At this point, it's safe to say the Northwestern Lehigh track and field program has "It."

What exactly is "It," you ask?"It" could be talent, depth, leadership…traits that are intangible but have separated the Tigers from their peers over the past few seasons.Those skills were on full display Thursday afternoon as Northwestern swept Colonial League rival Palmerton, with the boys picking up an 84-66 win and the girls claiming a 104.5-40.5 victory.The Tigers (5-0) claimed victory in a close boys' meet by placing at least two in the points-earning top-three in seven events and by sweeping all three relays.While disappointed with the loss, Palmerton (3-1) coach Jeff Minnich felt his team benefited from facing a squad the caliber of Northwestern."Northwestern is definitely a big measuring stick for us and that's kind of how we were using today," he said. "It kind of lets us know how strong we are, and in other cases where we're weaker, because they don't have a lot of holes."One of the reasons the Tigers don't' have many flaws is because of Cam Richardson, who claimed two individual wins (100, 200) and also helped Northwestern earn victories in the 400 and 1600-meter relays, respectively.For Richardson, it was more than just the wins that were satisfying."I definitely knew that I had to run the 200 hard," Richardson said of the race, which also featured Palmerton's Austin Shupp. "I knew he was going to push me and I think it was good to be tested and have to work for it."The race was one of the few Shupp didn't win after claiming victories in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles. But the Palmerton senior still came away from the race against Richardson content with his result in an event he doesn't always compete in."That's the first time in competition, in any event, that I've competed against him so far this season," Shupp said. "Obviously, he's very fast and I knew it wasn't going to be easy. But I'm happy with how I did and I know I can get better."While Richardson proved to be unstoppable in the sprints, teammate Collin Furchner showed the way in the distance events, winning the 1600 and 3200 while helping the Tigers run away with the 3200-meter relay.Northwestern's Alex Partington continued his strong season, winning the shot put and discus in convincing fashion.The one throwing event Partington didn't win, however, was the javelin, which went to Palmerton's Gerald Pereira. Not only did Pereira win, he also set the school record with a throw of 169 feet, 10 inches.After suffering a disappointing loss earlier in the day, Pereira admitted he came into the event with a little more motivation than usual."I was a little disappointed with how I did in the 100," Pereira said of his third-place finish in the event. "I was just trying to do better (in the javelin) and I just wanted to win something."While pleased with his mark, Pereira was quick to admit that he's looking to better it the next chance he gets."I'm satisfied with it, but I'm ready to hit a new record - 170 - next time out," he said.Another noteworthy performance on the boys' side was Palmerton's Zach Svetik, who finished second in the 3200 after pitching three innings in the Bombers' baseball game against East Stroudsburg South.For Minnich, the performance was far from surprising."We have a lot of selfless kids," he said. "They'll do anything for the team."For Svetik, it was a chance to compete in two sports he loves."It's fun to do both sports," he said. "You're not really locked into one and I like being able to try both."In the girls' meet, Northwestern (5-0) won