Perennial power Danbury is ranked second, and Fairfield Warde is No. 5 as they are the two FCIAC teams ranked in the current Connecticut Wrestling Online Top 10 Poll which was released Jan. 24.
Xavier (8-4) received 13 first-place votes and 500 points to get the No. 1 ranking while the undefeated Danbury Hatters (9-0) got the other three first-place votes and 478 points.
Xavier and Danbury will square off in a No. 1-vs.-No. 2 showdown when Danbury hosts Xavier on Friday, Feb. 3, with the first match scheduled for 5 p.m.
The top four teams are ranked in the same spots as they were in the previous poll. New Milford (5-0) remained No. 3 and Newtown (11-2) is No. 4 again.
Fairfield Warde (11-1) moved up one spot to No. 5 as the Mustangs vaulted above East Hartford (3-0), which dropped down one spot to No. 6.
The other teams in the Top 10, in order of their rankings 7-through-10, are Killingly (17-0), Southington (7-2), RHAM (19-2), and Simsbury (4-1).
Trumbull, Fairfield Ludlowe, and Norwalk are the three FCIAC teams among the 12 teams in the “Also receiving votes” category. Trumbull (20-2) received the 11th most polling points, Fairfield Ludlowe (12-2) got the 16th most and Norwalk (8-2) received the 22nd most.
Danbury and Xavier have both been ranked No. 1 this season. Danbury, now guided by new coach Mike Silvestri, was ranked No. 1 in the season’s first state poll which was released Jan. 3. But then Xavier overtook Danbury and was ranked first while Danbury was No. 2 in the next poll which was released Jan. 10.
The Connecticut Wrestling Online Top 10 Poll is voted on by mostly coaches and a few media members.
Danbury, Xavier, Newtown, and Fairfield Warde all registered convincing victories recently to improve their dual-meet records since the current poll was voted on.
Danbury improved to 10-0 overall and 5-0 in the FCIAC West with a 75-3 victory over Westhill. Xavier defeated Morgan, 72-5, to improve to 9-4. Fourth-ranked Newtown improved to 12-2 with a 72-9 victory over Pomperaug. Fairfield Warde’s fifth-ranked Mustangs improved to 13-1 with victories of 81-0 over Notre Dame-Fairfield and 69-9 over Brookfield/Shepaug.
The regular season is now in its homestretch because soon enough, as soon as Feb. 10, conference wrestlers will be wrestling in the 2023 FCIAC Wrestling Tournament at its usual site of New Canaan High School.
The early rounds begin Friday, Feb. 10, at 4:30 p.m. The wrestlebacks commence the following Saturday morning, at 10 a.m., and the championship matches in each weight class are scheduled for that same Saturday afternoon on Feb. 11 at 4 p.m.
Danbury finished 4.5 points ahead of Fairfield Warde to win its 11th consecutive FCIAC championship last year in the final year of the legendary 23-year career of previous coach Ricky Shook.
Greenwich won the FCIAC championship in 1986. Danbury dethroned the Cardinals the next year to begin a dynastic run in which the Hatters won 23 straight conference championships and they now have won 33 of the last 34 conference crowns.
Fairfield Warde won in 2010 to end Danbury’s streak of 23 consecutive FCIAC championships from 1987 to 2009.
Last year Christian Pote won the 106-pound weight class while 138-pounder Kai O’Dell and 145-pounder Logan Kovacs were also conference champions as they helped lead the Hatters to the FCIAC title with 225.5 points. Pote is having another strong year as a 113-pounder this year.
Lucas Coleman (152 pounds) and Will Ebert (170) were FCIAC individual champions who led Warde to second place with 221 points.
Danbury and East Hartford were state Class LL co-champions last year as they tied each other with 232 points.
The FCIAC had nine teams place among the top 13 at the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference Class LL Wrestling Tournament. Fairfield Warde placed third with 204 points and Ridgefield took fourth with 146.45 points.
The six other conference teams among the top 13 were Trumbull (sixth place), Norwalk (eighth), Fairfield Ludlowe (10th), Staples (11th), Greenwich (12th), and Brien McMahon (13th).
Xavier won the CIAC State Open last year with 204 points and Danbury was runner-up with 145. Fairfield placed fifth with 109.
One week after the FCIAC championship meet, the state class championship meets take place Feb. 17-18. Trumbull hosts the Class LL tournament.
The State Open is Feb. 24-25 at Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven.