Florida high school wrestling has been trending upward throughout the past decade with more prospects rising into the national rankings and more programs creating a buzz beyond the Sunshine State. 

Lake Highland Prep led the charge, dominating the state’s Class 1A division with eight individual tournament titles in nine years, showing well at crown jewel events across the country and registering five finishes in the national top 10. The Highlanders, however, left the Florida High School Athletic Association this season for an opportunity to compete even more on the national level and test their mettle in the years ahead at the National Preps tournament. 

But Lake Highland Prep hasn’t been the lone program generating headlines. 

South Dade, which produced Division I All-Americans Pat Lugo and Earl Hall, has reeled off seven straight Class 3A titles. Lake Gibson captured the past three championships in Class 2A. 

And other programs are on the rise, too. 

Southwest Miami defeated South Dade last weekend for the region title and has its sights set on the school’s first state championship. 

Tampa Jesuit had four state champions last year and boasts a pair of nationally-ranked hammers this year: No. 5 Tom Crook at 138 and his twin brother, Jack, who’s ranked ninth at 145. 

Palm Bay began the season ranked No. 1 in Class 1A by the Orlando Sentinel and American Heritage, under former Missouri Tiger J.P. Reese, is a contender as well. 

The Florida state tournament begins Friday at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee. It’s one of four state tournaments streamed live this weekend by Trackwrestling. 

Here’s a look at some of the stars and storylines to follow in state tournaments that will either be streamed live or available on-demand on Trackwrestling: 

FLORIDA

— Tampa Jesuit twins Tom and Jack Crook rocketed up the national rankings after superb showings at the Knockout Christmas Classic. Tom, ranked fifth nationally at 138, won a loaded Knockout bracket that included Super 32 champ Caden McCrary and five other state champions. Jack, ranked ninth at 145, downed two-time Oklahoma state champ Bryce Dauphin and Georgia three-timer Michael Kilic en route to the title. 

Combined, the juniors enter the Florida state tournament with a 75-0 record this season. 

Tom Crook’s path to a third state title includes a potential semifinal battle with fellow state champ Ethan Mojena of Countryside. Mojena, who was in the national rankings earlier in the season, is 29-1 as a sophomore. 

Jack Crook might have another rematch with Golden Gate’s Christian Moder in store this week. Moder won their quarterfinal battle last year on his way to a runner-up finish. Crook has won both head-to-head meetings this season. 

— Osceola’s Jaekus Hines surged into the top 10 in the national rankings after his performance at the Knockout Christmas Classic, where he defeated Oklahoma state champ Reese Davis and McCrary before losing to Tom Crook in the finals. Hines hasn’t lost since, posting a win along the way against Mojena, and he enters the state tournament with a 38-1 record. Hines is trying to cap his career with a third state title, which would culminate a nice couple weeks for his family. Jaekus signed a letter of intent last week to wrestle for Appalachian State and over the weekend his brother, Malyke, won an EIWA title for Lehigh. 

Hines is one of the top hammers in Class 3A at 138 pounds. The bracket also includes South Dade’s Alex Couto, a state champ last year at 120, and Riverdale’s Alex Soto (third last year at 132) and Hagerty’s Kamdon Harrison (fourth last year at 126). 

— Six Floridians have won five state titles — Fox Baldwin, Rossi Bruno, Clark Glass, Kevin Norstrem, Kyle Norstrem and Joey Silva. Charlotte’s Lucas Willis is aiming to become the seventh. The 160-pound senior takes a 225-13 career record into his final Florida state tournament. Willis claimed his first title as a 120-pound eighth grader when he went 55-4. 

— Sawyer Bartelt made a bid to become an eighth-grade state champ last year when he reached the Class 3A finals at 195. Now a freshman at South Dade, Bartelt is 31-0 and a favorite to win the 195-pound title. 

— Keep your eyes on Florida’s star-studded 126-pound bracket in Class 2A. Tampa Jesuit’s Braden Basile is chasing his third state title. Charlotte’s Andrew Austin is aiming for his second. Lake Gibson’s Hayden Whidden is a returning state finalist who won a Preseason Nationals title last fall. 

— Southwest Miami’s Danny Martinez went 68-0 last year as a freshman on his way to the Class 3A title at 113. Osceola’s Cooper Haase won the 106-pound title last year as a freshman as well. They’re both at 120 now and the bracket is set up for a potential semifinal clash between the top sophomores. 

MONTANA 

— Montana is typically one of the first states to stage its state tournament each February, but it’s a month later than usual this year and it’s split across three sites with AA at Kalispell Flathead High School, A at Miles City and B/C at Shelby. It won’t be the same as MetraPark Arena in Billings, which has been home to down-to-the-wire drama and the coronation site of a dozen four-time state champions since 2015. Lewistown’s Cooper Birdwell and Eureka’s Gunnar Smith are aiming to become four-time state champions. 

— Birdwell takes a 174-0 career record into the state tournament, putting him on track to become Montana’s four undefeated four-timer. The Oklahoma State recruit captured his third title last year by denying Jake Bibler of his fourth state championship, posting a 15-2 major decision in the finals at 126. 

— Smith is coming off his first loss of the season and enters the state tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Class B/C 132-pound bracket. He took a 10-4 lead into the third period last weekend against Trae Thilmony of Thompson Falls in last weekend’s divisional tournament finals. But Thilmony rallied with a stall point, a reversal and a three-point near-fall to send it into overtime and he secured a 12-10 win with a takedown midway through overtime. 

— Sidney crushed Montana’s Class A tournament scoring record last year with 340 points and has its sights set on topping that mark this weekend. The Eagles have 16 qualifiers and five returning state champs — Owen Lonski (113), Jordan Darby (138), Aden Graves (152), Riley Waters (205) and Brodey Skogen (285). 

ARKANSAS 

— Bentonville demolished the Class 6A field last year, piling up 283 points with 13 medalists on its way to a third straight championship. The good news for the 6A field: Seven of those medalists graduated. The bad news: Bentonville has a lot of firepower back. 

Jacob Adams (33-0) is chasing his fourth state title at 138 pounds. Tristan Stafford (33-0) is trying to win his third at 120. Returning finalists Zander Payne (16-0 at 113) and Raphael Marascio (27-0 at 145) and returning medalist Connor Kneeshaw (29-1 at 160)... 

Adams, a Little Rock recruit, is a two-time Preseason Nationals All-American who scored three first-period falls and an 11-0 major decision on his way through his state tournament bracket last year. Stafford is a two-time Fargo All-American who also notched three falls and a major during his tournament run a year ago. 

SOUTH CAROLINA

— Nineteen wrestlers have won South Carolina’s state tournament four times. The club could add four new members this weekend. Byrnes 120-pounder Chris Compton (5A), Northwestern 132-pounder Kaleem Heard (5A), Bamberg-Ehrhardt 145-pounder Jackson Stembridge (1A/2A) and North Central 195-pounder Kalab Haven (1A/2A) are each in pursuit of their fourth title. 

— South Carolina’s six-man 170-pound bracket in Class 5A features two returning finalists, neither of whom is ranked No. 1 in the state. Fort Dorchester’s Chandler Amaker is a three-time state finalist who won a title last year at 145. He’s ranked second by SCMat.com. Chapin’s Josh Green is a three-time state medalist who reached the state finals last year after placing third the previous two seasons. The top-ranked wrestler is Clover’s Asa Walton, who moved in from New Jersey, where he battled the likes of national No. 1 126-pounder Dean Peterson and McKenzie Bell, who qualified for the NCAA Championships as a true freshman at Rider. 

(Photo: Cam Kramer)