Wrestling returns after a year off
After a winter season with no high school wrestling, the sport returned this week with the first in state meets since the 201921 season.
The missing season has presented many unknowns to wrestlers and coaches alike, and as COVID cases rise in Connecticut some schools have already had meets canceled.
“I have mixed emotions right now because we are starting the season but there is a lot of stuff out there that is not so good,” Fairfield Warde coach Jason Shaughnessey said. “There are a lot of teams out there that have to be shut down for a little while. The numbers are up, and it is sad that we are about to start, and the numbers are here. It is pretty much going to touch every team this season, just got to hope it isn’t a big impact.”
Last season, the only options for individual wrestlers to compete were with club teams that took part in tournaments out of state. Now with the high school season returning, at least one meet has been canceled within the first week.
On Wednesday, perennial powerhouse Danbury had its opening dual meet against St. Joseph canceled.
“Practice and the season have been great so far until this cancelation,” Danbury coach Ricky Shook said. “I think this will happen a bit. I am just hoping we can get a season in. It is really weird not knowing your opponents like you should, it is like going into a blind year.”
For coaches, this preseason has been unlike any they have experienced. With rosters consisting of sophomores and freshmen who have never competed at the varsity level, there is less clarity than ever regarding quality of competition.
“It has been kind of
weird. I have been coaching for over 25 years and I’ve always come in knowing what you have,” Xavier coach Michael Cunningham said. “This year, 28 of our kids are freshmen and sophomores, and none have ever wrestled in high school. I am hoping we are ready, but I truly have no idea.”
Xavier was the Class LL championship in 2020, and opened this year with a 60-6 win over Fairfield Prep on Thursday.
Danbury, the 2020 Class LL and State Open champion, will bring 10 athletes to the Beast of the East event at the University of Deleware on Saturday. Xavier will bring athletes as well. Fairfield Warde, the 2020 Class LL and State Open runner-up, Xavier and Danbury are scheduled to have athletes compete at the Guilford Invitational that same day.
“I honestly don’t know what other teams have,” Shaughnessey said. “There is no reference point, I have no idea how good other teams are, so it is hard to say how good we will be. In three to four weeks, we will know a lot more.”
There are some well-known wrestlers returning such as Danbury’s Kai O’Dell, who finished first in Class LL for 113 pounds, Warde’s Will Ebert, who was the Class LL champion for 145 pounds and Xavier’s Dylan Levesque, who transferred from East Hampton after winning the Class S title for 120 pounds.
There are also some newcomers who have made an impression outside high school competition, such as Xavier freshman Jackson Heslin, who was a gold medalist for the United States 15U Pan American Championships this past summer.
Danbury will introduce sophomore Dominic Iaquinto to the high school scene. Iaquinto placed at the Virginia Beach Nationals club meet in the offseason. He was a Freshman All-American.
Some teams and athletes such as Iaquinto were able to still compete out of state as club athletes.
“Last year we conditioned as a team from the New Years to March 17th when we were able to open up,” Shook said. “Then we had real practice and a Club New England tournament that I took my whole team to. We had five placers there and then we went to Virginia Beach Nationals.”
Other teams such as Xavier had many individuals compete out of state, but not as a team.
Foran wrestling coach Dave Esposito believes this year could reflect a change because of lost time due to the pandemic.
“Every year is a chance to help them develop as wrestlers,” Esposito said. “All the kids have stagnated for a couple of years. This has been about picking up where we left off two years ago.”
Esposito has led Foran to the state finals in seven of the past eight seasons. The Lions won titles in 2016 and 2018. He thinks parity could be the offshoot of the time away.
“Everyone, including traditional powers, are going to take a bit of a hit,” he said. “A good thing is that every team is in the same boat. No team is behind anyone else. I think the teams that deal with that separation best are going to be the most successful. I think you are going to see a balanced season.”
While this season will likely be impacted by the gap year, Cunningham believes the real blowbacks of the lost season won’t show for a few years.
“We saw the year off effect some things, like a lot of coaches left,” Cunningham said. “But I think the year off is going to hurt us more a few years down the road. Participation in youth levels is down, and I think there are a lot of younger kids who missed that year and just won’t come back.”