The day is when the fifth annual Ridgefield Challenge wrestling tournament is held.
Despite the absence of North Rockland, N.Y., the winner of the competition the last two years, the 14 teams competing in today's tournament boast an avalanche of talent.
In fact, of last years participants, 39 wrestlers placed in the top four of their respective state open tournaments, with eight of them going on to place at New Englands.
In the quest for the team championship, Monroe Woodbury (N.Y.) is the favorite with five No. 1 seeds and two No. 2 seeds. At the prestigious, 42 team Eastern States wrestling tournament in New York, Monroe had four wrestlers place in the top 6, with three of them reaching the finals.
As for the individual competition, each weight class features a bevy of talented wrestlers, though the 140, 125 and 119 look to be more densely packed than the others. Brian Boserma of John Jay, N.Y. is the top seed of the 140 class, having placed second in his weight class at the National High School Coaches Association Tournament. Joey Passalaqua (15-2) from Pine Bush, N.Y. is the No. seed.
In the 125 class, Edovardo Hopp of Central Providence, R.I. is the top seed, with a gaudy 29-1 record on the season, and the reigning champion of the Brute Cotton Bowl Nationals in Texas. Nick Palermo of Bethel, last years Challenge champion in the 112 class is the second seed.
The 119 class may have the most talent of all, with No. 1 seed Andy Franco of Monroe Woodbury and No. 2 seed Justin Belanger of Exeter West Greenwich in Rhode Island. Franco is 29-1 on the season, while sophomore Belanger is a two-time state champion and has never lost a tournament.
"All of the classes are stocked from top to bottom," Jackson said. "There isn't too big a difference between each seed. Everyone here is a stud."