SOUTHINGTON — Individual, school and state bragging rights are on the line today as the third-annual Mass-Conn Fusion wrestling invitational takes place at Southington High School.

The tournament, which traditionally featured eight teams each from Connecticut and Massachusetts, has dropped to only 12 this year due to four Massachusetts schools opting out, but it still promises to be a day of high-caliber competition.

"We’re pretty excited about it," said Southington coach Derek Dion, who emphasized the importance of individual performances rather than overall team accomplishments. Last year, the Blue Knights finished 15th out of 16 squads.

"We basically have the same team as last year," Dion said "but a lot of kids last year were a year away from finding success. Some kids may still be in that position, but we’re a better, more experienced team now."

This time around, in addition to hosts Southington, the Connecticut representatives include defending champion New Milford, runner-up Bacon Academy (Colchester), Berlin, Glastonbury, Shelton, Trumbull and Xavier. The Massachusetts contingent features Chicopee Comprehensive, Dracut, Minnechauge Regional (Wilbraham) and West Springfield.

There are about 160 wrestlers competing today.

Southington is currently ranked ninth in the state while the always-tough Xavier and New Milford are a joint third and Trumbull is eighth.

Berlin coach Jim Day is looking forward to the tournament.

"It’s a great competition," he said. "The Connecticut teams in there are very competitive and they should be a good test for our guys. There are some stellar teams coming in from Massachusetts, too. This will provide a good barometer to where we are. We’re still really young, but this will be a good experience and the kids are really looking forward to it."