Danbury’s Ryan Jack is named state wrestler of the year

Danbury junior Ryan Jack was named the state wrestler of the year on Sunday.

SOUTHINGTON, March 10, 2019 – Two-time New England champion Ryan Jack of Danbury was named the state’s wrestler of the year in balloting by coaches at the Connecticut High School Coaches Association (CHSCA) All-State banquet at the Aqua Turf restaurant.

For the third straight year, Danbury was recognized as the state’s team of the year.

Wrestlers that won State Open, Class LL, Class L, Class M and Class S championships were recognized with All-State honors along with seven senior wrestlers earning Academic All-State honors. State Coach of the Year and Assistant Coach of the Year honors were also presented.

Jack, who ended the season ranked No. 4 in the country by FloWrestling.com, won his third Class LL title and third State Open championship as he went undefeated in Connecticut. He won four straight postseason tournaments, winning 15 straight matches at 126 pounds.

Jack won his second straight New England championship, pinning Northwestern’s Angelo Folino in the final. Jack became just the fifth wrestler in state history to win an Eastern States Classic title and he finished fourth in the Beast of the East tournament in Delaware in December — his only two losses of the season.

As a team, Danbury had four medalists — including Ryan Jack — to win their second New England championship in the last three years. The Hatters were ranked No. 1 in Connecticut Wrestling Online’s top 10 poll, won their fourth straight Class LL championship and took home their fifth State Open title in the last seven years.

“Things changed as the year went one,” Danbury High coach Ricky Shook said at the New England championship meet. “Our (challenging) scheduled helped and guys began to realize they would wrestle and beat guys that were supposedly better than them. (Individual) rankings don’t mean anything, you have to wrestle to win.”

The Academic All-State award recognizes seniors in good standing at their schools and members of the All-State team in wrestling. Candidates also need to score at least 1,200 on the SAT and/or at least 26 on the ACT.

2019 All-State brochure

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