Xavier won their third straight State Open championship Saturday and the fourth in team history.
For the third consecutive season, Xavier is the No. 1 team in the final Connecticut Wrestling Online poll of state coaches and sportswriters. The Falcons, who swept the State Open and Class L championship meets, were a unanimous selection among the 16 voters this week.
It’s the fourth time that Xavier has been voted No. 1 in the season-ending poll. They were also the top selection in 2012.
Xavier (15-2) extended their winning streak against Connecticut teams to 40 matches, dating back to January 2019 when the Falcons lost to Danbury. Xavier was 11-0 against Connecticut teams this year, going 4-2 in matches at the National High School Duals in Wisconsin in January.
The Falcons also participated in and won tournaments in New York (Mid-State Classic), Maryland (War on the Shore) and Massachusetts (Methuen Invitational).
Newtown (16-0) completed their first undefeated season since 1972 and was voted No. 2. It was the best finish in the final poll for the Nighthawks since being No. 1 in 2015.
Class LL champion Fairfield Warde (22-2) came in at No. 3 with their 11th consecutive finish in the top 10.
Undefeated East Hartford (15-0) moved up one spot to No. 4 and finished in the top 10 for the third straight season.
No. 5 Danbury (14-0) extended their own state record with a 13th undefeated season and finished at No. 6. The Hatters have been in the top 10 of the final state poll for 35 straight years. The last time they were out of the top 10 was in 1987.
New Milford (11-3) finished at No. 6 after winning the Class L championship two weeks ago. Ridgefield (20-2) moved up two spots to No. 7.
Simsbury (13-4) slipped one shot to No. 8 and Class S champion Killingly (30-0) slipped one spot to No. 9. Killingly won eight tournaments this season. NFA (22-4) made their top 10 debut in the final poll of the season, slipping past Class M champion RHAM by two points.
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.
Tuesday, February 27, 2024 (FINAL)
| Team | Rec. | TW | Pts | LW | Class |
| 1. Xavier (16) | 15-2 | 7 | 480 | 1 | L |
| 2. Newtown | 16-0 | 5 | 442 | 4 | L |
| 3. Fairfield Warde | 22-2 | 4 | 386 | 2 | LL |
| 4. East Hartford | 15-0 | 4 | 384 | 5 | LL |
| 5. Danbury | 14-0 | 1 | 338 | 6 | LL |
| 6. New Milford | 11-3 | 4 | 304 | 3 | L |
| 7. Ridgefield | 20-2 | 1 | 288 | 9 | LL |
| 8. Simsbury | 13-4 | 2 | 274 | 7 | L |
| 9. Killingly | 30-0 | 8 | 215 | 8 | S |
| 10. NFA | 22-4 | 1 | 124 | nr | LL |
| Also receiving votes: RHAM (18-3) 122, Platt (23-4) 92, Berlin (13-9) 86, Trumbull (27-3) 78, Southington (10-2) 61, East Lyme/Norwich Tech (13-8) 33, Foran (31-8) 22, Lyman Memorial/Windham Tech (20-3) 10, Windham (17-9) 10, Guilford (17-9) 9, Fairfield Ludlowe (15-4) 7 | |||||
| TW: Wins in dual meet or individual tournaments as a team | |||||
| Voting this week: Charlie Anderson, Trumbull; Matt Boissonneault, Bristol Central; Mike Cunningham, Xavier; Gerry deSimas, Jr., Connecticut Wrestling Online; Derek Dion, Southington; Chris Gamble, Waterford; David Green, Nonnewaug; Chris Piel, New Milford; Patrick Risley, Windham High; Matt Schoonmaker, Jonathan Law-Milford; Jason Shaughnessy, Fairfield Warde; T.J. Silva, Simsbury; David Stewart, GameTimeCT.com, Jimmy Zanor, Norwich Bulletin; Paul Musso, New Fairfield | |||||
