It went down to the last match in Friday battle with Fairfield Warde and Foran-Milford in Fairfield with Foran taking home the victory. (Photo courtesy Leigh Busby)
Defending Class M champion Foran of Milford had themselves an evening on Friday night with a pair of victories over teams ranked in Connecticut Wrestling Online’s top 10 poll.
The Lions (19-2) got key victories in the final stages of the match to beat New Milford, 39-29 and beat Fairfield Warde, 45-35. Those victories enabled Foran to leap up three spots in this week’s top poll to No. 4.
Xavier (6-4) remains a unanimous selection as the No. 1 team in the state while Danbury (7-0) moved up three spots to No. 2 – their highest ranking of the season. Trumbull (9-1) moved up two spots to No. 3.
After Foran, Ridgefield (7-2) is ranked No. 5 followed by Fairfield Warde (9-2), New Milford (6-2), Southington (9-1), Killingly (21-1) and Bristol Eastern (12-1). Killingly moves into the top 10 for the first time this season.
It was a great four-team meet in Fairfield last Friday night with three top 10 teams – then-ranked No. 3 Warde, No. 6 New Milford and No. 7 Foran along with Simsbury.
“I was really proud because it was a complete team win,” Foran head coach Dave Esposito said. “In both matches (against Warde and New Milford), some of the guys that we count on for pins almost every single match got beat. The other guys had to rise to the occasion and came through with very clutch victories. I think it’s a testament to our depth and closeness as a team.”
Foran won five of the final six matches to beat New Milford, 39-29. Shane Trevethan (175) picked up a 1-0 decision over New Milford’s Frank Scalia while Zach Grosso (285) moved up from 215 pounds to pin New Milford’s Bryan Vicentin in the final match to secure the win. The Lions led by just four going into the final bout.
New Milford had three pins in the first five matches to grab a 23-6 lead but Foran remained poised and got a pin from Rowan Bodden (138) and a decision from Joseph Vantine (144) to cut the lead to 23-15.
The match with Fairfield Warde was tight all the way through the lineup. Warde won three of the first five matches to take an 18-12 lead. Foran won the next four matches to take a 33-18 lead with Bodden (144) getting a victory and Thomas Mahon (150) and Tyquell Lucas (165) getting pins.
But Warde won three of the next four matches with two pins and a tech fall to cut the Foran lead to 39-35 with one match remaining. Foran’s sophomore Cameron Getz (103) got a pin in the final bout to give Foran the victory.
“It was very exciting. And the New Milford vs Warde match came down to the last match as well. It was an amazing atmosphere to be part of all night,” Esposito said.
With eight pins, Foran beat Simsbury, 55-24, to close out the evening.
Fairfield Warde beat New Milford, 33-27 with Cody Palmentiero (113) getting an 8-3 win over New Milford’s Joseph Fleming to secure the victory for the Mustangs. Warde also beat Simsbury, 57-21 while New Milford secured their only win of the evening with a 50-28 decision over Simsbury.
Wednesday, Jan. 21: Scores and boxscores
Friday, Jan. 23: Scores and boxscores
Saturday, Jan. 24: Scores and boxscores
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It was a light week for No. 1 Xavier (6-4), No. 2 Danbury (7-0) and No. 8 Southington (9-1), who each took the weekend off.
Xavier’s only action last week was a 46-34 win over then-No. 7 Foran on Wednesday.
Danbury handed then-No. 2 Ridgefield (7-1) their first loss of the season on Wednesday with a 40-38 victory. Trailing 32-23 with four matches to go, the Hatters got two pins and a technical fall to win the bout.
Danbury’s Lucas Serpa (165) won by technical fall, Harrison Muller (190) got a pin and Acelin Ouellette (215) won with a pin to give the Hatters a 40-32 lead with one match remaining.
Ridgefield did rebound to take second place in their own Gary Tiger Ridgefield Challenge for the third straight year.
Southington (9-1, 3-0) beat Simsbury on Wednesday, 52-28 to remain undefeated in the CCC West.
No. 3 Trumbull (9-1) beat Fairfield Ludlowe, 46-33 last Wednesday and won their first tournament of the season on Saturday with an eight point win over Ridgefield, 204-196 to win the 24th Gary Tiger Ridgefield Challenge. Newtown was a close third with 191½ points.
Trumbull used their depth and strong wrestling in the consolation bracket to win the tournament with no individual champions. Trumbull had two finalists, four wrestlers who finished third, two wrestlers in fourth place and two wrestlers in fifth place.
Ridgefield had five individual champions and six finalists.
