Each academic year presents its fair share of thrills and frills, and 2025-26 was no different. There were first-time champions, outstanding individual performances, and even some oddities.
While another year of Section V competition is right around the corner, it’s worth a final look at the year that was in Rochester-area sports.
One can only hope the excitement continues into 2027.
Here are the top 10 moments from Section V sports in 2025-26:
Monroe football rolls to historic state championship
When the Monroe football team finished shutting down and speeding away from Sleepy Hollow in the Class B state final, a long and remarkable march was over.
Almost 10 years ago, the Red Jackets returned to varsity football after a 30-year nap. The reboot was rough. There were piles of losses. There were failed mergers with other teams in the Rochester City School District. The 2019 team was winless. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic.
Terrell Cunningham became the varsity football coach at Monroe during those dreary days. The Red Jackets failed to finish the team’s schedule in Cunningham’s first season. But then Monroe principal Jason Muhammad put a SMART (Sports Majors/Management, Athletics and Regents Tracks) program in place at the school. There was a partnership established with C.T.C (Changing in the Community).
The current version of the Red Jackets, led by Cunningham, first put Monroe on the Section V football map when the program reached the sectional final in 2023. Last December, the Monroe Red Jackets confirmed they were among the best teams in the state.
A 34-0 win over Sleepy Hollow during the state finals gave Monroe a 12th win in 12 games, a seventh shutout victory and status as the first team in the Rochester City School District to win a state championship.
Penfield boys basketball goes from also-ran to state champion
Jackson Green, while at his family’s home, still had so much joy inside of him that he said “this doesn’t feel like it’s real.”
The Penfield Patriots were Class AA boys basketball state champions.
“We’ve talked about this so much,” Green said. “To be the first (boys basketball) team at Penfield is just a great feeling, it’s a great feeling.”
With coach Jason Ellis in 2025, Penfield ended a 72-year wait for another Section V boys basketball trophy. The Patriots spent most of last season at No. 1 in the Class AA state rankings. Winning another sectional championship and a state tournament quarterfinal or regional were no problem. On to the state final four in Binghamton.
That is when real on-court drama arrived. Penfield won a seesaw-like game, a three-point victory over Seton Catholic of Binghamton, in overtime during the state semifinals. Jackson scored 19 points, then delivered 26 in the state final, an eight-point win over Amsterdam.
Green was photographed during the final with his arms spread and a wide smile across his face. Maybe the Patriots can re-create those championship vibes next season with Jackson, a 6 foot-6 inch rising senior, 6-9 rising senior Jake McCarthy and 6-6 rising senior C.J. Johnson back in the lineup of the Penfield Patriots, the Class AA state champions.
Fairport basketball coach Scott Fitch: ‘This group was different’
The competitor in Fairport boys basketball coach Scott Fitch, for the moment, was dwindling, giving way more and more to the believe-me-when-I-tell-you inside of him.
Watching the Fairport Red Raiders fall behind, rally, but then get turned back and lose in the Class AAA state final in Binghamton was far from fun.
But as Fitch recapped the championship game, his rewind went to the state semifinal, a game that the Red Raiders rallied to win against Corning/Painted Post by seven points. Then, Fitch recalled Fairport wins during the state quarterfinals and Section V tournament final. Yes, watching and coaching Fairport’s win at eventual Class AA state champion Penfield during the regular season was memorable, too.
The 2025-26 Fairport basketball team was a squad that included a few of the school’s best athletes, area high school stars in boys volleyball (Noah Meabon), soccer (Alex Grejda), baseball (Sam Roselli) and others. It was a lot more fun recalling how these all-stars came and worked together, and predicting how they will get together in the future to recall and rewind.
“They just wanted to win, that’s all that they cared about,” Fitch said. “There’s definitely going to be many get-togethers to celebrate this group. It’s a group that will stick together for a long, long time. In 10 years, we all will get together and rehash all the memories.
