SECTION IV BOYS CROSS COUNTRY: OWEGO'S BELOKUR REPEATS AS CLASS B CHAMP; ALLEN, SAUNDERS ALSO PUNCH TICKET TO STATES (15 PHOTOS) (2025-11-06)

Tioga County Sports Report
CHENANGO FORKS, N.Y. — Senior Javan Belokur repeated as champion as Section IV, Class B Boys Cross-Country champion here Thursday at the Chenango Valley State Park 5K course, and a pair of of his River Hawk teammates — senior Magavin Allen and junior Levi Saunders — also punched their tickets to the New York State meet.

Owego finished second in the team standings with 53 points, well off the pace of Class B champion Vestal, which had five of the top six finishers and seven of the top nine.

"It feels great, I love it being two years running," said Belokur, who became Owego's first-ever back-to-back Sectional champion.

"I had the confidence coming in to defend my title, but I thought there were higher stakes this year, too," noted Belokur. "Last year was my first shot at it. This year, I had a chance to get it again, and I did.

"I'm just enjoying the moment," added Belokur. "It's the first time Owego has ever had a back-to-back champion, so I'm really soaking this up."

Belokur said he needed to change his game plan for the race.

"My original plan was to make my first move after the first mile, but I realized with the competition this year I was going to need to change," said Belokur. "At the 800, it came to me early on."

Owego coach John Heath was pleased with his team's performance.

"We were thrilled that the boys achieved their goal of qualifying three individuals for the state meet," he said. 

"Javan Belokur demonstrated amazing focus, determination and strength to claim his second straight individual title," Heath added. 

Allen finished 10th in a time of 18:19.6, and Saunders was 11th in 18:29.8, while senior Gavin Heath placed 14th in a time of 18:39.0 — missing out on States by 1 spot and less than five seconds.

"It feels great," said Allen. "I think this was probably my best race of the season."

"It's amazing," said Saunders. "I felt amazing, it was a really nice day, a bit cold, but a great day.

"I was trying to stick with my teammates, and it worked out great," he added.

Junior Everett Tirnato-Snow (19:45.0), freshman Joram Belokur (19:49.0) and junior Cadon Wasilewski (19:50.5) finished 20th through 22nd, respectively, for the River Hawks, while sophomore Lucas Wall was 24th in 19:54.1, sophomore Brady Senko was 27th in 20:15.4, and senior Henry Schultz Larson was 29th in 20:56.2.

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