Xavier is No. 1 in first Connecticut Wrestling Online top 10 poll of season

For the second year in a row, Xavier won the Mid-Hudson Classic in New York in December. The Falcons are the No. 1 team in the first Connecticut Wrestling Online poll of the year. (Photo courtesy Michael Cunningham)

The first Connecticut Wrestling Online top 10 poll of the season is out with a familiar name at the top of the chart.

For the 24th consecutive week dating back to January 2022, Xavier (2-0) is ranked No. 1 in balloting by state coaches and media members.

Three teams received first place votes but Xavier is clearly the top team in voter’s minds at this time with 11 first-place votes. Danbury received two first place votes with East Hartford receiving one.

In the first poll of 2021-22 season, Danbury was No. 1 but in week two, Xavier moved to the top of the poll and has been there ever since.

In the last week of December, Xavier won the Mid-Hudson Classic for the second straight year and the Falcons earned their third consecutive top three finish at the War on the Shore tournament on Saturday.

The War on the Shore, held in Ocean City, Maryland, consists mainly of teams from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia. Xavier was the only New England school in the field.

Two Maryland teams – Archbishop Spaulding (225½ points) and South Carroll (217) – finished ahead of Xavier with 200½ points. The Falcons had 21 pins in the tournament, second only to South Carroll with 24.

Xavier had two individual champions – Braylon Gonzalez (132) and Maximus Morse (175).

No. 2 East Hartford (6-0) outlasted No. 5 Newtown by nine points, 232-221 to win their second straight Bristol Central Invitational championship on Saturday. Southington was third with 160 points.

Eight teams that received votes in this week’s poll wrestled in the 42nd annual event, including East Hartford, Newtown, No. 9 New Milford and No. 10 Southington.

“I am excited with the competition we saw,” East Hartford coach Todd Albert said. “The tournament was loaded with phenomenal teams and a lot of ranked kids. It gives us a good idea what we will see at (state tournament). My guys got to see it first hand.

Seven East Hartford wrestlers went to the finals and three came home with individual titles.

Issac Quiles (138) Jaeckez Mendez (144), Drayvn Roberts (175) earn won individual titles for the Hornets, who had seven wrestlers in the finals. Avery Porter (126), Riley Storozuk (157), Yaxier Rivera (165) and Wesley Jackson (285) each finished second.

“We have to get focused,” Albert said. “This is what is out there. You want to be a state champion? You want to be a State Open champion? We have to go back to film and how do we tweak it if there is a next time with these guys.”

No. 5 Newtown (5-1) had four individual champions with Kenna Gioffre (120), tournament MVP Antonio Arguello (150), Jake Maddox (157) and Marc Maurath (165) each winning individual championships.

No. 3 Danbury (3-0), who has already won Plainville’s Blue Devil Invitational and their own Ryan Sabbath tournaments, finished third on Saturday at the SWAT – the Spartan Wrestling Tournament in Sanford, Maine.

Shawsheen Valley Regional in Billerica, Massachusetts won the tournament with 246 points with Saint John’s Prep from Danvers, Mass., taking second with 220 points. The Hatters were third with 184½ points ahead of Timberlane Regional in New Hampshire with 162½.

Cristan Pote (132) won for Danbury while Victor Velez (138) and Eric Coons (175) each finished second.

No. 4 Ridgefield (5-0) remained undefeated with a big 38-33 win over Fairfield Warde on Saturday. The Tigers also beat Greenwich, 62-13, and Simsbury, 52-18.

It has been a nice start for No. 6 Fairfield Warde (3-1), who finished second at the George Bossi Lowell Holiday Classic in December and second at the Mid-Hudson Classic in New York behind Xavier. It was the best-ever finish in both tournaments for the Mustangs.

No. 7 Trumbull (12-0) is undefeated with a victory in their own Trumbull Duals thanks to a 37-35 win over Foran-Milford in the finals and another five wins on Saturday at Fairfield Ludlowe. The closest bout was a 59-24 victory over host Ludlowe.