“To have only a handful be all about basketball, this group was different. There is a freshness about it. They were so excited to get on the court and play together.”
Greatest Brighton football player ever? No doubt
The last two years have featured plenty of firsts for the Brighton football program. First came a Section V title in 2024. And then in 2025, despite a topsy-turvy regular season, the team’s first state final appearance.
Brighton lost two of its last three regular season games last fall and had the look of a team searching for answers. But the Bruins’ championship pedigree proved too much for the challengers. Brighton topped Webster Schroeder in the Class A-1 section final and East in the Class A regional qualifier, both wins by 10 points.
Section V’s representative blasted Section VI’s McKinley and Section IV’s Maine-Endwell to reach the state final. While Brighton fell short of its first state title in a 28-14 loss to Rye, the season was a historic run nonetheless.
“When the dust settles, the hurt and the sting, they should be really proud of what they’ve done,” coach Steve Lian said. “To get to the state semis last year and go further this year … no one’s ever accomplished what they have. They set a standard that hopefully the younger kids continue.”
In the process, senior linebacker Matt Heininger elevated himself as one of New York state’s top players. Now a freshman at the University at Buffalo, Heininger wrapped his career as the All-Greater Rochester Large School Player of the Year and a first team all-state selection.
Throughout the postseason run, Heininger’s former high school coach glowed about his contributions to a program that’s clearly sticking as a winner.
“He’s the greatest player in the history of this program, the history of this school,” Lian said.
Five Section V wrestlers stand atop the podium
Samson McKissick Staley, a 150-pounder from Pittsford, had established himself as one of the area’s top wrestlers, but he had never ended a season atop the state podium.
Christopher Noto was the younger brother who not only had a tough act to follow, but managed to win with his own style and identity at Honeoye Falls-Lima. He was no clone.
There were far fewer guarantees attached to the high school wrestling career of Gianni Velazquez, a 215-pounder at Geneva. Velazquez was the wrestler who began to win regular season tournaments a year or two into his time with the Panthers, then he became a league champion. In 2025, he placed sixth at the high school state meet.
Zach Kuelling also had to keep climbing. In his case, it was toward his goal of becoming a pioneer performer in the Marion/Williamson/Sodus program, when it came to the state championships.
Jacob McVige, a teammate of Noto’s at HF-L, also had to build up another run to a first high school state championship after that goal was temporarily knocked down during the 2025 state finals. McVige and McKissick Staley had that in common.
And when the wrestling and presentations on podiums were over at the 2026 high school state championships in Albany, McKissick Staley, McVige, Kuelling, Velazquez and Noto all had something in common. They were state champions after coming out of Section V.
Spencerport soccer’s title streak continues in awkward fashion
Spencerport’s 10-year reign in girls soccer is unmatched, as one of the longest section title streaks in Section V history. But the latest championship comes with a caveat.
In November, Spencerport played to a 1-1 draw against Churchville-Chili in the Section V Class AA final, after neither team scored in 30 minutes of overtime. The teams were declared co-champions, which effectively continued the Rangers’ title streak. Yet it was Churchville-Chili that advanced on, after a 4-2 advantage in PKs.
Both teams took a group photo with the Section V championship block, but Spencerport’s turn was coupled with sadness and awkwardness.
“Obviously when your season doesn’t continue, you have mixed feelings,” Rangers coach Jamie Schneider said. “It’s tough. They’re competitors. It’s hard to find that balance.”
Churchville-Chili later reached the state final, but fell short of its first NYSPHSAA championship. The section title was the Saints’ first in over 20 years.
York girls volleyball makes surprise state title run
Coach Kaitlin Kolb had hopes her group could capture a Section V title after consecutive finals appearances. Her team surpassed those expectations with ease.
The Golden Knights cruised to the Class D-1 section title, defeating Bolivar-Richburg, Cuba-Rushford and Perry in three set sweeps, then topped Houghton in the Class D state qualifier.
