Sam Bower likely could have found success in any number of sports.

And for a while, he did.

Always interested in whatever he could get involved in, Bower was no stranger to soccer, basketball and football growing up.

Then he tried cross-country.

“I didn’t even know I wanted to do cross-country until there was about a month left of sign ups for cross-country for seventh grade, and I didn’t know if I really wanted to do it,” said Bower. “And I’m glad I did. I gave it a shot, and I ended up being pretty good at it and just stayed with it.”

He was at his best this season.

Bower was the top Northwestern boy at four of the team’s five regular season meets. His consistency helped him secure overall finishes of third, third, first, fourth and third. respectively.

The Tigers claimed their second straight district crown, winning the Class 2A title and some redemption after another runner-up finish at the Colonial League meet a week earlier.

Northwestern, which went 17-1 in the league during the regular season, finished with three runners in the top six, led by Bower’s (17:55) runner-up finish.

The Tigers’ top three might have shifted around a few times, but it was always Bower, fellow sophomore Matt Santana and junior Cole Chukoskie who were in the mix.

Those results have helped Bower earn Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Male Cross Country Athlete of the Year honors.

Bower is the first Northwestern athlete to win the award since Tyler Stelmack captured three straight from 2010-12.

“It definitely means a lot,” said Bower. “I’ve been putting in the work for months and months - and even years - going back all the way to seventh grade. It’s just awesome to see all the hard work pay off.”

While it’s hard for Bower to imagine a life without running now, that wasn’t always the case.

He found his footing in the sport with a little help from his friends.

“Our top three, we all played soccer together before cross-country,” Bower said of Santana and Chukoskie. “So we were always good friends, and then we just found a bond over running. We just keep working together, every season we get to know each other a little bit more and it’s just great working with those guys.

“I was actually the one that needed to be convinced to do cross-country. Matt was the one that wanted to do it, and he kind of talked me into it, it seems like, and Cole, too.”

At states, Santana’s 31st-place finish (17:44) paced the Tigers to a sixth-place result in the team standings. Bower (18:02) was 49th.

Their competitiveness has helped the boys’ program continue to make huge strides.

“It started back in middle school with him and this group,” said Northwestern head coach Chris Stitzel. “They work hard, they train together. Their freshmen year, him and Matt Santana were back-and-forth, and it was almost half-and-half.

“This year, Sam really put a lot more miles in over the summer, and it showed.”

Bower did it after losing what would have been his first varsity track and field season because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I definitely had high expectations because last year, we were second in leagues and we were still able to win districts,” Bower said of his freshman cross-country campaign. “We were just trying to build on that. We got a lot closer in the league championship this year (Southern Lehigh took the boys team title by four points (51-55). We still didn’t get it done, but that’s the goal for next year I guess. And we were still able to get the district title, and we’re looking to just keep improving moving forward.”

Throughout the 2019 regular season in cross-country, Bower was always among the team’s top four runners. He was their top runner three times, including twice during the final three weeks of the regular season.

The Tigers have shown there is strength in numbers in recent years.

And Bower has typically been the one leading the pack.

“That’s kind of our team motto; our coaches are always telling us to work off each other and work with each other,” said Bower. “Being together during workouts, doing all of the runs together at practice, we’re so used to running together that during the races when we’re doing it, it’s nothing new. It’s just faster than a normal run.

“We’re able to build off each other, work with each other and pass people when we need to, and that led to a lot of success.”

And they might just be getting started.