Congratulations to the Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton/Harpursville girls cross country team on winning the 2023 Section IV, Class C title. (Photo from BGCSD Facebook)

CHENANGO VALLEY - All four local cross country teams ran against the rest of Section IV in the championships held at Chenango Valley State Park on Thursday. The Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton/Harpursville girls had a great outing with winning the Section IV, Class C title while Unadilla Valley/GMU boys are sending Noah Pain to the States meet, and Norwich's runners finished the season strong.

Girls:

The BGAH girls were led by Senior Ethne Degan, who ran the best time of 19:53 for the victory. She’s greatly improved from finishing second in the meet last season and this time was two minutes faster than her opponents. Aside from Degan, Maddie Ingham continues to push through as only an eighth grader as she finished fourth in a time of 21:29.

Vanessa Brazee (eighth place) and Laila Williams (10th) rounded out the top 10 female runners for BGAH with Jalyn Winans in 15th place. Lelania Baldwin and Ruth Wilson also ran in this meet, where Baldwin finished 19th and Wilson 20th. Together, the girls combined for a low of 35 points to win the Class C title.

The Norwich girls, coming off winning the STAC East division, continued to strive in the sectional championships. Annie Boland came in 20th place as the top female runner for the Purple Tornado with teammate Kyra Brunick-Davis not far behind in 24th place against tough competition. Emilia Pepe (26th) and Laci Zieno (48th) rounded out the day for Norwich.

Andrea Favinger has truly made her mark this season as the UV/GMU's lone varsity female runner. She worked hard and finished her sophomore year with a ninth place finish in a time of 22:18 in the Class D race.

Boys:

UV/GMU's Noah Pain was the lone qualifier for the local boys as he came in seventh place in the Class D race with a time of 18:25. Alex Kemnah finished 28th while Dominic Berthel (64th) and Zach Wilson (74th) stuck with it to finish out a solid season for the Storm.

BGAH placed ninth in the Section IV, Class C championship, in which Oneonta won overall. Junior Matthew Wombacker finished 43rd out of complete teams and 58th overall with a time of 22:42 while teammate Rowan Beasinger capped off his freshman year with a 61st place finish (22:54). Giovanni Johnson wrapped up his senior cross county season with a 62nd place finish (23:00) with Donald Hoover in 66th place. Cooper Sienko (71st) and Connor Rowe (78th) were the final two male runners for BGAH on the day.

The Norwich Purple Tornado boys stayed strong amidst its much smaller size this season. Nic Sutton has been the team's leader this season, where he finished 13th in the championships, running a time of 18:43. Gabe Decker and Ayden Hatton were the other two male runners for Norwich, where Decker finished 63rd and Hatton in 76th out of a total of 78 runners in Class C.

Great job to all runners and good luck to those attending the State Championships next Saturday, November 11 at Veron-Verona-Sherill High School.