Confluence Running | Section IV XC | November 5, 2026
Odessa-Montour Ends Delhi's Nine-Year Streak in an Eight-Point Team Championship
Four early finishers gave Odessa-Montour the lead, Delhi's fifth scorer made it close, and Groton eighth-grader Madison Farberman won the individual crown.
Chenango Valley State Park | 5,000 meters | Class D Girls
The Section IV Class D girls championship had a long-running standard: Delhi-South Kortright. The program won its ninth straight sectional title in 2025. On November 5, 2026, Odessa-Montour ended that streak, winning 53–61. The eight-point final margin tells only part of the story. Odessa's first four scorers established a 19-point advantage, and Delhi's fifth runner narrowed that lead dramatically. Meanwhile, Groton eighth-grader Madison Farberman won the individual race in 20:10.1.
Odessa-Montour Wins 53–61: How the Race Changed
| Scorer | Odessa-Montour | Delhi-South Kortright |
|---|---|---|
| First | 3 | 4 |
| Second | 5 | 10 |
| Third | 8 | 14 |
| Fourth | 9 | 16 |
| Fifth | 28 | 17 |
| Total | 53 | 61 |
After four athletes finished, Odessa-Montour led 25–44, a 19-point advantage. That was built by Janne Anderson, Hanna Jantzen, Heidi Anderson and Lexi Strobel. They finished in 20:51.0, 21:47.9, 22:32.7 and 22:35.8.
Delhi-South Kortright's fifth runner, Violet Green, completed the race in 23:56.0, scoring 17th. Odessa-Montour's fifth scorer, Hadley White, finished at 25:58.3, scoring 28th. Delhi therefore gained 11 points in the final scoring position and cut the margin from 19 to eight.
Odessa's earlier finishes secured the difference. This was the opposite of the Class C girls team race, where the winning team's fifth scorer extended a one-point lead to four.
| Odessa-Montour runner | Grade | Time | Team place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Janne Anderson | 10 | 20:51.0 | 3 |
| Hanna Jantzen | 10 | 21:47.9 | 5 |
| Heidi Anderson | 8 | 22:32.7 | 8 |
| Lexi Strobel | 10 | 22:35.8 | 9 |
| Hadley White | 8 | 25:58.3 | 28 |
Odessa also had reserves: Karlee Fay ran 26:38.5, and Bailey Landon finished in 27:51.9. Their presence provided depth behind the scoring five.
Two Eighth-Graders Race for the Individual Championship
Madison Farberman of Groton won in 20:10.1, followed just 8.7 seconds later by fellow eighth-grader Paige Sherwood of Edmeston-Morris at 20:18.8. Southern Cayuga's Alexandria Morgan finished third in 20:31.3. Groton's Alison Belcher ran 20:38.4 for fourth.
These results offer another excellent story from the morning: an eighth-grader took the championship, another eighth-grader was runner-up, and both finished in front of several older athletes.
The 2025 individual champion, then-eighth-grader Kali Buttacavoli of Deposit-Hancock, ran 22:54.4 in 2026 and finished 14th. She won in 20:49.2 last year. The change is significant, but the available timing report does not explain why the result differed.
From Fourth in 2025 to Champion in 2026
| Team | 2025 finish | 2026 finish |
|---|---|---|
| Odessa-Montour | 4th, 83 pts | 1st, 53 pts |
| Delhi-South Kortright | 1st, 49 pts | 2nd, 61 pts |
Odessa-Montour scored 83 points and placed fourth in the 2025 Class D race. The team returned with a 53-point performance and won the title. Delhi's score changed from 49 to 61, ending its run of nine consecutive sectional championships.
| Returning runner | 2025 sectional | 2026 sectional | Faster by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hanna Jantzen, Odessa-Montour | 22:35.0 | 21:47.9 | 47.1 sec |
| Alexandria Morgan, Southern Cayuga | 21:09.1 | 20:31.3 | 37.8 sec |
| Janne Anderson, Odessa-Montour | 21:12.2 | 20:51.0 | 21.2 sec |
| Lexi Strobel, Odessa-Montour | 22:53.5 | 22:35.8 | 17.7 sec |
| Aurelia Comer, Delhi-South Kortright | 21:37.3 | 21:20.2 | 17.1 sec |
Jantzen's 47.1-second improvement and Anderson's 21.2-second gain were major contributors to Odessa's championship. Their first two scoring placements created space for the later finishers.
A Different Class, a Two-Minute Individual Improvement
The 2025 Class C girls report lists Madison Farberman, then a seventh-grader competing for Afton-HV-BG, at 22:22.1. The 2026 Class D report lists her for Groton at 20:10.1. Assuming the matching name and consecutive grades identify the same athlete, that represents a 2:12.0 improvement across the two sectional championships, along with a change in school affiliation and class. The records alone do not explain the affiliation change.
Farberman Turns the Tables on Alexandria Morgan
At the October 17 Marathon Invitational, Morgan won the unseeded girls varsity 5K in 20:55.9. Farberman finished second in the same race at 21:02.9, 7.0 seconds behind.
At sectionals, Farberman finished first in 20:10.1 while Morgan placed third at 20:31.3. The head-to-head order reversed, and Farberman crossed 21.2 seconds ahead of Morgan.
The two meets used different cross-country courses, but the reversal in their shared-race finishing order is clear. Farberman also finished 8.7 seconds ahead of Paige Sherwood at sectionals, creating a strong individual storyline alongside the team championship.
Who Advances to States?
Odessa-Montour earns the team place at the November 14 NYSPHSAA Championships at Queensbury. After removing Odessa's runners, the calculated five Class D individual state berths belong to:
| Berth | Runner | School | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madison Farberman | Groton | 20:10.1 |
| 2 | Paige Sherwood | Edmeston-Morris | 20:18.8 |
| 3 | Alexandria Morgan | Southern Cayuga | 20:31.3 |
| 4 | Alison Belcher | Groton | 20:38.4 |
| 5 | Aurelia Comer | Delhi-South Kortright | 21:20.2 |
Newark Valley's Hadley Merrill was next in the eligible finish order in 21:48.7, 28.5 seconds after Comer. As with all reconstructed selections, the separate official state qualifier list takes precedence.
A Championship Defined by Two Different Stories
Odessa-Montour ended a historic team streak by placing four runners early enough to survive Delhi's closing fifth-runner advantage. Farberman delivered a new individual champion, reversing a recent result against Morgan while improving substantially from her 2025 sectional appearance in another class. One race produced a changing of the guard for the team championship and an eighth-grade winner at the front. Both stories deserve to lead the Class D girls coverage.
Sources and comparisons
Sources: 2026 official class results (TAJ Timing/MileSplit), 2025 official class results, October 17 Marathon Invitational. Year-over-year times compare published championship clocks without adjusting for course layout, conditions or tactics. Individual state berths calculated by removing the championship team, under Section IV's winning-team-plus-five framework; final official qualifier list takes precedence.
Open the official Class D Girls result report. Class scoring and calculated qualifier analysis in this article remain separate from combined meet standings.
Class D Girls Photo Gallery
Confluence Running's full race-day gallery from the 2026 Section IV Championships is below the analysis so photo loading does not disrupt section navigation.