all but four events and swept both relays.Haley Yost (800, 1600) and Alexis Gawelko (100H, 300H) paced the Lady Tigers with multiple event wins.For Palmerton, Brinn Doherty claimed two individual victories, winning the 100 and long jump.Regardless of the outcomes, Minnich knows his team will bounce back and finish the season strong."I don't feel any differently about my team after today," the coach said. "I still feel that we will be a tough team for the rest of our opponents to beat."BOYSNorthwestern 84, Palmerton 66100 - 1. Cam Richardson (NW) 10.94, 2. Cole Miller (NW), 3. Gerald Pereira (P); 200 - 1. Cam Richardson (NW) 22.76, 2. Austin Shupp (P), 3. Jihad Hereba (NW); 400 - 1. Jihad Hereba (NW) 52.60, 2. Nate Eckhart (P), 3. Alec Fixl (NW); 800 - 1. Shaun Seiler (P) 2:09.14, 2. Ryan Cerrone (NW), 3. Nate Eckhart (P); 1600 - 1. Collin Furchner (NW) 4:48.48, 2. Ryan Cerrone (NW), 3. Brayden Heller (NW); 3200 - 1. Collin Furchner (NW) 10:54.0, 2. Zach Svetik (P), 3. Alessandro Consuelos (NW); 110 HH - 1. Austin Shupp (P) 14.73, 2. Austin Weiss (NW), 3. Alec Fixl (NW); 300 H - 1. Austin Shupp (P) 41.90, 2. Austin Weiss (NW), 3. Sean Doherty (P); 400 relay - 1. Northwestern (Frank Dangello, Harry Hall, Cam Richardson) 44.50; 1600 relay - 1. Northwestern (Jihad Hereba, Alec Fixl, Cam Richardson, Travis Stout) 4:38.38; 3200 relay - 1. Northwestern (Ryan Cerrone, Collin Furchner, Brayden Heller, Zack Hancharik) 11:07.45; Shot put - 1. Alex Partington (NW) 48-0, 2. Tre Nelson (P), 3. Scott Heffelfinger (P); Discus - 1. Alex Partington (NW) 148-00, 2. Jon Anthony (P), 3. Nate Silfies (P); Javelin -1. Gerald Pereira (P) 169-10, 2. Austin Kobordo (NW), 3. Chrles Debski (P); Long jump - 1. Cole Miller (NW) 19-9, 2. Soencer Hay (P), 3. Jarred Sacks (P); Triple jump - 1. Jarred Sacks (P) 41-3.5, 2. Spencer Hay (P), 3. Steve Schoeninger (NW); High jump - 1. Spencer Hay (P) 6-0, 2. Brendan Lutton (P), 3. Kevin Markovitch (NW) and Alex Bobbyn (NW); Pole vault - 1. Darris Rodrigues (P) 12-6, 2. Cole Miller (NW), 3. Jacob Steidinger (NW).GIRLSNorthwestern 104.5, Palmerton 40.5100 - 1. Brinn Doherty (P) 13.08, 2. Lauren Anderson (NW), 3. Emily Renner (NW); 200 - 1. Lauren Anderson (NW) 27.98, 2. Sarah Segan (NW), 3. Brinn Doherty (P); 400 - 1. Sabrina Mertz (NW) 1:04.56, 2. Sarah Segan (NW), 3. Emily Renner (NW); 800 - 1. Haley Yost (NW) 2:28.08, 2. Monica Wood (P), 3. Rachele Cerrone (NW); 1600 - 1. Haley Yost (NW) 5:26.00, 2. Monica Wood (P), 3. Rachele Ceronne (NW); 3200 - 1. Rachel Mikols (NW) 12:4.60, 2. Angela Alden (NW), 3. Abigail Smith (NW); 100 HH - 1. Alexis Gawelko (NW) 16.51, 2. Arissa Snyder (P), 3. Jess Debski (P); 300 H - 1. Alexis Gawelko (NW) 51.23, 2. Jess Debski (P), 3. Stacy Everett (NW); 400 relay - 1. Northwestern (Raegan Axt, Nicole Burns, McKenzi Divers, Amy Everett) 53.50; 1600 relay - No result; 3200 relay - 1. Northwestern (Rachele Cerrone, Sarah Segan, Sabrina Mertz, Abby Kemmerer) 12:15.37; Shot put - 1. Hanna Masenheimer (NW) 32-06, 2. Trista Cunningham (NW), 3. Vanessa Blose (NW); Discus - 1. Trista Cunningham (NW) 104-03, 2. Lila Goodhile (P), 3. Sabreena Strauch (P); Javelin - 1. Sabreena Strauch (P) 113-07, 2. Hanna Masenheimer (NW), 3. Cesily Gensits (NW); Long jump - 1. Brinn Doherty (P) 14-05, 2. Trista Cunningham (NW), 3. Jade Farquhar (P); Triple jump - 1. Jaclyn Wood (P) 33-04.5, 2. Trista Cunningham (NW), 3. Jade Farquhar (P); High jump - 1. Stacy Everett (NW) 4-10, 2. Taylor Slack (NW), 3. Jade Farquhar (P) and Alexis Gawelko (NW); Pole vault - 1. Kari Schultheis (NW) 8-3, 2. Kaelyn Englert (P), 3. Mallory Brinley (NW).