Hilliard, LaRose closing in on titles

ALBANY - From out of the sweaty chaos that are the New York state wrestling championships at Pepsi Arena, Jason Hilliard and Tim LaRose did what they had to do to maintain their perfect records, and stay in line for Division II state titles on Friday.

Wrestling at 140 pounds, Hilliard, a senior from Southern Cayuga, patiently dispatched Greg Angerski (Section VI-Depew) in the quarterfinals by a 6-0 score. Hilliard drew a bye through the preliminary round. Now 36-0 this season, Hilliard will go against a formidable opponent in the semifinal round today in Paul LaBlanc, a senior from Section III's Morrisville-Eaton. LaBlanc needed just 90 seconds to register two pins on Friday, raising his season's record to 38-0.

"(Today's) going to be definitely really tough, especially my first match," Hilliard said. "I'm just going to take it one match at a time."