Christian, Ridgewood, Shorecrest

SCHEDULE: Friday; wrestling begins at 2 p.m., finals at 6 p.m.

NEED TO KNOW: Northside Christian is the favorite and is led by 145-pound Dryden Dennis. Gulf could pull the upset. Three Buccaneers favored to win their weight classes have been their most consistent wrestlers all season — Anthony Agazarm (106), Forest Swartsel (120), and Spencer Baxter (160). Also, sophomore Robert Napolitano (132) won the SAC tournament last weekend, and he is getting better every week. A lot will depend on if the Bucs have a full lineup, as they wrestled without Jacob Newman (145) and Jared Kruse (195) last weekend.

Adam Adkins, Steven Campbell