Danbury edges Xavier for No. 1 ranking in first top 10 poll of the season

The Danbury High wrestling team, shown after winning the Ryan Sabbagh tournament, is ranked No. 1 in the first Connecticut Wrestling Online poll of the season. (Photo courtesy Danbury High wrestling)

Every vote matters – even in an early-season top 10 high school wrestling poll.

Xavier received first place from 12 of the 16 voters in the first Connecticut Wrestling Online top 10 wrestling poll of the season but Danbury edged out the Falcons by six points in balloting from state coaches and members of the media.

While each of the 16 voters placed Danbury in the top two of their ballots, one voter had Xavier ranked No. 10 and two voters ranked the Falcons at No. 4. So, while the Falcons were in the top 10 in every voter’s ballot where Xavier was ranked made a difference.

Teams get 30 points for a first place vote and 28 for a second place vote. The number of points per vote from third to tenth place is 26, 24, 22, 20, 18, 16, 14 and 12 points, respectively. Voters can list up to 15 teams on their ballots and teams from 11 to 15 earning 11, 10, 9, 8 and 7 points, respectively

But it’s just the first poll of the season. There will be plenty of time and opportunities for teams to prove their mettle as the season progresses.

Danbury, under rookie head coach Mike Silvester, who replaced Hall of Fame coach Ricky Shook, has the Hatters off to a 5-0 start. The defending Class LL co-champions won their own Ryan Sabbagh Holiday Tournament and participated in the recent Beast of the East tournament in Newark, Delaware to test the mettle of their wrestlers.

Shook, who drew up the schedule for this season before he retired last March, used to consider it a failure if one of his wrestlers would go undefeated during the season. He always wanted his wrestlers to be tested before the postseason tournaments began.

Xavier (4-0) is also off to an impressive start as well. The Falcons had 11 medalwinners and two individual champions as they won the Mid-Hudson Tournament in New York State for the second time in three years. The Falcons are the only Connecticut team to have won the tournament since it began in 1965.

New Milford (2-0), which has done well in their first two tournaments of the season, is ranked No. 3. The Green Wave won the Chaves Invitational in Simsbury for the first time with a 41-point win over host Simsbury and finished second to Danbury at the Ryan Sabbagh Holiday Tournament.

No. 4 Fairfield Warde (2-1) dropped a 44-25 decision to Danbury on opening day but followed that up with a victory at the Guilford Invitational for the fourth time in the last five tournaments and dual meet wins over Wilton and Ridgefield.

At No. 5 is defending Class LL co-champion East Hartford, whose only action thus far came in a season-opening dual meet over Simsbury, 43-30. The Skip Ardan Invitational in Manchester on Dec. 17 was cancelled.

The Hornets, who received a first place vote, face South Windsor on Wednesday and head to the Bristol Central Invitational on Saturday.

No. 6 Killingly (10-0) won their own Killingly New Year’s Duals with a win over RHAM and Waterford’s Lancer Invitational.

No. 7 Simsbury (1-1) was second at the Chaves Invitational, 19th at the George Bossi Lowell Holiday tournament in Lowell, Mass., and beat Southington, 39-31.

No. 8 Newtown (6-0) was second at the Guilford Invitational behind Fairfield Warde and won their own Nighthawks Duals with a win over Norwalk. The Nighthawks were 12th at the George Bossi Lowell Holiday tournament, the top team from Connecticut.

No. 9 Berlin (8-2) won their own C.J. McCormack Tournament and beat Trumbull by three to capture the Trumbull Duals for the first time while No. 10 Southington (1-1) was second at Waterford’s Lancer Invitational and finished 13th at the Bossi Lowell Holiday tournament.

Connecticut Wrestling Online’s top 10 high school wrestling poll for the 2022-23 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.

Week 1, January 3, 2023