No. 9 Killingly (21-1) currently leads the state in dual meet victories after picking up four victories at the Shoreline Duals in Branford on Saturday. The Trailblazers beat then-No. 9 Bristol Eastern, 47-25 to win their second tournament of the season.
No. 10 Bristol Eastern (12-1) lost their first match of the season in the Shoreline Duals championship bout but secured wins over Fitch co-op, Manchester, Branford and Plainville this week. The Lancers lead the CCC South with a 4-0 record.
Wednesday, Jan. 21: Scores and boxscores
Friday, Jan. 23: Scores and boxscores
Saturday, Jan. 24: Scores and boxscores
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New Britain had four pins and 10 victories in a 47-24 win over Berlin last Friday to improve to 19-2 on the season, which may be the most victories in a single season in team history, according to records kept by Connecticut Wrestling Online.
According to records compiled by website editor and founder Gerry deSimas, the most wins for New Britain in a single season came in 2014 and 2015 when the Hurricanes were 18-6 and 18-14, respectively. They did have a 17-13 record in 2019.
New Britain finished third at the Skip Ardan tournament in Manchester in December and finished second to then-No. 5 Foran at the John Chaco Duals, dropping a 40-31 decision in the championship match.
New Britain’s first varsity wrestling team came in 1982-83 once Pulaski High closed. Paul Campagna, who coached at Pulaski and helped the Generals win five of the first six Class S state championships, led New Britain for the first two years of their program.
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Glastonbury (15-2) captured the Arrigoni Duals in Portland for the second time in three years with a 4-0 record. The Guardians beat North Haven, 60-15 and Pomperaug co-op, 54-27 in the championship pool.
Greenwich won the 19th Doc Meyers Brawl for the second straight year thanks to one individual champion, six finalists and two wrestlers finishing third. The Cardinal had eight wrestlers finish among the top three in their respective weight class. Greenwich beat Holyoke, Mass., 204-175½ with East Longmeadow, Mass., finishing a close third at 173.
Waterford beat host Plainville, 47-30 to win the Blue Devils on Saturday. Griswold/Wheeler beat Granby/East Granby to finish third.
At the fifth annual Carl Snitkin Duals at NFA, Barrington, Rhode Island beat Ledyard, 47-31 to become the first out-of-state team to win the tournament. Ledyard (13-3) was the defending tournament champion and the Colonels beat then-No. 10 Notre Dame-West Haven, 39-34 in pool play to advance to the final. Notre Dame-WH beat Staples, 42-34 to finish third.
At the Battle at the Falcon’s Nest in Redding at Joel Barlow, Shelton (17-2) beat the host Falcons, 66-18 to win the event for the second straight year.
Hall (7-9) had a 43-33 win over host Platt (12-5) to win the Silver City Duals in Meriden on Saturday.
Wednesday, Jan. 21: Scores and boxscores
Friday, Jan. 23: Scores and boxscores
Saturday, Jan. 24: Scores and boxscores
Top 10 state poll
Week 4, January 26, 2026
Connecticut Wrestling Online’s top 10 high school wrestling poll for the 2025-26 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.
| Team | Rec. | TW | Pts. | LW | Class |
| 1. Xavier (13) | 6-4 | 1 | 390 | 1 | L |
| 2. Danbury | 7-0 | 0 | 356 | 4 | LL |
| 3. Trumbull | 9-1 | 1 | 302 | 5 | LL |
| 4. Foran | 19-2 | 3 | 300 | 7 | M |
| 5. Ridgefield | 7-2 | 1 | 292 | 2 | LL |
| 6. Fairfield Warde | 9-2 | 1 | 282 | 3 | L |
| 7. New Milford | 6-2 | 2 | 232 | 6 | L |
| 8. Southington | 9-1 | 1 | 178 | 8 | LL |
| 9. Killingly | 21-1 | 2 | 171 | nr | S |
| 10. Bristol Eastern | 12-1 | 1 | 125 | 9 | M |
| TW: Dual meet or individual tournaments won by team; LW: Last week’s poll | |||||
| Also receiving votes: Notre Dame-West Haven (18-4) 120, Newtown (8-2) 117, Ledyard (13-3) 108, Amity (6-1) 51, Shelton (17-2) 47, Glastonbury (15-2) 31, Plainville (10-5) 15, Hall (7-9) 14, Berlin (7-3) 8, Platt (12-5) 8 | |||||
| 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; John McLaughlin, Avon; Patrick Risley, Windham; Matt Schoonmaker, Jonathan Law-Milford; Jason Shaughnessy, Fairfield Warde; Jimmy Zanor, Norwich Bulletin. Did not vote: Paul Musso, New Fairfield | |||||
