Leading off today: Long Island had a dominating first day in the NYSPHSAA wrestling championships in Rochester, placing 22 wrestlers into Sunday's Division I semifinals.
Section 11 advanced 12 large-school wrestlers with the help of a near-sweep at 103 pounds. Ken Collado of Hauppague, Jose Vasquez of Huntington and Nick Meinsen of John Glenn all reached the semis in that class.
Vasquez will have company on the mats on Sunday. Huntington teammate Damon McQueen reached the 96-pound semifinals and Dashaun Thomas advanced at 285. Brentwood, Massapequa, Shorham-Wading River and Wantagh have two semifinalists apiece for Long Island schools.
One of the rare misfires for Long Island came when Wantagh's Paul Liguori, a two-time state champion, lost in the first round to Fox Lane junior Joe Grippi, 8-3.
Sections 2 and 8 each advanced 10 wrestlers in Division 1. Section 5, which had advanced 13 wrestlers in the large-school class a year ago, managed only five semifinalists this time.
In Division 2, Section 3 registered 13 semifinalists and Section 5 locked down 12 berths. Section 6 was close behind with 11 semifinalists.
Indoor track: Corning's Albert Johnson scored a pair of individual vicrtories to highlight the NYSPHSAA indoor track championships at Cornell University.
Johnson, a record-setting senior, won the long jump in 23-6½ and triple jump in 49-2.25.
N.J. may toughen steroids law: With steroid use by pro athletes under congressional scrutiny, New Jersey lawmakers are moving to ensure that students understand the dangers of using performance-enhancing drugs. Student-athletes as young as 14 could undergo random tests for steroids under a bill advanced by the Senate Education Committee on Thursday. Students as young as middle school would receive instruction about steroid abuse.
