Trumbull makes leap to No. 4 in Connecticut Wrestling Online’s top 10 poll

Avon’s Chris Gens keeps the pressure on Peter Grant of Longmeadow, Mass., at the Doc Myers Brawl at the Hill Saturday in Rocky Hill. Gens won at 185 pounds as No. 10 Avon won with a tournament-record score. (Photo courtesy Carolyn Marshall)

TRUMBULL, January 28 – You could tell by the quotes written down by Ryan Lacey of GameTimeCT following Saturday’s Connecticut Challenge that the Trumbull High wrestling team felt they haven’t been given their proper respect in the Connecticut Wrestling Online top 10 poll.

The Eagles were eighth in last week’s poll with a 20-5 record. The highest they had been ranked this year was No. 5 in week two.

Yes, Trumbull had lost to Bristol Eastern, 51-25 in December but the Eagles beat Foran, 40-33 to win their own Trumbull Duals. They finished third at the Minnechaug, Mass., Duals, losing in the semifinals to one of the top teams in Massachusetts – Springfield Central.

Trumbull lost to Danbury, 48-23 on January 16, but what Connecticut team doesn’t lose to the Hatters.

A week ago, Trumbull finished third at the Colter Abely Tournament at Xavier beating top 10 teams Simsbury and Fairfield Warde. The Eagles were just a point behind Xavier. But in last week’s poll, the Eagles were ranked eighth for the second consecutive week – behind Xavier, Simsbury and Fairfield Warde.

“That’s definitely been upsetting us recently,” Trumbull senior Travis Longo told Lacey. “Our coaches weren’t too happy about it and neither were we. We wanted to make a point.”

In a tournament with five top 10 teams, Trumbull won the Connecticut Challenge on Saturday with four individual champions – Longo (113), Jack Ryan (120), Matt Ryan (138) and Joe Palmieri (182). Trumbull had five finalists and eight wrestlers in the top three of their respective weight classes.

The Eagles won the tournament for the first time since 2016 beating top 10 rivals Southington, Bristol Eastern, Middletown and Simsbury. Trumbull finished with 186 points followed by Southington (178), Bristol Eastern (165), Middletown (152) and Simsbury (139½).

Point made. And the voters heard.

Trumbull jumped up four spots to No. 4 in this week’s Connecticut Wrestling Online top 10 poll. It’s the highest that the Eagles have been ranked since they were No. 3 in the first week of 2016.

As it has been all season, the same ten teams are in the top 10. The Eagles made the biggest jump but No. 1 Danbury did lose a first place vote for the first time this season. Undefeated Bristol Eastern (12-0) picked up that first place vote.

Danbury had their most lopsided win ever over Mt. Anthony, Vermont, last Monday but lost to Timberlane Regional in Plaistow, N.H. on Saturday in a quad meet, 47-18. It was an intense meet that saw some local spectators ejected from the building. The Hatters (11-1) did beat No. 7 Xavier at the meet, 37-27 and Nashoba Valley Tech from Westwood, Mass.

Bristol Eastern, which has won a school record 48 dual meets, remained at No. 2 as they have all season. Southington finished third with Trumbull ranked fourth.

No. 5 Fairfield Warde, No. 6 Simsbury, No. 7 Xavier and No. 8 Middletown all dropped one spot thanks to the rise of Trumbull.

Foran, with their state-leading 28 wins, and undefeated Avon (18-0) remained unchanged, respectively, at No. 9 and No. 10 in the poll.

There are some big matches on the schedule for Wednesday. The biggest is No. 2 Southington hosting No. 6 Simsbury with the winner moving into the driver’s seat for the CCC West championship.

Avon can win their first CCC North title with a win at home against Manchester. In the ECC, Montville and Griswold square off in a key Division III match. Both teams are undefeated in D3 action. In the Southwest Conference, New Milford visits Newtown and both teams are undefeated in the SWC Colonial division.

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 5, January 28, 2019

Also receiving votes: Killingly (21-3) 171, Montville (16-2) 130, East Haven (19-4) 125, Ledyard (18-6) 115, Greenwich (8-1) 61, Guilford (15-8) 18, Gilbert (20-3) 16, Waterford (16-4) and Enfield (9-7) 15, Windham (14-5) 10, Griswold (11-6) and Staples (10-5) 9

Voters: Charlie Anderson, Trumbull; Matt Boissonneault, Bristol Central; Steve Bilheimer, Ledyard; Gerry deSimas, Jr., Connecticut Wrestling Online; Derek Dion, Southington; Paul Gallo, New Canaan; Chris Gamble, Waterford; 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