It’s conference championship Saturday around Connecticut this weekend. Teams will be competing for league championships. The winners of the FCIAC, ECC, SWC and SCC tournaments are the conference champions.
In the NCCC and the Berkshire League, points earned in the conference tournament go toward determining the league champion. In the ECC, points earned in the conference tournament go toward determining divisional champions.
A quick look at action this weekend.
Berkshire League (BL)
At Derby
Defending champion: Nonnewaug
There is no more Berkshire-Valley tournament. The Berkshire League granted associate memberships to three teams with Naugatuck Valley League students and will host an six-team tournament on Saturday in Derby.
The Derby/Oxford/Holy Cross, St. Paul and Gilbert/Torrington co-op team were granted associate memberships to join with Nonnewaug, Northwestern and the Terryville/Thomaston co-op team in the Berkshire League.
Wrestlers from Wamogo, Ansonia, Seymour, Woodland and Wolcott Tech will also compete in the BL tournament. Wrestlers from Wolcott Tech train with Gilbert.
The NVL squads are eligible to win the league championship and can put wrestlers on the Berkshire League All-Star team. Teams earn two points for a dual meet victory and one point for each team they beat at the league tournament.
Nonnewaug (5-0) will go into the BL tournament with the edge on winning the league title although Gilbert/Torrington (3-1) – with a win over St. Paul in dual meet that has been postponed twice — could be in position if the Chiefs falter during the BL tournament.
Associate membership isn’t a new concept in the Berkshire League. Watertown plays in the Berkshire League in field hockey.
The Berkshire Valley wrestling tournament began in 2015 to bring some additional wrestlers from NVL teams into the season-ending Berkshire League tournament. Gilbert won the Berkshire Valley tournament three times with Terryville and Nonnewaug winning it twice. Northwestern won it once in 2017. The best finish by a NVL team was Derby’s second-place finish in 2015.
The Berkshire League has still been recognizing league champions in wrestling over the past years despite no post-season tournament of their own. Nonnewaug has won the last two BL titles. Gilbert’s last BL championship came in 2019.
Eastern Connecticut Conference (ECC)
At Killingly
Defending champion: Windham
Broadcast: The Day will be streaming the ECC finals live
Brackets and results
Killingly has won four of the last five Eastern Connecticut Conference tournaments, including a half-point win over Montville in 2018. Windham is the defending league champion having beat NFA, 222½ to 188 last February. The tournament is a one-day event at Killingly High.
The preliminary seeds have been released for the ECC Tournament. They could change if a wrestler is overweight or injured.
North Central Connecticut Conference (NCCC)
At Stafford
Defending champion: Portland
Brackets and results
Portland/Cromwell is a new co-op program this year but their predecessor squad from Portland are the defending tournament champions. The Highlanders won the NCCC tournament in 2022 and 2023.
Stafford is in the driver’s seat to win their first league championship since 2003. The Bulldogs went 7-0 in the dual meet portion of the season with Rockville going 6-1.
Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC)
At East Haven
Defending champion: Xavier
Broadcast: The SCC will be streaming the finals live on YouTube.
Brackets and results
No. 1 Xavier is looking for a seven consecutive SCC Tournament championship, which would extend their own league record for the longest winning streak in tournament history. The last team outside of Xavier to win the SCC championship was Foran in 2016 when they beat Xavier by 11 points. The finals usually start around 4 p.m.
Southwest Conference (SWC)
At Newtown
Defending champion: New Milford
No. 2 Newtown and No. 6 New Milford are the top two contenders at the Southwest Conference tournament in Newtown. New Milford has won SWC Tournaments in a row and 16 of the last 18 events with Newtown winning twice in 2015 and 2019.
A year ago, the Green Wave beat Newtown by 16 points with a 267-241 decision. The last time outside of New Milford and Newtown to win the SWC title was Bethel in 2003.
Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference (FCIAC)
At New Canaan
Defending champion: Fairfield Warde
Brackets and results
Danbury looks to regain its customary perch on top of the FCIAC Tournament. A year ago, Fairfield Warde beat the Hatters in the tournament for just the second time, 216-184. Warde also won in 2010 by eight points. The last team to win the FCIAC championship outside of Danbury and Fairfield Warde was Greenwich in 1986.
Fairfield Warde is looking to be the first team – with the exception of Danbury – to win two straight FCIAC championships since Norwalk won two in a row in 1984 and 1985.
The FCIAC remains the only two-day conference tournament in the state. Wrestling begins Friday at 4:30 p.m. with quarterfinals afterwards. On Saturday, the semifinals are at 10 a.m. with third place and fifth place bouts at 2 p.m. and the finals at 4 p.m.
Western New England Prep School Championships
At Greens Farms Academy-Westport
Defending champion: GFA
The Western New England Prep School championships will be held Saturday in Westport at Greens Farms Academy. The Dragons are heavily favored to win their third straight WNEIWA championship. A year ago, GFA rolled up 323 points with Brunswick in Greenwich finishing second with 235 points.
