The single biggest individual high school wrestling tournament in the country kicks off Thursday at The Palace of Auburn Hills. And in my opinion, it's not only the biggest tournament in high school sports, it's the most exciting. There will be 896 individual state qualifiers in four divisions.
Oakland County will have 79 wrestlers taking part in the festivities. I have included a complete list, by school, below. The county generally has between 70-80 qualifiers. And normally, anywhere from 4-10 kids walk away as individual state champions. I'm not going to predict how each of the 79 wrestlers will fare this weekend, but I will throw out a few facts and take a stab at a few predictions here.

Team with the most individual qualifiers: Oxford, with 11

Returning state champions: Ken Bade, Catholic Central; Prescott Line, Oxford; Alec Mooradian, Catholic Central.

Returning state finalists: Kevin Beazley, Catholic Central; Nick Gajdzik, Stoney Creek; Andrew Garcia, Catholic Central; Shawn Scott, Holly. 

Best bet to win a state championship: Prescott Line, Oxford - He's overpowering. He's dominating. He's a beast. The second-ranked wrestler at his weight is Bryan Smith (44-1) of Temperance Bedford. Guess where his one loss was? Watch it here.

Who else will win a state title? No reason to believe defending champs Ken Bade and Alec Mooradian won't win again. Both are ranked No. 1 at their weights. Bade (130) may see No. 2 Dominick Trevino of Holt in a semifinal. Mooradian (152), already a three-time state champ, has a tough draw, but plenty of experience. Holly's Shawn Scott is unbeaten (48-0) at 215 pounds. His toughest two opponents are on the opposite half of the draw. I like his chances to get to the final. Catholic Central senior Kevin Beazley, one of the most respectful young men you'll ever meet, is also one of the most determined. He's ranked No. 1 at 189 pounds in Division 1, and look what he did to the No. 2-ranked kid.

Don't be surprised if these guys walk away as champions as well: CC's Drew Garcia is No. 1 at 171 pounds, but he's got the Nos. 2- and 4-ranked guys in his half of the draw. He can win, but it won't be easy. Having been in the finals as a freshman makes him a favorite this year. Rochester's Kaelen Richards and Catholic Central's Malik Amine are 1-2 in the state at 135 pounds. Amine caught Richards late to win the Oakland County title. One may very well walk away a state champion on Saturday. Stoney Creek senior Nick Gajdzik is one of three unbeaten county wrestlers heading into this weekend (along with Line and Scott). Looks like it'll be a two-horse race in the 285-pound bracket, as Gajdzik and Temperance Bedford's Logan Rimmer appear to be on a collision course in the finals.

Wrong place at the wrong time: There are a number of county wrestlers who are having a tremendous season, but due to tough draws or a stacked bracket, winning a state title would surprise some people. Catholic Central freshman Trevor Zdebski is 34-5 in his first year as a Shamrock. He's ranked No. 2 at 103 pounds. But the kid he's behind, Davison's Lincoln Olson, is a stud. Olson beat Zdebski twice this year, most recently by a major decision. Oxford's Kyle Hill is ranked No. 2 at 125 pounds, but the No. 1 he's behind, Howell's Alex Calandrino, has lost just once this year. Clarkston's Scott DeVos has lost just three times this season. But the heavyweight (29-3) fell to Gajdzik in the OAA Red/White tourney, 7-4. They could meet up in the semifinals, where Gajdzik will again be the favorite. In Division 2, a number of contenders, thanks to stacked lineups by state finalists St. Johns and Lowell, will be just that, contenders. Holly's Mason Cleaver (No. 4 at 125 pounds) has lost just one time this year, but he has No. 2 Alex Melinn of Coopersville in his half of the draw. If he can win that potential semifinal, he would most likely get No. 1 Jacob Schmitt in the final. Cleaver's teammate, Anthony Gonzales (130), a former state champion, is ranked No. 3 and has No. 2 Nikolas Leal of Holland potentially in the second round. If he wins that, he might get unbeaten Jake Klingaman of Jackson Northwest in a semifinal, and then No. 1 Kyle Simaz of Allegan in the final. Lamphere's always good for a contender or two. This year, brothers Trevor (103) and Andrew (112) Gorman are having great seasons. But both have tough draws. Andrew (47-2), ranked No. 3, would have to get by No. 2 Dean Somers of Lapeer West in a semi before facing, most likely, St. Johns' nationally-ranked Zac Hall. And there's good news and bad news for Ferndale's Chevez Farris. The good news is that the third-ranked senior is on the opposite half of the draw from the top two wrestlers, St. Johns' Taylor Massa and Lowell's Garrett Stehley. The bad news is that Massa, a senior, is unbeaten in high school and might go down as one of, if not perhaps the best, high school wrestler Michigan has seen.

