Xavier finishes the season as the No. 1 team in Connecticut

No. 1 Xavier, which won the State Open title on Sunday, was voted the No. 1 team in the state in the final Connecticut Wrestling Online poll of the year. 

Hard work helped the Xavier High wrestling team win the Class L championship earlier this month and their second State Open title on Sunday.

On Tuesday, a panel of coaches and media members unanimously voted Xavier (12-1) as the No. 1 team in the state in the final Connecticut Wrestling Online top 10 poll of the season.

The Falcons received all 17 first place votes to finish first in the final poll for the second time in school history and for the first time since 2012.

“It was a lot of hard work,” Xavier coach Mike Cunningham said after winning at the State Open in New Haven. “I am thrilled for the guys. Like I said at the Class L meet, they really worked hard and they never complained. They came in (to work) when they had to. Hard work pays off.”

Danbury (11-1) finished second in the poll. The Hatters shared the Class LL championship with East Hartford and finished second to the Falcons at the State Open.

Danbury had been the top ranked team in the poll each year since 2016. The last time that the Hatters were not either first or second in the poll was in 2012 when they finished third.

East Hartford (20-0) posted the first undefeated season in school history, shared the Class LL title with Danbury and finished fourth at the State Open, a half point behind Simsbury.

The Hornets finished third in the final poll – their best finish since the poll was begun in 1983 by the Norwich Bulletin. East Hartford’s previous best finish in the final poll was seventh place finishes in 1994 and 1987.

Simsbury (14-2) finished fourth while Fairfield Warde (20-1) was fifth in the final poll of the year.

Two teams finished in the final top 10 poll for the first time – Haddam-Killingworth and Branford.

The Class S champion Cougars (16-5) finished sixth in the poll while Class M champion Branford (24-1) finished eighth. Neither had ever been ranked in top 10 of the year’s final poll. Killingly, who was second behind Haddam-Killingworth at the Class S meet, finished seventh. New Milford was ninth.

Norwalk (3-4) made the final top 10 poll for the first time since 1999. The Bears (3-4) finished a few points ahead of Newtown for the final spot in the top 10.

It was the fourth year that Connecticut Wrestling Online sponsored and coordinated the top 10 poll. The Norwich Bulletin ran the poll from 1983 through 2017.

Connecticut Wrestling Online’s top 10 high school wrestling poll for the 2021-22 season. 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.

FINAL, Tuesday, March 1, 2022