RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesWe saw some amazing things during the 2025-26 high school sports year in Section V.
In all, 19 athletes took home All-Greater Rochester player of the year awards in 18 sports from the fall, winter and spring seasons. Here are some of the highlights.
Monroe, featuring All-Greater Rochester small schools player of the year Messiah Hampton, became the first Rochester city school in history to win a state football title.
Arkport's Ibrahim Ford established himself as an elite distance force on the national stage by winning AGR runner of the year twice, first in the fall while running cross-country, and second in the spring in outdoor track culminating in a second-place finish at the New Balance Nationals in the 2000m steeplechase.
Speaking of winning twice, Honeoye Falls-Lima's Chris Noto cemented his legacy by winning his second consecutive state title and back-to-back AGR wrestler of the year awards.
Meanwhile, there must be something in the drinking water in Fairport because the school district dominated AGR like no other. In all, five Red Raiders were voted players of the year in 2025-26. The next closest school was McQuaid, which had three winners, including a pair of co-swimmers of the year.
This all leads to you. We need you to pick who should be the overall player of the year in Section V. Our poll, which is at the bottom of this story, will remain open until 8 p.m. Aug. 2. The winner will be announced on the DandCSports Instagram page.
Now, let's look at the candidates.
Linden Bellizzi, Nordic skier of the year
Why Linden Bellizzi is Nordic Skier of the Year: Bellizzi is the latest in a long string of successful Nordic skiers from Honeoye Falls-Lima. This winter, he became the school's fourth racer to win the NYSPHSAA combined title (and first since older brother Braden did so in 2023).
The rising senior placed second overall in the state's individual 7.5K race, completing the event in 21:04.8. He also partnered with teammates Jack Lighthouse and Thomas Cushman to push the Cougars to second place (27:28.0) in the team relay, only seconds behind the top finisher.
Before that, Bellizzi also won the Section V individual title, completing Bristol Mountain's course in 21:06.0 (14 seconds ahead of the runner-up), which helped HF-L capture the team championship.
Devon Brougher, tennis player of the year
Why Devon Brougher is Tennis Player of the Year: The 2025 All-Greater Rochester team member won the Section V state qualifier tournament, which includes players from schools of all sizes.
"Devon went undefeated during the regular season at first singles and won the (Section V) Class A1 individual singles championship after being down a set in the finals," Fairport coach Joseph Ahl said. "Devon continued his dominant streak by winning the Section V state qualifier tournament and finishing the season in the top 16 in singles in all of New York State.
"As a freshman, Devon has a very bright future ahead of him and will look to push himself to return to the same high level next year."
Aiden Bryant, indoor track and field athlete of the year
Why Bryant is the Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year: The now three-time AGR Boys Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year broke the triple jump state record by bounding out to 51 feet-10 inches. The Midlakes graduating senior's triple jump might rank in the all-time top 10 performances by a U.S. high school athlete.
Tyler Burchett, golfer of the year
Why Burchett is the AGR Golfer of the Year: Burchett, who qualified for the state championships for the first time in his senior year, was the highest finisher from Section V at the season-ending event. He finished tied for seventh place, nine shots behind the winner, and 3-over par for the two-day tournament, including a round of 70 on day one.
"Being patient, staying in the moment and realizing that golf is hard, not every shot is going to be great," Burchett said about the key to his season. "I would say a new level of maturity. It was a lot of fun."
The Section V Class AA champion was the medalist in 12 of 13 regular-season matches. Fairport was runner-up in the Section V Class AA Team Boys Golf Championships.
"This year was our new coach’s first year, and I think (Benjamin Cobbett) had a huge impact as a whole. We had great team chemistry for the whole year. It allowed us to hang in there together for more matches than before."
Ibrahim Ford, runner of the year (cross-country and outdoor track and field)
Why Ibrahim Ford is the Runner of the Year: Arkport's graduating senior is the only boys star who was voted player of the year twice during the 2025-26 school year.
Last fall, Ford was the unanimous choice as Cross-Country Runner of the Year after he won a state championship, had a No. 1 speed rating in Section V from the season’s beginning to end and finished the fastest New York state runner at Nike Cross nationals.
A native of Yemen who moved to Arkport as a sixth-grader, Ford switched from soccer to distance running during the COVID pandemic and excelled within months. Last fall alone, he won the small school division race at the McQuaid Invitational just a week after he won the John Izzo Invitational small school race on the same course in Letchworth Park, where he would set a course record to capture his second sectional Class D title a month later.
He followed that up this spring by winning both the Federation and Class C 3,000-meter steeplechase state championship races, which were held at the same time. That means Ford finished ahead of all the other competitors, regardless of school classification.
The victory capped a strong state meet for Ford. He also won the Class C 3,200-meter title, finished second in the Federation standings and was runner-up in the Class C 1,600-meter race.
Jackson Green, basketball player of the year
Why Jackson Green is ...
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