Let's face it, it does not look like any single team can beat Danbury next year in a dual meet, or at a tournament for that matter. So this is the challenge, you are allowed to choose two Connecticut HS teams and combine them to come up with a dual meet lineup you can guarantee will win against Danbury. What two teams do you choose, and what lineup do you use to beat Danbury? Can it be done, or will it take three teams to get the job done? I have to think it can be done with two teams, but which two and which lineup will do the job?
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Two sets of twins for the NC/K teams and a third Charron for good measure. Something to be said for having a ready made wrestling partner at all times.
Now, coaches, can we make this happen :)
Results:
106: D. Charron (K) MD T. Johnson (D) [Charron majored Johnson @ CT Open 16-5]
113: Leblanc (D) MD D. Charron (K) [I could see Charron pulling an upset here, but went with Danbury by a major based on the open performance]
120: Jack (D) TF M. Charron (K) [Jack obviously much better, but Charron will fight hard here and stay off his back]
126: J. Mastroianni (NC) TF first year varsity Danbury wrestler [Mastroianni will outclass, but he does not pin a lot, so I went TF here]
132: K. Fields (D) pin T. Johnson (K) [pretty easy call here]
138: T. Sung (NC) Dec AJ Caba (D) [Sung decisioned Caba at FCIAC championship 6-0)
145: Kovaks (D) pin N. Sibbett (NC) [NC wrestler is very good, but Kovaks in another league, pinned his way through the state open, so he'll pin here]
152: C. Sibbett (NC) MD Palacio (D) [could easily be a pin here, Danbury uncharacteristically weak in this class]
160: G. Gosselin (K) Dec Danbury first year varsity wrestler [17/18 Danbury wrestler not strong here]
170: D. Turner (K) Dec Danbury first year varsity wrestler [17/18 Danbury wrestler Barratta very good, but Turner 4th in opens is very strong here]
182: Danbury first year varsity wrestler Dec S. Babenkov (NC) [Danbury 17/18 wrestler here not real strong, but neither is the NC wrestler, Killingly wrestler who was very good, graduated]
195: B. Morin (K) Dec D. Donovan (D) [key match, the NC/K team needs a win here and the K wrestler is older, more experienced wrestler]
220: M. Osbey (D) Dec R. Bernier (K) [Osbey is better wrestler for sure, but he does not score or pin a lot, so just a decision against a talented K wrestler]
285: J. Stewart (NC) Dec J. Agosto (D) [Stewart beat Agosto 5-2 at FCIAC Championship]
Final score: New Canaan/Killingly 28, Danbury 27
Very close, as I said, no guarantee. The 195 is a big toss-up, but I gave it to the Killingly wrestler. Obviously in such a close dual, bonus points are big and some wrestlers may go for pins/TF/MD to try to tilt the balance. the NC/K team wins 8 of 14 matches, but the Danbury hammers pick up pins/TFs to offset this.
Now, tell me where I'm wrong.
Danbury:
Weight, Name, Class, Record, Class Seed, Open place, NE Place
106: T. Johnson - Danbury (Jr): 15-4 (4) (6th) (DNQ)
113: B. Leblanc - Danbury (Sr): 13-0 (1) (6th) (DNQ)
120: R. Jack - Danbury (Jr): 25-4 (1) (1st) (1st)
126: {Senior}
132: K. Fields - Danbury (Sr): 20-4 (2) (4th) (DNP)
138: AJ Caba - Danbury (Sr): 0-1 (14) (7/8th) (DNQ)
145: AJ Kovaks - Danbury (Jr): 22-4 (1) (1st) (3rd)
152: C. Palacio - Danbury (Sr): 10-8 (12) (DNQ) (DNQ)
160: {Senior}
170: {Senior}
182: {Senior}
195: D. Donovan (Sr) - Danbury (So): 10-8 (10) (DNQ) (DNQ)
220: M. Osbey - Danbury (Sr): 13-6 (3) (DNP (1-2)) (DNQ)
285: J. Agosto - Danbury (Jr): 14-5 (6) (DNP (3-2)) (DNQ)
NC/Killingly
106: D. Charron - Killingly (Sr): 38-0 (2) (3rd) (5th)
113: D. Charron - Killingly (Jr): 33-3 (2) (DNP (1-2)) (DNQ)
120: M. Charron - Killingly (Sr): 34-3 (1) (6th) (DNQ)
126: J. Mastroianni - New Canaan (So): 28-2 (2) (3rd) (2nd)
132: T. Johnson - Killingly (Sr): 26-13 (8) (DNQ) (DNQ)
138: T. Sung - New Canaan (Jr): 31-2 (1) (2nd) (4th)
145: N. Sibbett - New Canaan (Sr): 20-3 (2) (DNP (1-2)) (DNQ)
152: C. Sibbett - New Canaan (Sr): 23-4 (2) (DNP (2-2)) (DNQ)
160: G. Gosselin - Killingly (Sr): 29-11 (7) (DNQ) (DNQ)
170: D. Turner - Killingly (Sr): 35-2 (2) (4th) (DNP (0-2))
182: S. Babenkov - New Canaan (Sr): 6-4 (14) (DNQ) (DNQ)
195: B. Morin - Killingly (Jr): 23-16 (12) (DNQ) (DNQ)
220: R. Bernier - Killingly (Sr): 30-9 (6) (DNP (0-2)) (DNQ)
285: J. Stewart - New Canaan (Sr): 19-1 (2) (Scratch) (DNQ)
I'll take up the challenge: My two teams....
Killingly and New Canaan
Not trying to say these two are the two best teams, but they both complement each other well and pick up some wins in some key weights. For this challenge, I did not update any weights. Weights wrestled in 2017/2018 all stay the same. The NC/K team has a returning wrestler at every weight, for Danbury, 4 seniors graduated. As we all know, Danbury can reload, so I estimated the ability of the Danbury replacement based on the performance of the graduated senior.
Finally, I won't "guarantee" a victory, but I think the NC/K team has a strong chance of winning.
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