Danbury captures Sabbagh title
DANBURY — It’s their own tournament, so they defended their turf.
Placing nine finalists across 15 weight classes is a pretty decent stamp of authority on the competition.
The Danbury wrestling team claimed the Ryan Sabbagh Holiday Tournament trophy for a 26th time in 28 seasons, outlasting state rival Bristol Eastern in a showdown between several of the top teams in the state. The Hatters won with 222 points while the Lancers were right behind with 201. New Canaan (107), Putnam (102) and Newtown (93.5) rounded out the top five.
The tournament featured perhaps the two best squads in the state and the pair had an early-season opportunity to square off before the State Open in February.
“It just shows us no matter who pushes us or who we’re facing that we’re going to come out on top,” said Hatters senior Ryan Jack, who won at 126. “Now we know what we have to improve on so next time we’ll try to beat them by more.”
Danbury also got wins from Kyle Fields (132), and Tyler Johnson (126) to pull
away.
“It was an interesting tournament,” said Hatters coach Ricky Shook. “Bristol Eastern is a good team, they’re probably top three somewhere. It will be interesting, we have work to do. We’re not in shape yet; it’s the beginning of the year.”
Another Hatter who got a first-place medal was freshman Kai O’Dell, who won one of the most competitive matches of the event. He beat previously undefeated Trent Thompson of Bristol Eastern 7-6.
“We had a lot of Danbury kids lose to that kid during the tournaments, so it was a big win for Kai and the team,” Jack said. “It was a close race between team scores and I think that one sealed the deal.”
“He’s probably the hardest worker in our room besides ( Jack),” said Shook of O’Dell. “He’s a worker and he had a rough time at the (Beast of the East tournament). He’s an undersized 106-pounder so I didn’t know what we were getting there. Hopefully he can keep it going.”
New Canaan’s Tyler Sung beat Danbury’s Ben LeBlanc at 145 with a pin early on. The two could meet again in the State Open; Sung finished second at 138 last season and claimed his 100th career win in the semifinals.
“I thought I did pretty well today,” Sung said. “I tried to get these over as fast as possible and dominate; focusing on the small things and cleaning up on those. Coming in aggressive and forcing what plan I wanted
to do.”
Sung’s teammates Christian (160) and Nate Sibbett (152) each reached the finals, with Christian winning the championship to help the Rams seal third, despite not having the guaranteed points from an injured Justin Mastroianni.
“Getting third place in this tournament is pretty good with only nine guys,” New Canaan coach Paul Calo said. “I thought we wrestled pretty well with what we had with us.”
The Lancers placed six in the finals to claim the runners-up spot, including champions Eric Dupee (99), Justin Marshall (152) and Trinidad Gonzalez (220). Bristol Eastern has won 43 straight dual meets and finished last season No. 2 in the state poll.
“I was pleased with today,” said Bristol Eastern coach Bryant Lishness. “I love coming down here and seeing Danbury and there’s quality kids all around. Taking second is quality; we were within striking distance.”
It was an all-SWC matchup in the 138 final as Newtown’s Ayden Kasbarian pinned New Milford’s Ian Brett. The Nighthawks had several grapplers reach the final four to score points, including third-place finisher Joe Zeller at 285.
East Haven (sixth) continued its outstanding start to the season by producing a pair of champions in Josh Rao (195) and Victor Garcia (113). Staples — which placed eighth — placed a pair of finalists with Jacob Qiu (170) lifting the title.
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“I thought everybody got pushed except ( Jack) and
maybe (Fields),” Shook said. “All of the finals guys were good; it worked out pretty well. I’m glad (Bristol Eastern) came; the reason they come is why they’ll be good at the end.”