Xavier is still No. 1 in top 10 poll but No. 2 Ridgefield has closed the gap

Ridgefield won the Colter Abley Classic tournament for the first time on Saturday. The Tigers received five first place votes in this week’s top poll and moved into second place. (Photo courtesy Ridgefield High wrestling)

Defending State Open and Class L champion Xavier (4-0) remains No. 1 in the latest Connecticut Wrestling Online top 10 poll but the gap with the Falcons and the rest of the field has grown smaller.

The Falcons received eight of 14 votes in this week’s poll and holds an 12-point lead over undefeated Ridgefield (7-0), who received and moves up to No. 2 in the poll for the first time this century.

Three teams picked up first place votes this week with East Hartford also securing a first place vote.

Ridgefield won the Colter Abley Classic in Middletown for the first time last Saturday with one individual champion and six wrestlers finishing in the top four of their respective weight classes.

The Tigers beat Bishop Hendricken of Warwick, Rhode Island by a half point, 313 ½ to 313 with host Xavier finishing a close third with 308 points. It was the first tournament win of the year for Ridgefield.

A pin by Leo Moore (144 pounds) in the championship match with six seconds left in regulation helped Ridgefield get over the top. Moore had an eight-point lead over Guilford’s Alex Uzzo when he got the pin.

Cole Desiano (106), Carter Lanzilli (113), John Carrozza (132), Luciano Tumminello (150), Lorenzo Lanzilli (157) and Marcello Tumminello (175) each finished third for Ridgefield, who picked up a 38-33 win over Fairfield Warde earlier this month as one of their seven wins.

The tournament is not your usual tournament. In each weight class, wrestlers compete in four pools of four athletes with the four pool winners advancing to the semifinals for a shot at the championship. The semifinal losers wrestle for third place.

No. 3 East Hartford (8-0) finished second to Killingly at the Greater Hartford Open at Hall High in West Hartford. For the second consecutive year, Killingly beat the Hornets to win the tournament, 203-187.

Killingly, which moved up three spots to No. 7, had four finalists and eight wrestlers finish in the top four of their respective weight classes while East Hartford had three individual champion and five finalists.

No. 10 Southington (6-2) was third at the Greater Hartford Open with two finalists.

No. 4 Fairfield Warde (7-1) ended Danbury’s 39-year winning streak against FCIAC opponents on Saturday with a 42-26 win over the Hatters, who dropped one spot to No. 5.

Newtown (6-1) moved up one spot to No. 5, tied with Danbury. The Nighthawks finished sixth at Colter Abley Classic with three individual champions – Anthonio Arguello (150), Jake Maddox (157) and Marc Maurath (165).

No. 8 Trumbull (24-1) has the most wins in the state and came up with seven victories last week, including six wins on Saturday to take the Ben Aleks Duals in Enfield for the fourth straight year. The closest victory was a 48-34 win over host Enfield. The Eagles also had a tough match with Ledyard in a 57-23 decision.

No. 9 New Milford (2-0) has won just two dual meets this season but the Green Wave won their third tournament of the season on Saturday by taking their own 39th annual New Milford Invitational with a 171-138 win over Middlebury, Vermont. The Green Wave had one champion and five finalists.

New Milford won the tournament for the fourth straight year and 20th time overall. Middlebury’s finish was the best-ever for an out-of-state team in the tournament. Gilbert/Torrington/Wolcott Tech’s Evan Schibi (157) was the outstanding wrestler.

In other action around the state on Saturday, Foran (21-2) won their second tournament of the season with a 64-9 win over Waterford in the final of the Stony Brook Duals at Branford. Foran has been on the outside of the top 10 all season. They have finished at No. 11 for three weeks.

For the second straight week, Avon (10-2) is ranked at No. 12 after winning a tournament.

A week ago, the Falcons won the Art Powers Duals in Berlin for the first time with a 47-34 win over South Windsor. On Saturday, Avon won the Griswold Mid-Season Invitational for the second consecutive year with a 212½ to 193½ win over Toll Gate Regional from Warwick, Rhode Island.

Elijah Fagin (138) and John Murphy (157) won individual championships for Avon with Aki Bhadbad (132) and Maxwell Janes (215) each finishing second.

NOTES: Ledyard (13-2) is 13-3 after winning five of six matches to finish second at the Ben Aleks Duals in Enfield. … Platt (14-2) finished fourth at the Greater Hartford Open. … Connecticut Wrestling Online was the weekly top 10 polls dating back to 2001. We believe this is the first time that Ridgefield has received No. 1 votes in the poll and No. 2 is the highest they have been ranked.

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.