120 Preview
Before we get to the breakdown - it is important to know that the names above were provided by the coaches and are primarily “on the radar” because of past high school accomplishments. We don’t know who will end up at the weight or what the brackets will look like - so picking a favorite, contenders, a darkhorse, and a bracket buster is speculative … especially a darkhorse (someone that probably will not be seeded in the top 4, but could make a run for the top step) and a bracket buster (someone that may not be listed above, but has all the tools to beat the field and cause chaos throughout the bracket).
Cole Hunt – Sr. – Cass – State 1st (2x), State 2nd , NHSCA 1st , KO 1st , Flo No. 13
Christian Guzman – Sr. – Miami Columbus – State 1st , State 2nd , NHSCA 4th , GFC 4th , KO 3rd
Oran Decker – Sr. – Harris County – State 1st , State 2nd , KO 5th
Adrian Morales – Sr. – South Dade – State 1st , State 3rd , State 4th , KO 6th
Ethan Asher – Jr. - Skyline – State 1 st (2x)
Bryan Valladares – Sr. – Oglethorpe – State 1st , State 2nd
Chaz McDonald – Jr. – Jefferson – State 1st , State 2nd
Danny Vargas - Sr. – Tampa Jesuit – State 2nd , State 6th
Cole McCullough – Jr. - Lowndes – State 2nd
Bradley Williams – 8 th – Spain Park – State 2nd
Jonathan McDaniel – Jr. – Columbus – State 2nd
Ethan Vugman – Jr. – Bartram Trail – State 4th , KO 6th
Drew Gorman – Fr. – Buford - Fargo 4th , Flo No. 19
Patrick Nolan - Sr. – Charlotte – State 3rd, State 6th
Hayden Santora - So. – Woodland – State 3rd
Kobe Wise - Jr. – Archbishop Rummel - State 3rd
Jairon Jarrett – Jr. – Creekview – State 3rd
Cory Jones – Sr. – Thompson - State 4th (2x)
Chris Weaver – Sr. – Hewitt-Trussville – State 4th (2x)
Ryan Mooney - Jr. – Jensen Beach – State 4th
Blaine Taranto – Jr. – Venice – State 5th
Kiowa Vines – Fr. – Thompson – State 5th
What to Know: This weight is absolutely stacked. There are 7 wrestlers that won a state title in 2021. Cole Hunt dominated this weight a year ago at the Knockout and has to be the favorite again this year. He had 3 falls and then a 7-1 decision of 2x Florida State Champ Cooper Haase to take the title. The weight held together fairly well in terms of their seeding - Hunt was the #1 seed, Haase was the #3 seed, Lusk (who finished 3rd) was the 2 seed and Grounds (who finished 4th) was the #4 seed. Hunt will have a stacked weight to deal with, but I can’t imagine anyone knocking him off on his way to another Knockout title.
The Breakdown:
Favorite: Cole Hunt of Cass (GA)
Contenders:
Christian Guzman of Miami Columbus
Oran Decker of Harris County (GA)
Adrian Morales of South Dade (FL)
Ethan Asher of Skyline (VA)
Darkhorse: Drew Gorman of Buford (GA)
Bracketbuster: Ryan Mooney of Jensen Beach (FL)
As stated above - Hunt is the returning Champ at weight and is the favorite. Guzman, Decker, Morales, and Asher are all returning Champs as are Bryan Valladares of Oglethorpe County and Chaz McDonald of Jefferson. Four State Runners-up should also seeded, but if we go simply by how they finished at the state tournament a year ago there will be some interesting things happen … 1) Only one State Runner-up will be seeded in the top 8 and 2) Drew Gorman of Buford - a 2021 double Fargo All American won’t be seeded in the top 12. Wow. The matches will get good in the Round of 32/Round of 16. Quarters will be crazy good and from there on in it will only get better. Can anyone take out the North Carolina signee? Another bracket buster to keep an eye on is Maddox McArthur of Buford … don’t think he will cut to 113 and will be another entry for Buford at the weight, but he is super tough and will cause problems in the bracket.
Past Champs at 120:
2020 - Cole Hunt of Cass (GA)
2019 - Ethan Mojena of Tampa Prep (FL)
2018 - Kyle Gollhofer of Woodland (GA)
2017 - Bretli Reyna of South Dade (FL)
2016 - Malyke Hines of Osceola (FL)
2015 - Randy McCray of Miami Southridge (FL)
2014 - Brandon Staley of Winter Springs (FL)
2013 - Mikey McDonald of Springstead (FL)
2012 - Jared Prince of Palm Harbor (FL)