Danbury is still unanimous pick as No. 1 in Connecticut Wrestling Online’s top 10 poll

E.O. Smith’s Sean Bentley works to make a pin at 152 pounds earlier this season. (Photo courtesy Tess Grous)

DANBURY, January 7, 2018 — Danbury remains the unanimous choice as the No. 1 wrestling team in the state in week two of Connecticut Wrestling Online’s top 10 poll.

The Hatters (4-0) received all 17 votes from a panel of coaches and media members from across the state. It is the 25th consecutive week that Danbury has been ranked No. 1 in the poll.

Undefeated Bristol Eastern (9-0), who has won 45 consecutive dual meets dating to the 2016 season, is ranked No. 2 with Fairfield Warde (6-1) moving up one spot to No. 3. Southington slips one spot to No. 4 with Trumbull (17-3) moving up to No. 5.

There were no new teams in the top 10 although six teams swapped positions.

Danbury outlasted three-time tournament champion Timberlane, N.H. and Cumberland, R.I. on Saturday to win the SWAT tournament in Sanford, Maine for the second time since 2015.

Eastern outlasted CCC rival Southington by eight points to win the Bristol Central Invitational for the fourth straight year and for a record 10th time. Earlier in the week, Eastern beat Middletown by three points, 37-34, in a see-saw affair that saw the lead change hands 10 times. The Lancers won the final bout to take the match.

No. 4 Southington (6-1) swapped positions with No. 3 Fairfield Warde (6-1), which captured the Warde Invitational on Saturday for the ninth time in ten years.

No. 5 Trumbull (17-3) and No. 6 Simsbury (6-1) swapped spots in the top 10 poll. Trumbull finished third in the Falcon Duals in Minnechaug, Mass., while Simsbury finished second. Both lost to Springfield Central, one of the top dual meet teams in Massachusetts. Trumbull lost in the semifinals while Simsbury fell in the championship match.

Foran-Milford (19-2) remained ranked No. 7 with Xavier (5-1) remaining at No. 8. Undefeated Avon (8-0) moved up one spot to No. 9 with Middletown (8-2) slipping one spot to No. 10.

The Connecticut Wrestling Online’s Top 10 high school wrestling poll. First-place votes in parentheses, record through Saturday, points tabulated on a 30-28-26-24-22-20-18-16-14-12-11-10-9-8-7 basis, and last week’s poll ranking.

Week 2, January 7, 2019

Others receiving votes: Killingly (14-2) 137, Ledyard (8-3) 113, Montville (14-2) 91, Waterford (10-2) 74, East Haven (9-3) 71, Greenwich (5-0) 46, Gilbert (11-2) 28, Bristol Central (10-2) 25, Wethersfield (3-3) 23, Canton (9-2) 21, New Canaan (1-1) 18, Guilford (8-3) 17, Windham (9-4) 16, Newtown (5-2) 8, Hand (6-2) 7

Voters: Charlie Anderson, Trumbull; Matt Boissonneault, Bristol Central; Steve Bilheimer, Ledyard; Mike Cunningham, Xavier; Gerry deSimas, Jr., Connecticut Wrestling Online; Derek Dion, Southington; Paul Gallo, New Canaan;  Tim Jensen, Patch Media Corp.; Larry Kelley, Norwich Bulletin; Ryan Lacey, Danbury News Times; Bryan McCarty, Platt-Meriden; Eric Misko, Farmington; Chris Piel, New Milford; Patrick Risley, Windham High; Matt Schoonmaker, Jonathan Law-Milford; Jason Shaughnessy, Fairfield Warde; Ricky Shook, Danbury