Blair Academy (NJ) may be the two-time defending champion of the Who’s Number 1 Duals presented by ASICS, but even the Bucs will have to make sure they are matching up correctly against three other high-powered teams to continue their title reign this Saturday in Oradell, NJ.

As we look through the provided team lineups for top-ranked Blair, No. 2 and event host Bergen Catholic (NJ), No. 6 Lake Highland Prep (FL), and No. 7 Buchanan (CA), there are some key individual matches that will have a huge impact which squad will walk away as the overall winner at this year's event.

WATCH WHO'S NUMBER 1 DUALS PRESENTED BY ASICS

ROUND 1

Lake Highland Prep (FL) vs. Blair (NJ)

This could be more wishful thinking than it is a necessity, but I am hoping that the offensive and tactically attacking Joey Silva shows up for Lake Highland Prep. We all know that he brings some of the prep level's best leg attacks to the table, but it doesn’t seem to be in his best interest when he shuts them down and chooses not to pull the trigger on his feet and opts to hand fight instead.

Team points are what matters here, and Silva is fully capable of collecting bonus if he shows up with his takedown mindset. Another key bout here is at 160, where No. 4 Andrew Merola takes on No. 13 Erich Byelick. They have been in the same bracket twice this year, yet have never met. The one thing to remember here is that LHP will have to do some moving to make sure it isn’t forfeiting at 195. 

At 220, we will most likely see a rematch of the Beast of the East finals, where No. 11 Ben Goldin scored the lone point to edge No. 13 Owen Trephan. 

While I only see Blair getting bonus points at 106 and 120 from No. 7 Ryan Miller and No. 1 Michael Colaiocco, respectively, I don’t see a close team score in this first round.

Holmes’ pick: Blair

Buchanan (CA) vs. Bergen Catholic (NJ)

We just saw both of these teams in action at the Doc Buchanan Invitational, where Bergen Catholic ran away with the team title. Buchanan finished in second place, but it was trumped by a 54-point margin. Understandably, individual tournament performances don’t always translate to how things will play out in a dual meet, especially when there are just three head-to-head results between the two teams.

Of those head-to-heads, Bergen came out on top in one — at 195 where Sage Mosco defeated Jailin Peralta 4-2. That one is a toss-up in my mind. A key (re)match to circle will be at 182 between No. 7 Anthony Montalvo and No. 9 Jacob Cardenas. Their first meeting was a thriller in which Cardenas led the entire way until Montalvo pulled some last-second heroics to get the win. Cardenas showed that he can go with Montalvo. If it wasn’t for a late flurry (which was initiated by Montalvo, so I will give him credit there), Cardenas would have been sporting a cowboy hat on his way back to New Jersey.

Buchanan will make it interesting. I think this matchup will be closer than most expect it to be, but Bergen moves on with a win in the first round. 

Holmes’ pick: Bergen Catholic

ROUND 2

Buchanan (CA) vs. Blair (NJ)

There will be three key matches in this one: Chris Cannon vs. Ethan Leake at 126, No. 18 Matthew Olguin vs. Malcom Robinson at 138, and No. 7 Anthony Montalvo vs. No. 8 Leo Tarantino. 

Montalvo is really going to have his work cut out for him this weekend. Tarantino saw his stock rise with a runner-up finish at Ironman to start the season. Last year I pegged him as one of Blair’s grinders, a guy who is always in the match and has a pretty good gas tank to go with just about anyone. He will be Montalvo’s second tall task of the day, and Tarantino can collect a mild upset if he wrestles the same way he did against Ryan Karoly to make the Ironman finals.

Cannon is coming off a title-winning performance at the Geary Invitational; however, he’s still knocking the dust off a bit. Leake was pinned in a devastating loss in the Doc B finals, but let’s be serious here. He’s pretty tough and has a good chance of defeating Cannon, who just made his season debut a week ago. 

In a previous article, I named Olguin vs. Robinson as a must-watch match. Robinson hasn’t had the best season thus far. He just seems a bit off this year, which is why he finds himself on the outside looking in when it comes to the latest installment of rankings. Olguin is not only up a few weight classes since last season, but he’s also coming off an injury that had him sidelined for a bit. He’s filling the spot nicely while going through some growing pains. 

Holmes’ pick: Blair

Bergen Catholic (NJ) vs. Lake Highland Prep (FL)

For some reason, this dual meet intrigues me more than the rest. I don’t have any key matchups for this one, but I feel like these teams size up well against each other. That 195 spot will be key for LHP throughout the day, and both teams are favored in just about the same amount of matches. This dual will come down to which squad can claim more of the toss-ups. Lake Highland Prep is heavily favored in the weights it's projected to win and the same goes for Bergen. 

Both teams' “role players” will have to step up big against their equally matched opponents. Watch for the Kai Bele vs. Wade Unger match to be a good one. 

Holmes’ pick: Bergen Catholic

ROUND 3

Lake Highland Prep (FL) vs. Buchanan (CA)

Obviously, with these teams being ranked sixth and seventh they are very evenly matched. If Buchanan is going to get the job down here, the Bears will have to snatch every opportunity to collect bonus points, which I feel they can do. 

Holmes’ pick: Buchanan

Bergen Catholic (NJ) vs. Blair (NJ)

There are six ranked vs. ranked battles in this dual. It goes without saying, but this matchup will be closely contested at 106, 120, 132, 160, 170, and 182.

However, the diamond in the rough here is at 152, where Blair's Willy Kaiser will take on Bergen Catholic's Gerard Angelo. While Kaiser was claiming a Geary title, Angelo was doing the same at Doc B. However, Angelo's performance showed that he has some gas-tank issues in the later periods if opponents can weather the early storm and keep it close. In both his semifinal and final he went up big, and despite getting the win, he looked completely spent.

Note: Bergen Catholic's Chris Foca does have a win over Blair's Julian Ramirez.

Holmes’ pick: Bergen Catholic — Champion