BINGHAMTON - It's pointless arguing the historic and dominating performance turned in by Southern Cayuga senior Jason Hilliard on Saturday.
Southern Cayuga wrestler Jason Hilliard's hand is raised in victory after he won the Section IV, Division II championship at the Broome County Arena Saturday in Binghamton. Michael Chacanaca / Special to The Citizen
That's because Hilliard didn't allow a point in three matches - two pins - in becoming the first Chiefs wrestler to win a Section IV wrestling title and was named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler.
No. 2-seed Hilliard punched his ticket into the NYSPHSAA meet in two weeks at the Pepsi Arena in Albany with a one-sided, 7-0 victory over top-seed Kyle Bub of Greene in the 140-pound Section IV Division II final before a large crowd at the Broome County Arena.
"I'm motivated," an emotional Hilliard said after his match. "I've been working my butt off for 13 years, the last four non-stop. I've had some great coaching and a lot of support."
So it was no surprise Hilliard greeted Chiefs coach Norm Maywright with an emphatic two-handed, low five and embraced Syracuse Shamrock club coach and frequent practice partner Rich Manning for nearly a minute following his title match.
"It's a fairy-tale story," said Maywright, who sounded more like Hilliard's biggestfan than his coach Saturday. "You couldn't script it any better. He's committed himself to wrestling since the spring of his sophomore year."
Perhaps the reason Hilliard's quest has been so special is because his success did not come instantly. His improvement has been gradual, placing sixth in the section as a freshman, failing to place as a sophomore, a third-place finish last year and a 35-0 record this season.
He showed off all facets of his well-rounded skills against Bub.
Hilliard spent the first 30 seconds of the match feeling out his opponent before quickly shooting in at Bub's left leg. It took only 10 seconds for Hilliard to finish the takedown and grab a 2-0 lead.
"If I get the first takedown I own the match," he said of the importance of scoring the first points.
Next, he got to display his skills on the mat as he rode Bub for the next 3:15 in taking a 2-0 lead into the final period. He constantly frustrated Bub, who got to his feet several times in an attempt to score a one-point escape, but each time was rudely brought back to the mat.
Then Hilliard started running arm bars on Bub and nearly turned the Greene senior to his back a few times, but the stubborn Bub wiggled out of trouble on each occasion.
"The bar is my strength," said Hilliard, who added he's looking at the University of Buffalo and SUNY-Morrisville as potential college destinations next year. "I held him with the bar and almost got points a few times with it."
Hilliard's exclamation point came in the final period. He once again showed his quickness by escaping with 1:20 left in the match to take a 3-0 lead.
The desperate Bub then tried to shoot against Hilliard, who simply side-stepped his opponent before pouncing in from the side for a takedown and a 5-0 lead. An arm bar finally got Bub to his back with 40 seconds left and polished off the 7-0 victory.
"He's very technical and he's very astute," Maywright said of Hilliard, who's allowed only 10 points all season. "He's to the point right now where my job is just to keep him focused on the match."
Greene coach Tim Jenks added: "He's a year-round wrestler and that makes a big difference."
Maywright, in his fourth season at Southern Cayuga, said he believes Hilliard will perform well at the state meet in two weeks.
"I don't know what he's going to be facing," said Maywright, who added that Hilliard will have a first-round bye in states, "but I truly believed the (state) champion would come out of Section IV (before this weekend's tournament)."
Hilliard, who has a 126-22 varsity record, didn't sound quite that confident.
"My goal all year was to place at states," said Hilliard, who opened the tournament with a 27-second pin of Jim Bond of Watkins Glen in his quarterfinal Friday and scored a second-period pin of Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton's Ben Mumbulo in Saturday's semifinals. "I have no idea what it's going to be like, but I know there are going to be some tough kids."
No. 2-seed Hilliard punched his ticket into the NYSPHSAA meet in two weeks at the Pepsi Arena in Albany with a one-sided, 7-0 victory over top-seed Kyle Bub of Greene in the 140-pound Section IV Division II final before a large crowd at the Broome County Arena.
"I'm motivated," an emotional Hilliard said after his match. "I've been working my butt off for 13 years, the last four non-stop. I've had some great coaching and a lot of support."
So it was no surprise Hilliard greeted Chiefs coach Norm Maywright with an emphatic two-handed, low five and embraced Syracuse Shamrock club coach and frequent practice partner Rich Manning for nearly a minute following his title match.
"It's a fairy-tale story," said Maywright, who sounded more like Hilliard's biggestfan than his coach Saturday. "You couldn't script it any better. He's committed himself to wrestling since the spring of his sophomore year."
Perhaps the reason Hilliard's quest has been so special is because his success did not come instantly. His improvement has been gradual, placing sixth in the section as a freshman, failing to place as a sophomore, a third-place finish last year and a 35-0 record this season.
He showed off all facets of his well-rounded skills against Bub.
Hilliard spent the first 30 seconds of the match feeling out his opponent before quickly shooting in at Bub's left leg. It took only 10 seconds for Hilliard to finish the takedown and grab a 2-0 lead.
"If I get the first takedown I own the match," he said of the importance of scoring the first points.
Next, he got to display his skills on the mat as he rode Bub for the next 3:15 in taking a 2-0 lead into the final period. He constantly frustrated Bub, who got to his feet several times in an attempt to score a one-point escape, but each time was rudely brought back to the mat.
Then Hilliard started running arm bars on Bub and nearly turned the Greene senior to his back a few times, but the stubborn Bub wiggled out of trouble on each occasion.
"The bar is my strength," said Hilliard, who added he's looking at the University of Buffalo and SUNY-Morrisville as potential college destinations next year. "I held him with the bar and almost got points a few times with it."
Hilliard's exclamation point came in the final period. He once again showed his quickness by escaping with 1:20 left in the match to take a 3-0 lead.
The desperate Bub then tried to shoot against Hilliard, who simply side-stepped his opponent before pouncing in from the side for a takedown and a 5-0 lead. An arm bar finally got Bub to his back with 40 seconds left and polished off the 7-0 victory.
"He's very technical and he's very astute," Maywright said of Hilliard, who's allowed only 10 points all season. "He's to the point right now where my job is just to keep him focused on the match."
Greene coach Tim Jenks added: "He's a year-round wrestler and that makes a big difference."
Maywright, in his fourth season at Southern Cayuga, said he believes Hilliard will perform well at the state meet in two weeks.
"I don't know what he's going to be facing," said Maywright, who added that Hilliard will have a first-round bye in states, "but I truly believed the (state) champion would come out of Section IV (before this weekend's tournament)."
Hilliard, who has a 126-22 varsity record, didn't sound quite that confident.
"My goal all year was to place at states," said Hilliard, who opened the tournament with a 27-second pin of Jim Bond of Watkins Glen in his quarterfinal Friday and scored a second-period pin of Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton's Ben Mumbulo in Saturday's semifinals. "I have no idea what it's going to be like, but I know there are going to be some tough kids."
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