Last year David Carr won Beast of the East with a win over fellow-Top 5 wrestler, Quentin Hovis. Last week, Hovis took out Carr in Ironman finals. If Carr wants to repeat as Beast Champ, he won't have to go through Hovis (he isn't entered), but he will have to earn it by going through two of our most anticipated bouts.

With the preseeds released, we can project the match ups for what should be an awesome 2016 Beast of the East.

Seven of the Top 20 Teams in the country are here, with nearly four dozen nationally ranked individuals.

I could have went with strictly finals but I wanted to give you some early round fodder. Below are the matchups I'm looking forward to the most,

with one bonus should it materialize: Chris Foca of Bergen Catholic (last year's Beast Co-Oustanding Wrestler) vs. Hunter Bolen of Christiansburg, who was a Beast (to Eric Hong) and FloNationals (to Travis Stefanik) Runner-Up last year.

# = Seed

#10 - 120lbs - #10-Chris Wright vs. #6-JoJo Aragona

When: 9:15 PM Saturday, Round of 16
Why: Both Wright and S32 finalist Aragona have appeared in the rankings before. A win here could get them back in. I project this to be an excellent match.

#9 - 120lbs - #13-Logan Macri vs. #4-Michael Kelly

When: 9:15 PM Saturday, Round of 16
Why: Macri had a good preseason that included a S32 semifinals appearance that got him ranked. Kelly is was a semifinalst at the NJ state tournament last year.

#8 - 152lbs - #4-John Manning vs. #5-Julian Ramirez

When: 8:30 AM Sunday, Quarterfinals
Why: Manning was a highly touted Junior High wrestler coming out of Utah. He spent a year at Blair and had an up-and-down season. His father got a job in Canada and now lives there. In comes Ramirez to Blair from Florida. Quite an interesting match. And Manning had a solid pre-season. Lots of intrigue here.

#7 - 113lbs - #3-Robert Howard vs. #2-Gabe Tagg

When: 11:15 AM Sunday, Semifinals
Why: Robert Howard makes his debut as one of America's best freshmen. As a prelude, he reached S32 finals this fall, losing only to #1-Adam Busiello (NY). His test in the semi's will come from recently crowned Ironman Champ, Tagg.

#6 - 126lbs - #1-Nick Raimo vs. #8-Connor McGonagle

When: 8:30 AM Sunday, Quarterfinals
Why: Everyone knows Raimo. But they might not know McGonagle who had a fantastic JR High career that included multiple wins over Julian Chlebove. I'm not calling an upset here, but it's a quarterfinal you need to watch.

#5 - 132lbs - #4-KJ Fenstermacher vs. #5-Andrew Wert

When: 8:30 AM Sunday, Quarterfinals
Why: Wert is ranked. Fenstermacher is on the cusp. This is a pretty even match-up and is a prelude to a match we could see in Hershey.

#4 - 220lbs - #4-Robert Melise vs. #5-Francis Duggan

When: 8:30 AM Sunday, Quarterfinals
Why: Duggan cemented his spot in the rankings as a freshman when he beat a returning state champion. Melise is coming off a state runner-up finish to a Top 10-Matt Correnti.

#3 - 285lbs - #2-Eric Chakonis vs. #3-Kevin Vough

When: 11:15 AM Sunday, Semifinals
Why: There's a guy who constantly comments on the rankings and says there's no justification for Eric Chakonis to be in. I, of course disagree. Well, no better test than that of one of the best big men in the country. Vough has been a contender at every top tournament he's entered. Winner likely gets Ironman Champ Camacho.

#2 - 152lbs - #1-David Carr vs. #5-Julian Ramirez

When: 11:15 AM Sunday, Semifinals
Why: Watch the match above. Julian Ramirez is a Fargo finalist and an outright stud. He had Cadet World medalist Carr in a HUGE hole at Ironman before Carr stormed back. Will Carr get off to a better start this match, or will Ramirez be able to close the door this time?

#1 - 152lbs - #1-David Carr vs. #2-Shane Griffith

When: 2:30 PM Sunday, Finals
Why: How good are these two? Both won Super 32 titles, and both competed at Who's #1 before their Junior years, and both have been in the Pound-for-Pound. David Carr has electric offense and Shane Griffith is one of the stingiest, most resourceful wrestlers in the country. You never know how these high profile matches are going to turn out, but this could be the best in-season bout of the entire regular high school season.