It may be the prelude to the grand finale, but that doesn’t take away from just how big this weekend is in the prep wrestling scene.

With 23 high schools – and one junior college – hosting regional tournaments Friday and Saturday, the stakes are high. Each classification will send four wrestlers from each of its 14 weight classes to Ball Arena in Denver, with each bracket at state having a field of 16 overall.

That means there are 896 berths up for grabs in the boys field, and another 448 spots in the two girls classifications.

The state tournament is set to run next Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 19-21, in Denver. The Parade of Champions will start at 4 p.m. on Feb. 21 and precede the championship round.

Here is a quick overview from this weekend’s regional action around the state (please note that rankings are based on the most recent On the Mat rankings, and some wrestlers could compete at a different weight at regionals):

Class 5A

Boys
Region 1 @ Horizon High School: It’s a rematch from the Jeffco League tournament, as seven-time defending Class 5A champion Pomona and No. 4 Chatfield lead the field at Horizon. The Panthers have six individuals ranked first: Lincoln Valdez (106 pounds), Derek Barrows (150), Donovan Symalla (157), Emmitt Munson (165), Kalob Ybarra (175) and Emmerson Claeys (190). A pair of Pomona-Chatfield battles to potentially watch include 126, with No. 2 Luke Gomez of Chatfield and No. 3 Zaidyn Quinonez of Pomona; and at 138, with Pomona’s Angel Serrano at No. 2 and Chatfield’s Alex Rodriguez at No. 3.

Region 2 @ Broomfield High School: Second-ranked Grandview is the team to beat in Broomfield, with the host No. 8 Eagles and No. 10 Denver East joining the Wolves. Wrestlers to watch include top-ranked Kel Unrein of Fruita Monument at 120, No. 1 Jr. Ortega of Grandview at 126 and the Wolves’ top-ranked Leland Day at 285. Day has Cherry Creek’s No. 3 Oz Nowick in the region.

Region 3 @ Legacy High School: No. 3 Ponderosa is the favorite at Legacy with a pair of No. 1 individuals. Seventh-ranked Pine Creek and No. 9 ThunderRidge are also programs to watch. Ponderosa’s Jaylyn Burge (138) and Mikey Lopez (144) lead the Mustangs. Adams City’s Jay Quintana is ranked first 113, with ThunderRidge’s Emmett Alexander second; and Northglenn’s Eli Stevens is first at 215.

Region 4 @ Cherokee Trail High School: This could be a battle between No. 5 Cherokee Trail and No. 6 Brighton in Aurora. Cherokee Trail’s Cooper Mathews is ranked first at 132. At 144, Brighton’s Ethyn Bravopacker is second, and Fossil Ridge’s Tristan Gauvin is third.

Girls
Region 1 @ Poudre High School: Second-ranked Central of Grand Junction leads the Region 1 field in Fort Collins, with No. 9 Pine Creek also representing. The Warrior’s Shylee Tuzon is ranked No. 1 at 170, as is Broomfield’s Shayla Martinez at 190.

Region 2 @ Lewis-Palmer High School: No. 4 Eaglecrest, No. 7 Castle View and No. 8 Widefield pace Region 2 in Monument. More than a handful of top-ranked individuals highlight the region, among them Falcon’s Allison McDaniel (110), Prairie View’s Jayden Cuevas (115), Regis Jesuit’s Remington Zimmerer (120), Vista PEAK’s Amelia Bacon (125), Castle View’s Zaret Silva Lopez (130) and Arapahoe’s Lizzie Padilla (140). Zimmerer has No. 2 Amaya Hinojosa at 120, and Padilla has Eaglecrest’s No. 2 Maxime Lantz at 140.

Region 3 @ Littleton High School: Top-ranked Chatfield and No. 6 Brighton are the favorites in Region 3 in Littleton. Chatfield’s Lola Gonzales (105) and Ryen Hickey (145) are ranked first, along with Columbine’s Makena Heston (135), Brighton’s Matilda Hruby (155) and Greeley West’s Abrianna Torrez (235).

