Section V is the NYSPHSAA section for Rochester and a wide ring of counties around it, from the Lake Ontario shore south into the Finger Lakes. Section V swimming, often written Section 5 swimming, is concentrated in the Monroe County suburbs, where most high schools have their own pool or share one nearby, and thins out in the rural districts, where teams sometimes combine schools to field a full roster.
The section is easy to recognize by its numbering. NYSPHSAA writes it as Section V, and local coverage often uses the Arabic numeral for the same thing. Both point to the same leagues, the same class championships and the same path to the state meet.
- Girls season
- Fall
- Boys season
- Winter
- Championships
- By class
- Main venue
- Webster Aquatic Center
Section V boys swimming runs through the winter and ends with the class championships in early February. In 2025 the Class A final was swum on Thursday, February 6, at the Webster Aquatic Center. Pittsford won it with 522.5 points, more than double the 250 scored by Fairport in second place, and took its 23rd consecutive section title.
The streak is the headline, but the meet is spread wider than one team. In the same final, Webster's Jack Frenzel won the 100 butterfly and shared first in the 50 freestyle, Brighton's Carlton Cabral won the 100 backstroke, and Churchville-Chili's Kyler Thomas won diving. Pittsford's Calvin Braun, swimmer of the meet, won the 200 individual medley and the 100 breaststroke and anchored two winning relays.
| Place | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pittsford | 522.5 |
| 2 | Fairport | 250 |
Section V boys swimming results from the class meet are the ones that decide state entries. A swimmer who wins a class title does not automatically go to the state meet; the time and the section's allotment decide that.
For families following a season, the meet order is worth knowing. A class final opens with the 200 medley relay, runs through the individual events with diving in the middle, and closes with the 400 freestyle relay. Team scores at a championship pay more places than a dual meet does, so depth matters: a team that puts swimmers into every final collects points in every event, which is how a large program like Pittsford builds a margin of hundreds of points.
The girls season runs in the fall and ends with the class championships in November. Pittsford's girls team holds the same kind of record as the boys: its Class A title in the 2024 fall season was the 23rd in a row, so the girls and boys programs reached the same number in the same school year.
The girls state meet came to Section V in 2025, when the NYSPHSAA championships were held at the Webster Aquatic Center on November 21 and 22. For local swimmers that meant racing the state final in a pool they knew from the section meet, which is a real advantage in a sport where walls, blocks and the sightlines of a facility all affect a swim.
Away from Rochester, Section V swimming looks different. Finger Lakes schools tend to have smaller rosters and fewer home pools, so some race as combined teams and many travel for most of their meets. Their swimmers compete in the lower classes at the section meet, where a team title is decided by a handful of strong swimmers and relays.
Local newspapers and community sites across the Finger Lakes follow these teams closely, with meet reports, section results and season previews. For anyone tracking a single swimmer, those reports and the published section results are the best record of the season. Section 5 swimming results are always short course yards and should only be compared with other yards times.
Class titles in the smaller classes often swing on relays. A relay pays more points than an individual event, and a school with four good swimmers can win two or three relays and stay in the team race against a deeper roster. That makes the relay order, and who swims the lead-off leg, one of the main decisions a coach makes before the section meet.
Is Section V the same as Section 5?
Yes. NYSPHSAA writes its sections in Roman numerals, so Section V and Section 5 are the same section. Local papers and school sites use both forms.
Where are the Section V championships swum?
The 2025 Class A boys final was swum at the Webster Aquatic Center, east of Rochester, the same pool that hosted the 2025 girls state championships. Venues are set each season, so check the section schedule for the current year.
When is the Section V boys championship?
The boys class championships are held in early February. In 2025 the Class A boys final was swum on Thursday, February 6.
What does Class A mean in Section V?
Section V groups schools into classes by enrollment. Class A holds the largest schools, and each class crowns its own team champion at the section meet.