DIVISION 1
Birmingham Brother Rice (3 wrestlers)
135 - Andrew Napieraj, Jr. (49-3)
145 - Thomas Giradot, Sr. (44-6)
160 - Shon Powell, So. (47-2)

Birmingham Seaholm (2)
135 - Tim List, Jr. (37-8)
140 - Ryan Law, Sr. (41-8)

Clarkston (5)
119 - Cameron Wilkie, So. (36-14)
152 - Nick Vandermeer, Jr. (37-10)
171 - Chris Calvano, Jr. (31-10)
189 - Ethan Frick, Sr. (39-10)
285 - Scott DeVos, Sr. (29-3) 

Novi Detroit Catholic Central (10)
103 - Trevor Zdebski, Fr. (34-5)
112 - Myles Amine, Fr. (33-12)
125 - T.J. Fagan, Sr. (22-4)
130 - Ken Bade, Jr. (46-1)
135- Malik Amine, So. (35-6)
152 - Alec Mooradian, Sr. (44-2)
160 - Nick Mason, Sr. (41-9)
171 - Drew Garcia, So. (42-3)
189 - Kevin Beazley, Sr. (44-1)
285 - Bob Coe, Jr. (37-7) 

Farmington Hills Harrison (1)
125 - Andrew Fialka, Jr. (33-15)

Farmington (1)
125 - Immanual Govantes, Jr. (32-12)

Lakeland (1)
112 - Brandon Calma, Sr. (30-8)

Milford (1)
130 - Steve Shay, Sr. (33-15)

Lake Orion (1)
125 - Charlie Highlen, So. (47-7)

North Farmington (2)
189 - Kevin Miller, Sr. (43-4)
285 - Majd Mokbel, Sr. (36-12)

Novi (2)
171 - Jake Dobras, Sr. (37-14)
285 - Jimi Keller, Sr. (38-12)

Oxford (11)
103 - Dan Curtis, Fr. (41-14)
112 - Edwin Schlickenmeyer, So. (33-8)
125 - Kyle Hill, Sr. (47-7)
130 - Mike Willits, So. (41-11)
135 - Noah Cantara, Sr. (38-17)
140 - Rocco Borg, Jr. (45-8)
145 - Wes Maskill, So. (35-16)
152 - Jacob Peasley, Sr. (33-4)
160 - Marty Giannola, Jr. (43-15)
171 - Liam Logan, Jr. (25-21)
215 - Prescott Line, Sr. (45-0)

Pontiac (1)
145 - Deishawn Stewart, Sr. (35-6)

Rochester (6)
103 - Justin Kim, Jr. (35-1)
135 - Kaelan Richards, Jr. (46-5)
140 - Dean Vettesse, Jr. (40-6)
145 - Aaron Morgan, So. (38-9)
171 - Cody DeVoe, Sr. (49-4)
189 - Shwan Shadaia, So. (43-14)

Rochester Adams (3)
103 - Justin Schofield, Jr. (35-15)
125 - Alex Potoniec, Jr. (36-18)
145 - Jack Addy, So. (30-17) 

Stoney Creek (3)
145 - Andrew Price, Fr. (38-11)
215 - Serge Andreou, Sr. (32-5)
285 - Nick Gajdzik, Sr. (42-0) 

Waterford Kettering (4)
112 - Deven Acker, Jr. (29-11)
140 - Dave Dolehanty, Jr. (34-17)
215 - Matt Okaiye, So. (32-11)
215 - Daulton Arthur, Sr. (26-15)

West Bloomfield (2)
119 - Ross Bahro, So. (47-6)
135 - Danny Davidson, Sr. (16-8) 

Walled Lake Central (3)
171 - Conner Marion, Sr. (30-10)
189 - Charles Sovel, Sr. (42-7)
285 - Ildo Luca, Sr. (25-18)

Walled Lake Northern (1)
130 - Christian Lauderback, So. (42-10)

DIVISION 2
Bloomfield Hills Andover (1)
215 - Brody Wagerson, Sr. (39-4)

Ferndale (1)
171 - Chevez Farris, Sr. (40-2)

Hazel Park (1)
135 - Cody Vanderhagen, Sr. (38-7)

Holly (5)
119 - Tyler Gibson, Sr. (45-7)
125 - Mason Cleaver, Jr. (48-1)
130 - Anthony Gonzales, Jr. (44-3)
145 - Andrew Scott, So. (39-7)
215 - Shawn Scott, Sr. (48-0) 

Madison Heights Lamphere (3)
103 - Trevor Gorman, So. (49-3)
112 - Andrew Gorman, Jr. (47-2)
285 - Skip Conner, Sr. (42-9)

Ortonville Brandon (1)
285 - Matt Smith, Sr. (49-3)

South Lyon East (1)
215 - Luke Patterson, Jr. (27-19)

DIVISION 3
Clawson (2)
119 - Jason Palmer, Sr. (32-13)
171 - Deonte Hill, Sr. (41-11)

DIVISION 4
Madison Heights Bishop Foley (1)
189 - Brenton Pippin, Sr. (27-4)