Region 4 @ Fountain-Fort Carson High School: A trio of top-10 programs are in Fountain, with No. 3 Pomona, No. 5 Thornton and No. 10 Ponderosa. Pomona’s Justice Gutierrez is ranked first at 100, and teammates Timmery Condit (105), Alora Martinez (130) and Timberly Martinez (155) ranked second.

Class 4A

Boys
Region 1 @ Thompson Valley High School: No. 1 Pueblo East, No. 2 Air Academy and No. 9 Thompson Valley are the ranked squads in Loveland. The Kadets’ Trent Lainez (138) and David Burchett (157) are ranked first, but Burchett has East’s No. 2 Justus Freeman in the same region. Thompson Valley’s Wyatt Malara is ranked No. 1 at 165. At 175, Pueblo Central’s Braeden Sandoval and Pueblo West’s Blitz Coleman are ranked 2-3.

Region 2 @ Niwot High School: Third-ranked Roosevelt and No. 6 Severance are favorites in Region 2. The Roughriders have three individuals currently ranked first in Malakii Martin (132), Chris Lalonde (144) and Michael Garcia (215). Severance’s Simon Carter (106) and Drake Vombauer (120) are also ranked first, as is Greeley Central’s Daniel Romero (113) and Northridge’s Connor Simonds (285). Romero also has No. 3 Tatum Garcia of Severance at 113.

Region 3 @ Windsor High School: Seventh-ranked and host Windsor figures to be the favorite in Region 3. The Wizards’ Robert Kendall (175) is the only top-ranked individual in the field.

Region 4 @ Falcon High School: Four top-10 teams are at Falcon, with No. 4 Palisade, No. 5 and host Falcon, No. 8 Canon City and No. 10 Widefield. Look no further for a class to watch than at 126, where Falcon’s Noah Meza, Palisade Teagan Young and Widefield’s Angel Fernandez are 1-2-3. Palisade’s Kadin Mulford is ranked first at 150, and Canon City’s Elias Koonce is first at 190.

Girls
Region 1 @ Lamar High School: Top-ranked Pueblo Central and No. 3 Las Animas highlight Region 1 in Lamar. A bracket to watch is at 100 pounds, with No. 1 Acelyn Duran of Central and No. 2 Yliani Garcia of La Junta. At 145, Central’s Lillianna Lopez and Las Animas’ Bree Tyler are ranked second and third.

Region 2 @ Yuma High School: Not to be outdone, Region 2 features No. 2 Sedgwick County/Fleming and No. 4 Severance, along with Canon City at No. 9. Speaking of Canon City, Piper Montoya (110) and Kate Doughty (135) are ranked first, with Doughty having No. 2 Devin Shamrock of Liberty Common in the region. At 130, Sedgwick County/Fleming’s Brooklyn Glende is first, Severance’s Eila Schultz is ranked No. 2 and Fort Lupton’s Alyssa Ornelas is third. Wiggins’ Bralyn Arroyo is No. 1 at 170.

Region 3 @ North Fork High School: The Western Slope schools meeting in Region 3 at North Fork in Hotchkiss, with Moffat County, Olathe and Meeker ranked 6-7-8. Alamosa has top No. 1 wrestlers in Gizelle Meraz (115) and Samantha Maestas (120). Gunnison’s Roxie Uhrig is first 145, and Pagosa Springs’ Laykyn Baxstrom is first at 190.

Region 4 @ Holy Family High School: Fifth-ranked Strasburg is a favorite in Region 4, with No. 10 Evergreen another to watch. Strasburg’s Vivienne Gitke (140) and Madilyn Gitke (155) are ranked first, as is Bennett’s Emma Faczak (105), Holy Family’s Breezy Johnson (125) and Arvada’s Zahara Thompson (235). Vivienne Gitke has No. 2 Margaret Burrier of Evergreen in the region.

