2026 Section IV Class A Girls XC: Ithaca Repeats, Corning Closes the Gap & State Qualifiers

Ithaca Wins Again. Corning Makes It Closer.

Ithaca won Class A in 2025 by 26 points, 26 to Corning's 52. This year, the Class A scoring reconstructed from the complete girls results gives Ithaca 25 and Corning 42, a 17-point margin. Corning narrowed the gap by nine points.

These are Class A scores, not the merged-all-classes totals. In Class A, Ithaca's scoring places were 1, 2, 3, 6 and 13. Corning's were 4, 8, 9, 10 and 11. The difference was established at the front: Ithaca took three of the first three places and four of the top six.

Corning's Young Pack: Five Scorers Within 40.8 Seconds

Corning's improvement was striking, even without an individual winner. Every one of its five scoring runners was a freshman or sophomore. They finished between 20:40.2 and 21:21.0, a 40.8-second spread. In 2025, Corning's scoring spread was more than three minutes.

Corning's fifth runner finished 37.7 seconds ahead of Ithaca's fifth. The surprise is how little that changed the team outcome.

The Hidden Deciding Factor: Ithaca's Depth

Corning's fifth finisher, Vanessa Topielec, beat Ithaca's Simka Dolch by 37.7 seconds. On paper, that sounds like the opening Corning needed. But Ithaca had already built a 19-point advantage through its first four scorers: 12 points for Ithaca versus 31 for Corning. Corning gained two points at the fifth scoring position, reducing the final margin to 17.

Using the same published finish order and removing Dolch as a hypothetical non-finisher, Krantweiss becomes Ithaca's fifth scorer and the team score changes to roughly 26 to Corning's 42. If both Dolch and Krantweiss had failed to finish, Gabriel would become the fifth scorer and Ithaca would still lead, roughly 28 to 42.

These are scoring illustrations, not alternate official results. They show how much support Ithaca had behind its first four runners. Corning's young pack was excellent. Ithaca's combination of front-running and reserve depth ultimately made the difference.

Twelve Days Earlier: What Changed After STAC?

At the October 24 Southern Tier Athletic Conference championships at Fortin Park, Ithaca won the large-school girls team title with 39 points. Vestal placed second at 45, and Corning third at 74. Bercuvitz won the varsity race in 18:03.1.

Whittaker and Dauria Trade Places

At STAC, Dauria finished second in 19:47.4, beating Ithaca teammate Whittaker's third-place 19:48.8 by 1.4 seconds. Twelve days later at sectionals, Whittaker placed second in Class A at 20:25.0, ahead of Dauria in third at 20:34.1, a 9.1-second reversal.

Both contributed to Ithaca's one-two-three finish, but the reversal gives their head-to-head competition an interesting story within the larger team effort.

Martinec Keeps Corning in the Front Group

Corning's Bella Martinec finished fifth in the October 24 varsity STAC race at 19:59.6. At sectionals she placed fourth in Class A, the highest-placing finisher from a school other than Ithaca.

STAC and sectionals used different courses. Direct time differences are not a reliable measure of race-to-race fitness; finishing positions provide the better comparison.

One Year Later: The Biggest Improvements Since 2025

The 2025 Class A results at Chenango Valley State Park provide another way to measure progression. Several returning runners reduced their sectional 5K times by a minute or more.

Comparisons use the published 2025 Class A report and your complete 2026 merged girls timing report. Both meets took place at Chenango Valley State Park; identical course configuration and conditions are not independently confirmed.

Amelia Dickinson: More Than Two and a Half Minutes Faster

Union-Endicott's Amelia Dickinson improved from 25:32.8 in 2025 to 22:53.2 in 2026, a 2:39.6 reduction. That was the biggest time gain among this group of returning athletes.

Madelyn Wise: A Year of Progress Leads to States

Elmira's Madelyn Wise finished 12th in Class A last year in 22:03.2. This year she ran 20:49.7, finished seventh in Class A and earned an individual state berth. She improved her championship time by 1:13.5.

Simka Dolch: Ithaca's Fifth Scorer Improves Too

The runner who completed Ithaca's title-winning five made a major year-over-year improvement of her own. Dolch cut her sectional time from 23:14.8 to 21:58.7, a reduction of 1:16.1. Her improvement strengthens the story behind Ithaca's team depth.

Five Individual State Berths: Corning Takes Three, Elmira Two

Ithaca advances as the Class A team champion to the November 14 NYSPHSAA Cross Country Championships at Queensbury High School. After removing Ithaca's runners from the Class A individual qualification order, these five runners earn the available individual positions:

For Corning, the result is a mix of achievement and narrow disappointment: three individual state berths from a team of underclassmen, and another freshman seven seconds from joining them. Elmira will also send two athletes, ninth-grader Addie Fenton and senior Madelyn Wise.

The Stories Heading to Queensbury

Tsadia Bercuvitz heads to states after repeating as sectional individual champion and leading Ithaca to its second straight Class A team title. Whittaker and Dauria added the next two individual finishes, while Lovenheim and Dolch completed an effective scoring lineup. Krantweiss and Gabriel gave Ithaca meaningful protection beyond its first five.

Corning's remarkable five-runner grouping, featuring only freshmen and sophomores, turned a wider 2025 championship margin into a 17-point contest. Martinec, Dininny and Fuchs move on as individuals. Owens came close enough to make the last qualifying spot one of the day's strongest stories.

Elmira adds a different storyline, with freshman Addie Fenton and returning senior Madelyn Wise qualifying side by side. Wise's 73.5-second improvement from last year's sectional time makes the result even more significant.

Some races are won at the front. This championship also showed why the sixth and seventh runners matter.