NFA's Exum-Strong wins State Open wrestling title
New Haven - State Open 2015 began for the Norwich Free Academy wrestling team at a hotel in Orange, where the powers that be would not accept a check from coach Kirk Jenkins to pay for his team's three rooms.
The Wildcats were sitting in the lobby Friday night, trying to figure things out, when Good Samaritan Kyle Caffrey, whose son is a former South Windsor wrestler, paid for the rooms, finally allowing Jenkins and his team to get some rest.
And then …
The Wildcats produced two State Open finalists Saturday afternoon when Jenkins, in his first season coaching the team, couldn't stop smiling.
"I told (Windham coach Pat Risley), the rivalry's returning; we're coming for you," said Jenkins with a smile, referring to the Eastern Connecticut Conference champion Whippets.
Khaleed Exum-Strong, a senior who has become the face of NFA's program over a season of renewal, won the 220-pound final 5-2 over Ledyard's Daric Johnson in a matchup of friendly Eastern Connecticut Conference rivals that was tied 1-1 early in the third period.
"Until you give 100 percent, you're not done," Exum-Strong said in the quote of the day a little bit earlier, following a breathless semifinal victory that came in overtime. "You've got to just keep pushing through the tough times and leave it on the mat."
NFA junior Matt Foster, meanwhile, lost the 113-pound final 13-11 to New Fairfield's Alec Opsal, but started the day with a 5-3 upset over top-seeded Matt Dowler of St. Bernard/Norwich Tech in the quarterfinals, followed by an 11-0 major decision over Patrick Moynihan of Xavier in the semis, making it a pretty monumental day for him, as well.
Newtown was the State Open team champion with 159 points, followed by Danbury with 112.5.
Exum-Strong, the ECC and Class LL champ at 220, scored two takedowns in the final 30 seconds against Johnson, the Class M champion, earning the final two points at the buzzer.
Johnson, who won his semifinal match in double overtime, was hoping to keep things close once again, but knew Exum-Strong was working hard for a takedown.
"He kept going for it, going for it," Johnson said. "I knew he had that blast double and he finally got it. He's so quick."
"Coach told me, 'You've just got to open up and work some moves we worked on in practice," said Exum-Strong, also a 2,000-yard rusher for the NFA football team last fall, helping the Wildcats reach the Class LL state championship game. "It means a lot. It's a great achievement."
Exum-Strong, 5-foot-10 and approximately 198 pounds, had perhaps his finest moment in the semifinals, reaching the final with a dramatic 6-4 victory over No. 1 seed Ogadinma Ikani of Hall, who is 6-foot-4.
Exum-Strong was bleeding from his nose and appeared out of fight against Ikani before scoring a takedown with 8 seconds remaining in sudden death overtime. Exum-Strong trailed 3-0 after two periods against Ikani before an eventful third period left the score tied at 4-4. Exum-Strong was awarded a point when Ikani used a full nelson, an illegal hold, and picked up another point on an escape to pull within 3-2.
Exum-Strong took a 4-3 lead with 1:32 to go and tried to ride out his opponent for the win, but that's when Ikani's size came into play, with Exum-Strong unable to hold him. Ikani escaped with 19 seconds left in regulation to tie things.
"Khaleed always seems to find a way to dig down deep. I started to get a little bit worried, but he didn't have that worried look on his face," Jenkins said.
For Foster, he said that a 4-2 loss to Dowler in the ECC championship match gave him confidence, allowing him to believe he could score against Dowler, a two-time Class M champion.
"It was probably one of my better victories this season," Foster said of beating Dowler. "But I've been wrestling well all year. I've been working in the offseason all year, going to tournaments in Pennsylvania and Iowa."
Other local place-winners were New London's Alejandro Paulino at 126 and Montville's Tommy Wynosky at 132, both third; Waterford's Sam Lindblom at 138, fourth; Montville's Joel Morth at 120, fifth; and Dowler and Ledyard's Danny Contino at 182, both sixth.
Paulino and Lindblom both lost in the semifinals.
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