Class 3A

Region 1 @ Eaton High School: Of the four top-10 programs in Region 1, No. 2 and host Eaton is the favorite. Bennett, Fort Morgan and The Classical Academy are ranked 8-10. Eaton has three individuals ranked No. 1 in Blake Hawkins (120), Parker Wickam (132) and Paxton Pettinger (165). Berthoud’s Donovan Farrell (215) and Resurrection Christian’s Samuel Stockton (285) are also ranked first, with Stockton having No. 3 Hayden Kenney of TCA in the same region. Eaton’s Dylan Paris and Platte Valley’s Logan Vannest are ranked Nos. 2 and 3 at 144.

Region 2 @ Centennial High School: Fourth-ranked La Junta, No. 5 Fort Lupton and No. 6 Jefferson lead Region 2. La Junta’s Joe Gamez, Fort Lupton’s Josiah Orozco and Pueblo Centennial’s Cruz Trujillo are ranked 1-2-3 at 113 pounds. Jefferson’s Isaiah Gallegos is first at 150, with La Junta’s Santos Nunez third. Salida’s Samuel Johnson is first at 157, and Brush’s Richie Bruno is No. 1 at 190.

Region 3 @ Delta High School: No. 1 Alamosa is a big favorite on the Western Slope, but No. 3 Mullen and No. 7 Valley are also in the mix. Alamosa has a pair of top-ranked individuals in Jeremiah DeLaCerda at 106 and Uriah Martinez at 138. Mullen’s Isaak Chavez is first at 175. At 132, Alamosa’s Pablito Rodriguez is ranked second and Valley’s Trenton Mestas is third; at 165, Valley’s Rocky Hoffschneider is No. 2 and Mullen’s Cooper Loth is third.

Region 4 @ Fort Lupton High School: Host and No. 5 Fort Lupton is the only top-10 team in Region 4. Abraham Lincoln’s Jordan Romero (126) and Gunnison’s Zach Benson (144) are ranked first individually.

Class 2A

Region 1 @ Cedaredge High School: Four of the current top 10 ranked teams are in Region 1, which is hosted by defending state champion Cedaredge. No. 3 Meeker, No. 7 Ignacio and No. 10 Wray will also compete, with five top-ranked wrestlers in the region. At 150 pounds, Wray’s Austin Collins is ranked No. 1, with Olathe’s Noah Gray third. At 165, Ignacio’s Lincoln DeKay is No. 1, with West Grand’s Walker Howell third and Hayden’s Carson Campbell fourth.

Region 2 @ Akron High School: Second-ranked Highland is the only top 10 team in the field at Akron. Highland has a pair of top-ranked individuals in Tyler Varra (144) and Wyatt Chase (190). Chase leads a loaded bracket that includes No. 2 Daden Beauprez of Yuma and No. 4 Ethan Park of Merino. At 132, Highland’s Carter Jensen is ranked second, with Dayspring Christian’s Liam DeBoer third.

Region 3 @ Otero Junior College: A trio of top-10 teams will compete in La Junta, with No. 4 Rocky Ford, No. 8 Fowler and No. 9 Crowley County leading the field of 16. Crowley County’s pair of No. 1 wrestlers, Derrek Buford (113) and Levi Gibson (175) are among three No. 1 seeds. Springfield’s Logan Spires leads at heavyweight, with Rocky Ford’s Omar Ocana second. Buford has the Nos. 2 and 4 ranked wrestlers at 113, with Sedgwick County’s Nathan Gonzales and Rocky Ford’s Emilio Vallejos.

Region 4 @ Monte Vista High School: Fifth-ranked North Fork and No. 6 Buena Vista highlight Region 4. North Fork’s Braeden Flores is first 157, with Custer County’s Jason Hemsath ranked second. Walsenburg’s Taylor Torres is first at 138, and at 215, Carter Stromer of Buena Vista is ranked first.