Following the Eastern Connecticut Conference wrestling tournament, the top three finishers in the 220-pound weight class posed for a picture together.

"I lost to Khaleed (Exum-Strong of Norwich Free Academy) in the semis. He's one of the strongest kids I've wrestled," Ledyard High School junior Daric Johnson said. "We have all the best 220s in the state, Seiji (Arzuaga of Windham), too.

"We took a picture together and I said, 'When we get to Opens, we all better have a state championship to show.'"

Mission accomplished.

The ECC champion at 220 was Exum-Strong. He won the Class LL state championship last weekend as the No. 1 seed, beating Simbury's James DeMaio, the No. 2 seed, 7-2 in the final. The ECC runner-up was Arzuaga, who took the Class S championship over Jordan Corrigan of Morgan.

Then came Johnson. Johnson lost 3-2 to Exum-Strong in the ECC semifinals before coming back to win his second straight Class M championship, beating Tom Hillyer of East Lyme 8-3.

The trio from the photograph will now be reunited at the State Open beginning today and continuing through Saturday at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven.

Ogadinma Ikani from Hall (33-3) is the No. 1 seed in the 220-pound bracket, followed by Arzuaga (35-2) second, Johnson (27-2) third and Exum-Strong (20-3) fourth. The three ECC wrestlers, of course, had to be seeded via a tiebreaker.

Following his 6-2 win over Arzuaga in the ECC final, the sweat was pouring off of Exum-Strong, who had it mentioned in his finalist's bio that he was a 2,000-yard rusher in football, bringing a smile to the crowd.

"Now I can say, 'All-ECC running back and All-ECC champ in wrestling,'" Exum-Strong said, grinning.

Exum-Strong beat Arzuaga in triple-overtime last season and edged him again this season 1-0 before falling 4-3 in their previous meeting.

"I'm really happy. It was definitely a battle," Exum-Strong said of the final. "It was definitely a big accomplishment. I couldn't wait for the clock to reach zero."

He's been waiting

The only top seed among the locals for the State Open is St. Bernard/Norwich Tech junior Matt Dowler at 113 pounds. Dowler is 32-1 and his only loss was to Windham 120-pounder Jacob Martin, whom Dowler bumped up in weight to get the chance to match up against.

Dowler was the ECC and Class M champ at 106 last year before falling in the State Open final 7-1 to Danbury's Paulo Freitas. Dowler's been working toward getting back to that tournament for another shot.

"Last year, losing to Freitas, I was a little mad at myself," Dowler said after winning the Class M final at Law. "It was a big motivation to me, losing twice in New Englands, too. It really inspired me.

"I practiced judo with Sensei Serge (at Mayo Quanchi Judo and Wrestling Club in West Warwick, R.I.). He was a big help to me. And I did a lot of lifting in the offseason. That helped me be as big as I am now."

Robledo giving back

Rashib Robledo was a member of the New London High wrestling team, graduating in 1994. But if you ask him if he ever won an ECC or state title, he generally answers with, "That's a long story."

"I made a lot of bad decisions," Robledo said. "That's why I'm here, to help other people."

Robledo is in his second season as an assistant coach at New London under head coach Mike Gorton. This season, the Whalers had four place-winners at the Class M state championship and finished fourth as a team with 127.5 points.

One of Robledo's studies is 126-pounder Alejandro Paulino, who won the 126-pound title, the first for a member of the Whalers since Robledo's brother Ryan Murphy won a state title in 2004.

"He's very competitive. He's got a strong willpower. That's the first thing I noticed about him when he was a freshman," Robledo said of Paulino, who is the No. 4 seed in the State Open bracket.

"Seeing him lose (the 120-pound M title) last year was a little more emotional. He's been chasing it. He wants it so bad. His academics have gone up. He's putting so much time and effort in, to see him accomplish (the title), I'm just elated."

Robledo has three children of his own, ages 9, 7 and 2.

"My passion is being a father," Robledo said. "But this is my second family."

v.fulkerson@theday.com

Twitter: @vickieattheday