With state tournaments on horizon, Xavier remains No. 1 in top 10 poll

No. 1 Xavier won their third tournament of the season by taking the Southern Connecticut Conference tournament on Saturday in Branford. (Photo courtesy Xavier High)

Defending State Open champion Xavier remains the No. 1 team in the Connecticut Wrestling Online’s top 10 state poll as voted by coaches and media members across the state.

New Milford remained at No. 2 for the second straight week but there was plenty of movement in the rest of the poll with two teams moving into the top 10 this week. Windham leaped into the top 10 for the first time since 2018 with Fairfield Ludlowe moving into the top 10 time for the first time in team history.

Everyone is off this week as the teams prepare for this weekend’s CIAC Class LL, L, M and S state championship tournaments that begin Friday and conclude on Saturday.

Xavier (10-4) got 15 of 17 first place votes from the voters after a dominating performance in winning the Southern Connecticut Conference tournament for the sixth straight season. The Falcons had 10 wrestlers in the finals and brought home nine individual champions. Danbury and New Milford got the other two first place votes.

No. 2 New Milford (8-0) beat New Fairfield last week for the fourth undefeated season in team history. The Green Wave put nine wrestlers into the SWC Tournament finals and had 13 wrestlers finish in the top four of their respective weight classes to set a new tournament record for most points scored.

It was a dramatic week for No. 3 Fairfield Warde (16-2), which moved up three spots from No. 6. Warde dropped a 36-30 decision to arch-rival Fairfield Ludlowe last Wednesday in a match for the FCIAC Eastern Division title.

But three days later, it was Warde winning their first FCIAC championship since 2010 with a win over Danbury. All 14 wrestlers for the Mustangs finished in the top six of their respective weight classes with five wrestlers in the finals and two winning FCIAC championships.

“We have been telling the kids it takes 14 to win ‘14 strong’ and that was our focus,” Fairfield Warde coach Jason Shaughnessy said on Sunday. “Everyone had to contribute to reach our goal.”

No. 4 East Hartford (10-1) won their second straight CCC North championship on Wednesday with a win over Manchester, 66-15. Two weeks ago, they won the CCC Tournament for the first time.

No. 5 Danbury (12-1) slipped two spots in this week’s poll. The Hatters beat Greenwich, 68-12 on Wednesday to win the FCIAC Western Division title but finished second to Fairfield Warde in the FCIAC Tournament. It was just the second time since 1987 that the Hatters didn’t win the FCIAC Tournament.

No. 6 Newtown (17-2) slipped one spot. The Nighthawks finished second in the SWC Tournament with 11 wrestlers in the top four of their respective weight classes, six wrestlers in the finals and three SWC champions.

RHAM (27-2) beat Rocky Hill on Wednesday, 75-6, to win their fourth straight CCC East championship. The Raptors, who moved up one spot to No. 7, were off last weekend.

No. 8 Windham (19-4) jumped into the top 10 for the first time since January 2018 after winning the ECC championship on Saturday. The Whippets had 10 wrestlers in the top four of their respective weight classes and two individual champions to outlast NFA for the title.

Fairfield Ludlowe (18-3) had a great week and moved into the top 10 for the first time at No. 9. Four times in the 2016 season, the Falcons were ranked as high as No. 12 but they never broke into the top 10.

Last Wednesday, Ludlowe beat Fairfield Warde for the first time by winning three of the final four matches to win their first FCIAC East championship. On Saturday at the FCIAC Tournament, Ludlowe placed third behind Warde and Danbury for their highest-ever finish in the event.

Dropping three spots to No. 10 this week is Killingly, which finished third at the ECC Tournament. Killingly (25-0) did go undefeated in dual meets, finishing undefeated for the fourth time in school history.

There will be no voting next weekend. The final poll of the season will be conducted after the State Open championships on Feb. 24-25.

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 7, Tuesday, February 14, 2023