The Hixson Wildcats are the defending Class A-AA state wrestling champions and they won the Region 2-A/AA meet last year as well, so they have to be considered one of the favorites for this year's tournament, which starts Friday night at Signal Mountain.
The Wildcats have a legitimate shot, but so do several others, including Notre Dame, Red Bank, Central and East Ridge.
But based on Wednesday afternoon's seeding meeting, it should be a battle between Hixson and Red Bank, but Notre Dame walked away with the most number-one seeds with five.
Add the second seeds and Hixson tops the list with seven, followed by Red Bank with six, Notre Dame with five, Central and East Ridge with four apiece.
It all comes down to how many state qualifiers each team can generate and that may be the most critical factor of all.
"We'll see which team shows up, but these seeds don't mean much," said Notre Dame coach John Mullin after the seeding process had concluded.
"If we show up and do what we're capable of doing, we have a shot. Hixson has a lot of momentum after finishing second in the state duals and Red Bank has something to prove. And Central has a bunch of great athletes too.
"It was a balanced tournament last year and I'm sure it will be again this time around, but it will all come down to who has the most medalists," Mullin said after his Fighting Irish were picked five times at the number-one slot.
"I don't have any idea, but I'm sure it will be a dog fight as usual," said Hixson's Garrick Hall.
"There are five or six teams capable of winning, but everything depends on who does what in the consolation rounds. That's where most tournaments are won and lost, but kids get better as the season progresses and we have a bunch of teams that can generate points in a hurry.
"But it went about like I thought it would," Hall added.
East Ridge coach Chris Bird is more worried about his guys than anyone else.
"To tell you the truth, I'm on pins and needles over what my guys are going to do. I'm just worried about our individuals, but it's going to be a battle. Most of these guys have been with me a long time and I just want them to succeed and do well. We'll be alright," he added.
Notre Dame has the most number-one seeds with five while East Ridge had three. Hixson and Red Bank had two while Central and Signal Mountain both have one apiece.
Those picked to win for Notre Dame include Tucker Gill at 106, Luke Mullin at 120, Packy Mullin at 145, Noah Bankston at 152 and Chris Hornsby at 220.
East Ridge's trio includes Spencer Griffey at 132, Tabrin Walker at 138 and DeAngelo Johnson at 170. Hixson's two top picks include Isaac Yates at 126 and Brody Gregory at 285.
Red Bank's pair include Trent Comeaux at 113 and Devin Crawl at 182.
Xavier Norwood got the nod at 160 for Central while defending state champ Cale Shelton is seeded first at 195 for Signal Mountain.
Notre Dame's Bankston is the only unbeaten wrestler in the tournament at 16-0 while teammates Packy Mullin and Luke Mullin are 34-1 and 33-1, respectively. Hixson's Landon Goforth, seeded second at 145, is 27-1.
East Ridge's Johnson is 26-2, Hixson's Gregory is 39-2 and Signal's Shelton is 25-3.
Others with just three losses include Notre Dame's Gill at 26-3, Red Bank's Comeaux at 36-3 and Gabe McDuffie at 32-3.
Friday's action begins at 6 p.m. and will go through the championship quarterfinals and two rounds of consolations. Saturday's action will start about 10 a.m. with the finals scheduled for 3 p.m.
The top four finishers in each weight class will advance to the TSSAA traditional state tournament, which will be held in Franklin next Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
While Hixson, Red Bank, Notre Dame, Central and East Ridge are expected to battle for first place, other teams in the field include Boyd-Buchanan, Brainerd, Howard, Signal Mountain, Sale Creek, Whitwell, Sequatchie Co., Tyner and Chattanooga Christian.
Listed below are the top four seeded wrestlers in each weight.
106 -- 1. Tucker Gill (Notre Dame); 2. Blake Reichel (Red Bank); 3. Kashawn Cosey (East Ridge); 4. Jacob Newman (Hixson).
113 -- 1. Trent Comeaux (Red Bank); 2. Hunter Owens (East Ridge); 3. Spencer Groves (Hixson); 4. Grant Speer (Notre Dame).
120 -- 1. Luke Mullin (Notre Dame); 2. Jonah Bird (Red Bank); 3. Logan McDonald (East Ridge); 4. Jay Brock (Sequatchie Co.).
126 -- 1. Isaac Yates (Hixson); 2. Bryson Lemons (Central); 3. Ned Warwick (Notre Dame); 4. Gavin Gardner (Sequatchie Co.).
132 -- 1. Spencer Griffey (East Ridge); 2. Cederick Harris (Hixson); 3. Isaac Coffman (Central); 4. Dan Dawson (Signal Mountain).
138 -- Tabrin Walker (East Ridge); 2. Justin Wheeler (Chattanooga Christian); 3. David Johnson (Red Bank); 4. Jonas Shackleford (Hixson).
145 -- Packy Mullin (Notre Dame); 2. Landon Goforth (Hixson); 3. Alex Hundley (Chattanooga Christian); 4. Greg Layne (Whitwell).
152 -- 1. Noah Bankston (Notre Dame); 2. Gabe McDuffie (Red Bank); 3. Alonzo Heyward (Central); 4. Chayse Patrick (Tyner).
160 -- 1. Xavier Norwood (Central); 2. Kaine Kell (Red Bank); 3. Ronny Huff (Hixson); 4. Matthew Mapp (East Ridge).
170 -- 1. DeAngelo Johnson (East Ridge); 2. Seth Petarro (Signal Mountain); 3. Robert Perry (Red Bank); 4. Michael Quatrano (Notre Dame).
182 -- 1. Devin Crawl (Red Bank); 2. Chris Nicholson (Hixson); 3. Kevin Cortes (Tyner); 4. B.J. Sledge (Central).
195 -- 1. Cale Shelton (Signal Mountain); 2. Dylan Bargerstock (Hixson); 3. Christian Jackson (Red Bank); 4. Seth Cumby (Whitwell).
220 -- 1. Chris Hornsby (Notre Dame); 2. Curtis Noiseaux (Central); 3. Truman Ross (Hixson); 4. Will Watkins (Boyd-Buchanan).
285 -- 1. Brody Gregory (Hixson); 2. Sam Stephenson (Central); 3. Anthony Ottinger (Red Bank); 4. Chase Cantrell (Whitwell).
(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@Comcast.net)