It’s October and that means a few things — spooky movies, costumes and the cross country postseason.

With runners hoping to peak as they work on dropping times and training for long-term goals, Tuesday’s multi-team meet at Palmerton proved plenty of those runners are in top form.

Northern Lehigh’s Reagan Pender continued her impressive ‘run’ through the season, as she added another first-place finish to her resume. The senior bested the field by over a minute-and-a-half in a dominating performance.

“She just did her thing today, and we just wanted her to avoid injury with the hills,” Northern Lehigh coach Dave Oertner said. “She’s running great, she looks strong, it’s just a matter of at the big meets at the end of the year, and it’s my job to have her ready, and her job to be ready.”

Meanwhile, the Northwestern boys utilized some grouping at the top to finish the day unblemished with another strong showing. Freshman Matthew Santana’s second-place finish and junior RJ Zack’s fourth-place showing led the Tigers.

“I just tried to use the hills well,” Santana said. “On the uphills, I tried to work it up and run as fast as I could downhill to get my good place.”

“I was very pleased with the way we ran today,” Zack said. “Coaches always tell us to keep the pack together, and that’s exactly what we did today.”

For the Tigers, it’s all about getting to the postseason and making some noise, according to head coach Chris Stitzel.

“We knew coming into the season that we had a strong group of guys with everybody we had back from last year, and we picked up the middle school guys,” Stitzel said. “We’re a young team, because we only have one senior in our top seven right now.

“They’re running really well together, and with the big meets coming up, we’re going to need that strong pack running. In leagues, districts, that’s going to really help us.”

Outside of Santana and Zack’s top-four finishes, Cole Chukowksi’s seventh and Samuel Bower’s eighth padded their impressive team showing.

The Tiger girls had an equally strong outing, notching three wins, led by freshman Angelina Klein, who took second behind Pender.

“I was definitely nervous going into the race today,” Klein said. “I knew there were a lot of hills coming up, but I just tried to get through them. Being able to help the team and be an individual is the best to me.”

Northwestern was missing Allison Costa, who was out with an injury, but her teammates managed to overcome the loss.

“The girls really stepped up today,” Stitzel said. “We decided to sit Ally (Costa), so the other girls did what they had to do. I thought we had an overall great day. We got out of here injury- free, and had a strong race.”

For Palmerton, the girls (1-2 on the day) were led by freshman Natalie Mosier’s eighth-place finish. Classmate Owen Hibell’s ninth-place finish was tops for the boys (2-1).

Blue Bomber coach Bill Zeky was happy with the performance.

“I think we finished pretty strong today,” he said. “I think our guys finished together pretty well, and that’s typically what you want.

“We need the top runners to be together, and that’s what they did. We’re improving every single time. I’m more concerned with their places, and how tightly packed they are. We are kind of peaking here at the end, so hopefully we’ll be in good shape in a couple of weeks.”

Oertner was pleased with the showing the other Bulldogs had in support of Pender.

“I thought we had a really good day. It’s a difficult course, it’s got super hills, and the course dictates the times,” he said. “But overall, I thought some of our kids ran exceptionally well today.”

Sophomore Jared Thomason’s sixth-place finish was tops for the Northern Lehigh boys.

BEST BOY ... Pen Argyl’s Anthony Coppolella dashed through the 5K course in 19:31 to take first.

KUDOS ... A job well done to everyone involved in the Colonial League hexagonal meet at Palmerton’s home course at Blue Mountain Ski Resort. Palmerton Athletic Director Kyle Porembo, Northern Lehigh AD Bryan Geist, and finish line helpers Greg King, Tom Smelas and Diane Smelas ran a smooth event.

BOYS RESULTS

Northwestern 20, Bangor 43

Northwestern 20, Pen Argyl 42

Northwestern 18, Wilson 45

Palmerton 23, Bangor 33

Palmerton 26, Pen Argyl 30

Wilson 25, Palmerton 30

Pen Argyl 15, No. Lehigh 50

Bangor 15, Northern Lehigh 50

Wilson 15, Northern Lehigh 50

1. Anthony Coppolella (PA) 19:31, 2. Marino Bubba (Ban) 20:15, 3. Matthew Santana (NW) 20:31, 4. Randal Zack (NW) 20:38, 5. Aaron Koehler (Wil) 20:41, 6. Jared Thomason (NL) 20:43, 7. Cole Chukoskie (NW) 20:44, 8. Samuel Bower (NW) 20:50, 9. Owen Hibell (Palm) 20:58, 10. Jakob Leonard (NDES) 21:07, 11. Joseph Chukoskie (NW) 21:09, 12. Joseph Pleban (NW) 21:41, 13. Hunter Weaver (PA) 21:49, 14. Nathan Vincent (NW) 21:53, 15. Jonathan Wohlbach (Wil) 21:55, 16. Matthew Boushell (NW) 21:59, 17. Devon White (Palm) 22:03, 18. Michael Noyola (Palm) 22:05, 19. Hunter Zehner (NW) 22:10, 20. Mike Coleman (Ban) 22:22.

GIRLS RESULTS

Northwestern 16, Bangor 47

Northwestern 15, Pen Argyl 50

Northwestern 24, Wilson 33

Palmerton 15, Pen Argyl 50

Bangor 24, Palmerton 31

Wilson 19, Palmerton 39

Northern Lehigh 21, Bangor 34

No. Lehigh 15, Pen Argyl 50

Wilson 24, Northern Lehigh 32

1. Reagan Pender (NL) 22:29, 2. Angelina Klein (NW) 24:04, 3. Jillian Pote (Wil) 25:16, 4. Kailyn Jones (NW) 25:25, 5. Alyssa Errico (Wil) 25:52, 6. Maci Fisher (NW) 26:02, 7. Ali Lorah (NL) 26:04, 8. Natalie Mosier (Palm) 26:46, 9. Sarah Pezzino (PA) 28:09, 10. Alexis Vennera (NW) 28:!9, 11. Tataynna Pagan (PA) 28:31, 12. Allison Talero (Ban) 28:35, 13. Braelyn Roth (Wil) 28:40, 14. Zoey Bronson (Wil) 28:50, 15. Nicole Landes (NW) 29:18, 16. Madison Santana (NW) 29:23, 17. Carly Mikulski (NL) 29:33, 18. Mya Conti (NW) 29:36, 19. Beth Morgan (Palm) 29:36, 20. Claire Costa (NW) 29:59.