No. 8 Killingly (17-0) has wrestled more dual meets than anyone so far. Killingly won their New Year’s Day duals tournament with a 49-29 win over Middletown in the final. On Saturday at the Lawman Duals in Milford, Killingly beat Foran, 43-35 with Jaxsun Smith (132) getting a pin in the final match to secure the win.

Killingly had six pins to secure the win and capture their 77th consecutive dual meet, which is now the second-longest winning streak in state history, according to the Connecticut High School Wrestling Record Book.

With five wins on Saturday in Milford, Killingly moved past Windham, who won 73 in a row from 2014-17.

The state record for most consecutive wins is held by Danbury, who won 96 in a row from 1996 through 2001.

No. 9 New Milford (1-0) has been challenging the Green Wave wrestlers in weekend events. New Milford won the Frank Chaves Invitational in Simsbury and finished second at the Ryan Sabbagh tournament behind Danbury.

Alex Oberc (126) won a title at the Bristol Central Invitational for New Milford, who had two finalists. The Green Wave finished fifth overall.

No. 10 Southington (1-1) won the Lancer Invitational in December while Foran (12-2) was second at the C.J. McCormack Invitational in Berlin and second at the Trumbull Duals, losing to the host Eagles in the championship match. Foran also lost to Killingly Saturday in the final of the Lawman Duals.

Saturday, Jan. 4 scores and results 

With three individual champions and four finalists, Ledyard scored a tournament-record 250½ points to win the Casey Dane Yates Invitational at Lyman Memorial on Saturday Ledyard beat Stafford by 28½ points for their first win at the tournament. Ledyard erased the previous tournament record of 233 set by Montville in 2018.

At the 15th annual Whippet Duals at Windham, East Lyme/Norwich Tech outlasted Waterford, 38-37 and Guilford, 48-36 in pool competition to earn a shot in the championship match against two-time defending tournament champion Windham. In the final, East Lyme/Norwich Tech beat the host Whippets, 51-24, to win the tournament for the first time.

Saturday, Jan. 4 scores and results 

The No. 1 ranked high school team in the country was in New England on Saturday for a pair of matches. Faith Christian Academy is a private high school in Quakertown, Pa., and is ranked No. 1 in most high school wrestling polls.

Faith Christian beat Westport’s Greens Farms Academy on Saturday, 40-29 in Glocester, Rhode Island, home of Ponaganset High, the defending New England (public school) champions.

Faith Christian also beat Ponaganset, 45-16.

Greens Farms Academy, the defending prep school New England champion, beat Ponaganset, 45-16. The Dragons are now 4-4 on the year. The matches are available on You Tube at The Schwartz Report website.

Saturday, Jan. 4 scores and results

John Lawless, left, and David Green are the only two coaches in Nonnewaug wrestling history. The program, which has won five state championships, celebrated their 50th anniversary on Saturday. (Photo courtesy Nonnewaug wrestling)

The Nonnewaug wrestling program celebrated their 50th anniversary on Saturday, hosting a four-team meet with Platt, Longmeadow, Mass. and Westhill from Stamford. The Chiefs won one of the three matches but it was a chance for wrestlers to come together.

Hall of Fame coach John Lawless, who founded the program, remains an assistant coach with the Chiefs. Lawless coached from 1976 through 2000 (301-169-1) and led his teams to four Class S state championships and 11 Berkshire League crowns.

His successor, David Green, who will be inducted into the Connecticut Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in April, has been coaching the team since 2001 with a record of 342-183. Under his leadership, the Chiefs won a Class S state title in 2004 and have won 14 Berkshire League championships.

January 4 was the anniversary of the first Nonnewaug match and Lawless’ birthday. Several wrestlers from the earliest Nonnewaug teams came to the event.

Saturday, Jan. 4 scores and results 

State top 10 poll

Connecticut Wrestling Online’s top 10 high school wrestling poll for the 2024-25 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.