2026 Section IV Class A Boys XC: Corning Repeats, State Qualifiers & Biggest Improvements

Corning Repeats: Five Scorers in the Top Nine

Corning won the 2025 Class A team championship with 31 points. This year's reconstructed total of 20 shows how effectively its returning runners and developing younger athletes came together for the 2026 race.

Only 46.6 seconds separated Lawson and Miller. Corning placed four runners inside the first five finishers and all five among the first nine. Its strength lay in both front-running quality and depth.

Twelve Days Earlier: The Stories from STAC

The October 24 Southern Tier Athletic Conference Championships at Fortin Park provide useful recent form. Corning had already won the large-school team championship there with 43 points, ahead of Vestal (72) and Ithaca (89). The sectional result continued that momentum.

Lawson won the STAC varsity race in 15:39.7. Stark ran 16:34.2, Wightman finished in 16:39.9, and Sonner ran 16:57.6. At sectionals, Sonner moved ahead of Wightman within Corning's lineup, finishing third in Class A to Wightman's fifth. A sophomore who had placed 19th at sectionals the previous year was suddenly on the championship podium.

Lovell Reverses an 11.8-Second Deficit

At STAC, Ithaca's William Boscia ran 16:46.5, finishing 11.8 seconds ahead of Elmira's James Lovell (16:58.3).

At sectionals, the order flipped. Lovell finished sixth in 17:19.2, while Boscia placed seventh in 17:20.0. This time, Lovell won their head-to-head battle by 0.8 seconds. Both runners advanced individually to states.

STAC and Section IV took place on different courses. Finishing-order changes provide a sound comparison; raw times alone do not establish who ran a better race.

One Year Later: The Biggest Improvements Since 2025

Several returning runners transformed their championship performances from November 2025 to November 2026 at Chenango Valley State Park.

The 2025 results report whole-second times. Both meets used Chenango Valley State Park; identical course configurations and conditions have not been independently confirmed.

Gianni Page: From 30th to States

Elmira's Gianni Page finished 30th in the 2025 Class A championship at 19:35. One year later, he ran 17:25.5 and finished eighth. That is a 2:09.5 improvement and a move of 22 finishing places.

More importantly, the performance gave Page an individual spot at the state championships. His improvement was the largest year-over-year time drop among the runners highlighted here.

James Lovell: From 20th to Sixth

Lovell's rise gives Elmira a second major success story. He improved from 20th in Class A at 18:21 in 2025 to sixth in 17:19.2 in 2026. He cut more than a minute from his championship time and earned an individual state berth.

Elmira's Lovell and Page finished 20th and 30th a year ago. This season, they finished sixth and eighth. That is a meaningful change for two runners whose school did not take the winning team position.

Sonner Gives Corning a Young Podium Finisher

Elijah Sonner went from 19th in Class A as a freshman (18:13) to third as a sophomore (17:00.0). His 73-second time improvement helped secure Corning's one-two-three finish and underscores the contributions of returning underclassmen to another team title.

Who Earned a Trip to States?

As Class A team champion, Corning advances as a team to the November 14 NYSPHSAA Cross Country Championships at Queensbury High School. Under Section IV's qualification format, the next five eligible finishers outside the winning team receive individual berths.

Elmira sends two individual qualifiers, Lovell and Page. Ithaca also sends two, Boscia and Lazzaro, while Union-Endicott's Luti claims the highest individual qualifying position outside Corning's team.

King's near miss is especially striking given his year-over-year improvement. He moved from 25th in Class A (18:48) in 2025 to 11th (17:39.3) this year, improving by more than a minute. A strong championship performance still ended one place short of the individual state field.

Lazzaro has his own year-over-year story: he finished 11th in Class A at the 2025 championship, when he was outside the five individual berths. This time he took the final available place.

Close Battles and Individual Storylines to Follow

Nicholas Luti and William Boscia: Another Chapter

At the 2025 sectional championship, Union-Endicott's Nicholas Luti and Ithaca's William Boscia both received published times of 17:15. Luti placed seventh and Boscia eighth.

In 2026, Luti climbed to fourth in 17:02.4, while Boscia finished seventh in 17:20.0. A nearly identical result one year ago became a 17.6-second difference this time. Both return to states as individual qualifiers.

What Happened to Some of the Top Individual Seeds?

Ithaca's Alasdair Smith entered with a listed season best of 16:12.9, third on MileSplit's Class A seed list. At sectionals he ran 18:28.8, outside the qualifying positions. Ithaca's Wyatt Eldermire, another top-five seed, finished in 18:08.5.

Seed times come from earlier races, sometimes on different courses. They do not explain race-day circumstances, and the reasons for those athletes' results are unknown. But the difference between the seed rankings and the final finish order highlights how much the individual championship field changed on the day.

Lawson: From Sixth to Champion

Christopher Lawson finished sixth in Class A in 2025, running 17:05. This year, the Corning junior ran 16:45.5 and won the championship. Combined with his October 24 STAC victory, the result gives him momentum heading into the state meet.

Next Stop: Queensbury

Corning advances with a repeat sectional team title, a winner in Lawson, and contributions from runners who have improved substantially since 2025. Luti, Lovell, Boscia, Page and Lazzaro join the state field through individual qualification.

Some earned their berths after dramatic improvement from last year. Others reversed results against close competitors from just twelve days earlier. And for Nicholas King, the difference between joining them and finishing his sectional season was only 6.6 seconds.

That combination of team depth, changing rivalries and close qualifying finishes is what made the 2026 Class A boys championship one worth following beyond the final team score.