Plentyrfscoach wrote:Unome: Any predictions for this weekend?
South Georgia State College:
1. Eighth Street - After finishing 9th at state last year, I think they stand a good chance of winning - I'd call it near-definite except for the small size of the tournament and lack of invitationals.
2. South Effingham - Has a history of success, though they've stopped winning regionals often these days. Should still be fine though.
3. Gatewood - Frequent state qualifier, though they tend not to do so well (I believe they were near-last place in 2017).
Columbus State University:
1. Bennett's Mill - With Blackmon Road falling in recent years, Bennett's Mill is a strong contender to beat them at regionals.
2. Blackmon Road - See above, although I do think it could easily go either way.
3. Madras - I have no idea. They've qualified for state before, so I figure they're at least decent. Arnold Magnet or Richards would be my other picks for this spot.
Gordon State College:
1. Northgate - Relatively easy pick for first, especially after beating McIntosh at regionals last year; though they have lagged a bit at invitationals and at state, they should be fine.
2. Whitewater - Often overshadowed because they haven't qualified for state recently, they probably have a shot at taking this, seeing as there aren't that many regularly strong teams here.
3. East Coweta - Invitational results don't show much this year, nor have they qualified for state recently (although in my opinion the region will probably get 2 bids). I just can't think of any other team able to beat them though.
East Georgia State College:
1. Lakeside - Frequent state qualifier and coming off a 10th place finish at state. Combined with a relatively weak field, they have a good chance of winning.
2. Augusta Area Homeschoolers - Their peak teams from Div B would have graduated, so I'm not sure how they'll do. However, they've only had one year of success in Div C so far - I think they'll qualify again.
3. Southeast Bulloch - Semi-frequent state qualifier - even though they finished 24th at state last year, I wouldn't consider that indicative because of the points cutoff at 13.
University of Georgia:
1. Duluth - Regularly top 10 in the state (though they were 11th last year), they should be the favorite to win, despite a relatively weak finish at Brookwood compared to a few other teams here.
2. Fulton Science Academy - Will definitely take regionals seriously and based on Brookwood results, could even beat Duluth - though I'd bet against it because of Duluth's depth.
3. South Forsyth - Uncommonly strong performance at Brookwood combined with not facing off against the top 3 teams in the state makes their qualification chances much higher than last year.
4. River Ridge - perennial state qualifier that took the fourth spot at Dahlonega last year, pretty likely to qualify. Could be higher than this, I'm just not sure.
If the region gets a fifth bid (in my opinion, unlikely) it'll probably be North Oconee, Mill Creek, or Oconee County.
Kennesaw State-SPSU:
1. Milton - This should be an interesting regional. Milton took 4th by a fair margin at Brookwood, so I think they're most likely to win.
2. Johns Creek - They were relatively close behind at Brookwood - although it appeared that Milton was a little less stacked, Johns Creek seems to have stronger builds, which should help them challenge for first place.
3. Westminster - Doesn't seem quite as strong as last year, and were a ways behind Milton and Johns Creek at Brookwood - not to mention their builds were weaker. I'm pretty certain no one else will beat them though.
4. Lambert - Several teams could take this spot. I think Lambert is the most likely, given their performance at Brookwood and tendency to split teams at invitationals - although last year's regionals results aren't promising. West Forsyth has a shot, and probably would have qualified last year had they not split teams - but the region was much less competitive at the time. Alpharetta likewise seems weaker this year.
Also I don't know how I missed that Richmond Hill was 12th at state last year - knowing that I probably would have predicted their regionals finish correctly.