The state tournament was a little rockier. York won two of its three pool play matches to earn a berth in the final, but exited with a sour taste after coughing up its match against Candor. Afforded another crack at the defending state champions in the final, the Golden Knights completed a sweep to capture their first NYSPHSAA title.
“I was hoping to get a sectional title,” coach Kolb said. “After that, when we got a feel for who we’d play, I didn’t see any teams we couldn’t be competitive with.”
Webster Schroeder was the other Section V team to capture the state crown, winning their second Class AA title in three years.
Pittsford girls, McQuaid boys make history in the pool
When Pittsford’s girls swimmers stepped up to the block for the state championships’ 400m relay, the Panthers did so with the weight of previous disappointments.
It’d been six years since any Section V swimmer had claimed first at the season’s final event. Also front of mind was the Panthers’ prior performance that weekend, which the top-seeded 200m relay team fell short of first.
Perhaps unfazed, the Panthers’ foursome of Lexi Lombard, Lily Orlando, Molly Bennett and Sarah Kunze finished the day’s final relay in 3:28.75, besting runner-up Long Beach by more than two seconds. That time clinched Section V’s first state title in any event since 2019.
“I think (the state meet) was what we expected. We worked hard all season and had a coach (Rick Schmitt) that held us accountable,” Lombard said. “We put in the work, so I think we deserved it.”
Lombard, who was later named the All-Greater Rochester Girls Swimmer of the Year, made four trips to the podium that weekend.
Section V’s excellence in the pool continued through the boys’ state championships in March, thanks to a dominant showing by McQuaid. The Knights’ Ben Hinds, Xavier Joseph and Luke McCormack and junior Ian Miller became just the second group to sweep three relays at the state championships since the event’s inception in 2000. In the process, McQuaid set a new state record in the 200m free relay.
“I joined McQuaid about five years ago, and to see these guys that I’ve been working with since they were 13, 14 years old go on to be one of the most successful relay teams in New York state history is an incredible feeling,” McQuaid coach Mike Walsh said. “I’m truly lucky, truly blessed to coach these four gentlemen.”
Aquinas, Hilton end hockey title droughts
No hockey team has more Section V titles than Aquinas, but that was of little comfort during the Lil Irish’s 19-year stretch without a championship.
Hilton, meanwhile, entered 2025-26 without a single title.
In March, both teams had reason for celebration. Aquinas knocked off undefeated Webster Schroeder in the Class B final, while Hilton claimed its first championship with a win over Pittsford in Class A.
“No one ever thought we would do it, other than the 27 guys in that room and the coaches,” Aquinas coach Chuck Dossier said. “We’ve gone through so much this year. It’s just a testament to their will. They never complained, they just worked through it, and I’m super proud to be their coach, I really am.”
Both teams were battle-tested after gut punches the previous season. In 2024-25, Hilton was the Class A tournament’s top seed after a 19-win regular season, while Aquinas’ high-powered offense gave the Lil Irish reason to believe in Class B. Both teams were ousted in the semifinals.
Victor girls lacrosse wins fifth straight state title
While Victor expected another competitive team in 2026, there were doubts whether the four-time defending state champions could pull off another title. Yet, at season’s end, the Blue Devils are once again atop the mountain.
There were close calls along the way. Victor needed overtime in both the section semifinals and final, but escaped both with wins.
The state tournament was a relative breeze. The Blue Devils outscored their four out-of-section opponents 66-26 to claim another title. That dominance includes the Class B championship, where Victor overwhelmed Garden City 13-5.
“Getting out of Section V was the hardest thing we’ve ever done. Harder than states, honestly,” Victor coach Jen Haggerty said. “They fought tooth and nail.”
Victor’s run of five straight state titles is the second-longest in New York state girls lacrosse history, trailing Garden City’s seven in a row from 2006 to 2012.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: The 10 biggest Section V sports moments from 2025-26 | Exclusive
Reporting by James Johnson and Justin Ritzel, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By James Johnson and Justin Ritzel, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | USA TODAY Network
