Oakland County will have 10 representatives wrestling for state titles this afternoon at The Palace. Some were expected to be here. Some were not. Either way, they'll all have a shot at the ultimate goal of any individual wrestler.
Below is a list of the matchups and my predictions of each of them. Last year there were six state champions from Oakland County. Can the guys reach that number in 2013?

DIVISION 1

103 pounds

Michael Volyanyuk, Farmington Hills Harrison (45-7) vs. Benny Gomez, Holt (48-0)

Talk about your classic David vs. Goliath matchup. Gomez is a returning state placer and the #1 ranked wrestler in the state for his weight. Volyanyuk can learn a lot in this match, regardless of the outcome. But this is not his year. MY PREDICTION: Gomez maj. dec. Volyanyuk, 15-5.

135 pounds

Ken Bade, Catholic Central (39-7) vs. Matt Miller, Davison (29-6)

Talking about a kid on a mission. Bade lost his match in the team state finals. Despite his team going on to pull out yet another state championship, I'm sure it didn't sit well with him leading up to this weekend. He picked up a big win over Miller's teammate, Justin Oliver, in the semis, and beat Miller 11-3 back in December. MY PREDICTION: Bade dec. Miller, 8-4.

140 pounds

Malik Amine, Catholic Central (39-6) vs. Eric Rybarz, Anchor Bay (54-2)

Don't let the records fool you. CC wrestles a national schedule. Amine is very much battle tested. He's ranked #1 in the state - Rybarz is #5. All signs point to Amine winning a close match. The only thing I don't like about this matchup is that it's a rematch from last year's second round, which Amine won, 2-0. If Amine stays focused, he wins. MY PREDICTION: Amine dec. Rybarz, 5-3.

145 pounds

Andrew Napieraj, Brother Rice (50-2) vs. Travis Mann, Westland John Glenn (31-3)

Napieraj is one of the great stories of this tournament. He told our Marvin Goodwin that despite his semifinal opponent Jordan Amine of Brighton having a broken foot, he didn't want to take advantage of the injury. Most would have. It would be nice to see him carry that momentum into today's final against Mann. But I'm not seeing it. Mann is ranked #1 for a reason. MY PREDICTION: Mann dec. Napieraj, 6-3.

152 pounds

Nick Vandermeer, Clarkston (43-5) vs. Jordan Atienza, Livonia Franklin (58-0)

Any kid that can put together 111 wins over two seasons - including a perfect 58-0 record this season - he's legit. And Atienza is wrestling extremely well. But so is Vandermeer, who beat #1 ranked Dominic Letora in the quarterfinals. Still, I like Atienza here, in a close one. If it goes the distance, Atienza wins. MY PREDICTION: Atienza dec. Vandermeer, 6-4.

160 pounds

Logan Marcicki, Catholic Central (35-5) vs. Jordan Cooks, Davison (42-1)

Cooks beat Marcicki in a close match at the team state finals last week, 5-3. So much of me wants to pick Marcicki, a former state champion, to come back and win this week. But a small part thinks Cooks will pull away today. I guess it all depends on which Marcicki shows up. MY PREDICTION: Cooks dec. Marcicki, 8-3.

171 pounds

Drew Garcia, Catholic Central (51-0) vs. Mitchel Thomas, Hartland (59-1)

He's Oakland County's lone unbeaten wrestler, and I don't see that changing after today's match with Thomas. Garcia can win big, he can win close. Thomas has proven in this tournament that he's a force and that his 59 wins are no fluke. But if Garcia wrestles his match, he won't be beaten. MY PREDICTION: Garcia dec. Thomas, 9-4.

189 pounds

Shwan Shadaia, Rochester (53-1) vs. Chris Calvano, Clarkston (40-4)

Guaranteed county champion thanks to these two OAA Red foes. Both were Oakland County champions - Calvano at 189, Shadaia at 215. Really, how can you go wrong here. I guess if I pick the wrong guy, I suppose. Too hard to pick against Shadaia. MY PREDICTION: Shadaia dec. Calvano, 5-3.

285 pounds

Bob Coe, Catholic Central (44-4) vs. Parker Tillman, GR Forest Hills Central (41-3)

Coe may have already wrestled his toughest opponent, Holland West Ottawa's Miguel Correa, in the semifinals. That doesn't make this match an easy one. Though I do think Coe will catch Tillman in the second period. MY PREDICTION: Coe p. Tillman, 3:35.

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)