AA State Preview
- Apr 14
- 5 min read
Quarterfinal Gauntlet Matchups
This is another rematch that could potentially take place in the quarterfinals. Their first showdown came at the state duals in an exciting match that saw Church jump out to an early lead with a takedown and a reversal. Raske stormed back in the third period, scoring two late takedowns to tie it before ultimately prevailing in sudden victory. If they meet again, expect fireworks.
Another rematch stemming from the state duals showdown between Cleveland and Dobyns-Bennett. Winseman enters the state tournament as the favorite, owning wins over nearly every top contender at this weight. But their first meeting was tightly contested — a 1–0 battle where Winseman secured the win by riding Congdon out in the third period. The question now: does Winseman widen the gap, or can Congdon make the adjustments and flip this one when it matters most?
This is easily one of my favorite potential quarterfinal matchups of the entire tournament. Harris is coming off two tough losses to #1 Kellen Sanders in the region and sectional finals, while Dietrick has put together back-to-back weekends of pure dominance. Both guys have spent the vast majority of the season ranked inside the top three at 150 lbs, which made this one of the toughest matches for me to predict. I ultimately leaned Harris, but with the way Dietrick has been wrestling, this feels like a true coin flip.
These two first met back in December, where Louzensky won by tech fall. Since then, both Luke and Maddox have put together strong results. Eskew made a serious statement last weekend, hitting a whizzer trip on #1 Zach Little that led to a takedown and near fall, pushing the defending state champ in an extremely tight 8–7 match — one of the few times Little has really been tested this season against Tennessee competition. Louzensky enters this matchup as the rightful favorite, but with the way Eskew has been wrestling, it's hard to imagine we see another tech fall if they meet again.
Bracket Busters (3rd or 4th Section Placers with Podium Potential)
106 lbs – Germaia Ewida (Blackman)
Ewida has peaked as high as #5 in the 106-pound rankings and is coming off a 4th-place sectional finish. He owns wins over multiple ranked wrestlers, including #5 Carson Gambill and #7 Sricharan Kosanam. With proven wins over ranked opponents, Ewida is a dangerous draw.
144 lbs – Ascen Petricca (Green Hill)
This is a spot all too familiar for Petricca. Last year, he placed fourth in Section 3-AA and went on to pull off an upset over the #1 seed. Fast forward to this season and he finds himself in a similar position. Even if Petricca doesn't land a first-round upset, he's more than capable of stringing together three or four wins and making a serious run through the backside of the bracket.
144 lbs – Trapper Lippincott (Nolensville)
Similar to Petricca in some ways, Lippincott has already proven this season he can blow a bracket wide open. At the Johnny Drennan, he dropped a third-round match and then rattled off six straight wins over elite competition to finish fourth. That run included a win over returning state finalist Landon McLean, who enters this tournament as the #1 seed, with a potential rematch projected for the quarterfinals. It wouldn't shock me at all if Lippincott is wrestling deep into Saturday night.
215 lbs – Tyson Spink (Riverdale)
Spink spent the back half of the season hovering between #7 and #8 at 215 lbs and was a region champion before taking fourth last weekend at the Section 2-AA tournament. That result puts him in a prime bounce-back spot heading into this weekend. If Spink gets it going early, this is the kind of bracket where he could flip a couple matches and completely reshape 215.
Can't-Miss State Final Matchups
165 lbs – "Whoever Survives 165 lbs"
This weight is extremely deep, featuring five returning state medalists in the bracket — and that doesn't even include Houston senior Jonah Little, who is currently ranked #2. 165 lbs has been a ranker's nightmare all season with the amount of variance and movement at the top. I believe we ultimately see a Matthew Anderson (Ravenwood) vs Gary High (Cleveland) final, but there's a laundry list of contenders who have already proven they're capable of stringing together multiple high-level wins in the same weekend. All that to say, whoever fights their way into the finals will have earned every inch of it.
These two feel like they're on a collision course to the finals. It would mark their second meeting this season, with the first coming at the state duals in a thriller where Whaley edged out a 4–2 decision and Melzoni was a second away from the winning takedown. Melzoni is chasing back-to-back titles, while Whaley is looking to cap his high school career with a state championship of his own. If we get this rematch, expect another razor-thin match.
Much like 175, these two look on track to meet again — this time with a title on the line. It would be a rematch from last weekend's sectional final, where Suskawicz earned an 8–5 decision in a competitive match that saw both wrestlers secure takedowns. I slightly lean toward Rashid finding a way to flip the result this weekend, but Suskawicz enters as the slight favorite based on last week's win. Regardless, this projects to be an elite matchup.
Other Storylines
Mason Jakob (Dobyns Bennett) and Jose Cordero (Cleveland) are both chasing their fourth state titles, looking to join an exclusive list of just 24 wrestlers in Tennessee history to win at least four. That alone puts this weekend in rare territory.
Jakob, the West Virginia commit, is putting the finishing touches on one of the most accomplished high school careers this state has seen. This year alone, he captured a Beast of the East title, made the Super 32 finals, and currently sits ranked #6 nationally by Flo. By all accounts, he has never lost to a Tennessee wrestler in his high school career.
If he finishes it off, his résumé stacks up with just about anyone, and you can make a very strong argument that it belongs in the top 10 in Tennessee high school wrestling history.
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