I hope it is a tight battle at opens with Danbury, Simsbury, and Xavier and that all three place at the top of NEs. It would be great to see CT own NEs.
I think this years line up is more consistant than many years past, 152-195 is going to be much more solid than many may think. The question i have is who will they send out at 106? Danbury has had a 106lb state open placer for somthing crazy like 15 years in a row... can Knight get down to 108lbs, if so that really makes this line up tough to beat. Also something that is being overlooked is that Cerquira is in their line up this year. he wrestled at abott last year and went 2-2 at opens, he is back at 120lbs and plugs in nice to their line up. This team has 9 returning point scorers from the open in 2019.
I think Danbury sends 12 to the opens this year, and with that much depth, even the teams that have the star power to hang with them won’t have enough scorers to keep up. Now it’s really early in the year and we don't know a whole lot, but since the titie of this post is so bold, I’ll take a stab at a bold prediction.
This question is a bit ambiguous in that are you referring to beating Danbury in a dual or in a tournament?
As for a dual, the key to beating Danbury this upcoming season is to really score teams points in the 145 - 195 weight classes, and not give away matches down low outside of Danbury's studs (e.g., O'Dell, Johnson, & Jack).
Case in point was the Timberline match from last year (note...Jack did not wrestle the Timberline match last year, but this did not result in the loss, but would have made the match closer than the 45-14 final score). Timberline racked up the bonus team points with consecutive wins/MDs/PFs from 138 to 182 lbs, while limiting damage in the lower weights. After 132, the team score between Danbury/Timberline was 14-17 (i.e., limiting the damage in the lower weights), but Timberline opened up the match from there on out with six straight wins, ending as 45-14. If a team can score team points with bonus team points via MDs/TFs/PFs through the middle of the lineup, then there is a chance (albeit, a small one...think of Jim Carrey's line from Dumb & Dumber..."So you say there is a chance?").
However, is there a team in CT that can match-up in this manner? Simsbury can matchup in the lower weights well, but the middle/upper weights are not as strong to get the MD/FT/PF team points, especially with Bergin leaving to upstate NY. Warde, BE, Xavier...which of these teams' lineups is strong from the middle up, but also limits the damage in the lower weights? Don't know...only time will tell once the season starts.
Now Danbury did lose three really good wrestlers from last year's lineup (132 - Fields, 145 - LeBlanc, 195 - Osbey...all NE wrestlers). Danbury does a good job at filling with quality from their youth program and from Empire, while also developing talent on the team (Shook is a heck of a coach), especially the continued development of their young middle/upper lineup from the 2018-2019 season. Do the replacements out-do the losses (are there three other NE wrestlers to replace the ones listed above?)...I would expect so, especially going by Danbury's history and quality of coaching.
8 returning Class LL placers, 4 returning state open placers, including Jack. Don't know anything about Ryan Jacks status for the year, but it looks like a pretty solid lineup for sure. I don't see anyone beating them at Class LL, but Simsbury is definitely in the mix for the opens.
I thought last year would be the year they slip up a bit and I was wrong. Hard to bet against Danbury but if a team is going to get it done I think it’s Simsbury
What's the lineup? Should they be annointed off of "solid kids at every weight?" Sounds more like you're baiting rather than discussing the potential of the team. Isn't Ryan Jack out for the year?
I hope it is a tight battle at opens with Danbury, Simsbury, and Xavier and that all three place at the top of NEs. It would be great to see CT own NEs.
Simsbury will take the Open.
I think this years line up is more consistant than many years past, 152-195 is going to be much more solid than many may think. The question i have is who will they send out at 106? Danbury has had a 106lb state open placer for somthing crazy like 15 years in a row... can Knight get down to 108lbs, if so that really makes this line up tough to beat. Also something that is being overlooked is that Cerquira is in their line up this year. he wrestled at abott last year and went 2-2 at opens, he is back at 120lbs and plugs in nice to their line up. This team has 9 returning point scorers from the open in 2019.
I think Danbury sends 12 to the opens this year, and with that much depth, even the teams that have the star power to hang with them won’t have enough scorers to keep up. Now it’s really early in the year and we don't know a whole lot, but since the titie of this post is so bold, I’ll take a stab at a bold prediction.
This question is a bit ambiguous in that are you referring to beating Danbury in a dual or in a tournament?
As for a dual, the key to beating Danbury this upcoming season is to really score teams points in the 145 - 195 weight classes, and not give away matches down low outside of Danbury's studs (e.g., O'Dell, Johnson, & Jack).
Case in point was the Timberline match from last year (note...Jack did not wrestle the Timberline match last year, but this did not result in the loss, but would have made the match closer than the 45-14 final score). Timberline racked up the bonus team points with consecutive wins/MDs/PFs from 138 to 182 lbs, while limiting damage in the lower weights. After 132, the team score between Danbury/Timberline was 14-17 (i.e., limiting the damage in the lower weights), but Timberline opened up the match from there on out with six straight wins, ending as 45-14. If a team can score team points with bonus team points via MDs/TFs/PFs through the middle of the lineup, then there is a chance (albeit, a small one...think of Jim Carrey's line from Dumb & Dumber..."So you say there is a chance?").
However, is there a team in CT that can match-up in this manner? Simsbury can matchup in the lower weights well, but the middle/upper weights are not as strong to get the MD/FT/PF team points, especially with Bergin leaving to upstate NY. Warde, BE, Xavier...which of these teams' lineups is strong from the middle up, but also limits the damage in the lower weights? Don't know...only time will tell once the season starts.
Now Danbury did lose three really good wrestlers from last year's lineup (132 - Fields, 145 - LeBlanc, 195 - Osbey...all NE wrestlers). Danbury does a good job at filling with quality from their youth program and from Empire, while also developing talent on the team (Shook is a heck of a coach), especially the continued development of their young middle/upper lineup from the 2018-2019 season. Do the replacements out-do the losses (are there three other NE wrestlers to replace the ones listed above?)...I would expect so, especially going by Danbury's history and quality of coaching.
Here is Danbury's lineup (http://www.hatterswrestling.com/)
Projected Lineup: (Subject to Change)
106: Liam Knight / Liam Byrne
113: Kailan O’Dell
120: Kevin Pina / Johnny Cerqueira
126: Tyler Johnson*
132: Matt Lucas
138: Ryan Jack*
145: Logan Kovacs
152: Daniel Camacho
160: Jesse Patton*
170: Andrew Rosa
182: Jaylen Hawkins
195: Tyrell Jones
220: DJ Donovan
285: Jordan Agosto
*Captain
8 returning Class LL placers, 4 returning state open placers, including Jack. Don't know anything about Ryan Jacks status for the year, but it looks like a pretty solid lineup for sure. I don't see anyone beating them at Class LL, but Simsbury is definitely in the mix for the opens.
I thought last year would be the year they slip up a bit and I was wrong. Hard to bet against Danbury but if a team is going to get it done I think it’s Simsbury
What's the lineup? Should they be annointed off of "solid kids at every weight?" Sounds more like you're baiting rather than discussing the potential of the team. Isn't Ryan Jack out for the year?