Matt Santana didn’t set out to make history.

But the Northwestern junior had his sights set on something special.

Santana and the Tigers were good in 2020.

They owned 2021.

After claiming a Colonial League Championship and a third straight District 11 title, Northwestern - which went 24-0 this season - finished third in the Class 2A team standings at states - the best finish in program history for the boys’ squad.

Santana ran to a 12th-place finish with a time of 16:53.8 in the Class 2A race to earn his first state medal for the Tigers.

It capped a remarkable run for Santana, the Times News/Lehigh Valley Health Network Male Cross Country Athlete of the Year.

“It means a lot,” said Santana. “We put in a lot of work the past few years. We knew we had a goal in mind, which was to hopefully have a shot at the state title. We had our shot, but were a little short. But that’s all right. Just because you work for something doesn’t mean you’re going to get it right away.

“There’s more work to be done. But being able to accomplish what we did this year, it means a lot.”

The Tigers won the DeSales Invitational, and the Lion Invitational at Moravian Academy earlier this year. They also claimed a win at the PIAA Foundation Invite in Hershey, where Santana recorded a team-best sixth-place finish, topping Grove City 89-94 for the Class 2A title.

Northwestern didn’t just win the District 11 Class 2A team title. The Tigers absolutely dominated.

Sam Bower, the TN/LVHN Male Cross Country Athlete of the Year last season, led a sweep of the top three spots for Northwestern, which also claimed fifth and sixth to win with 17 points. Central Catholic was second with 97 points.

Bower hit the line in 16:48 ahead of teammates Santana (17:05) and Cole Chukoskie (17:20) in second and third, respectively. Joe Chukoskie was fifth (17:27), followed by Nathan Vincent in sixth (17:29). Gavin Nelson recorded an 11th-place finish (18:01).

“It’s a great feeling. I’ve never met guys like this in my life, who want to work this hard, and have what at first seems like such lofty goals,” said Santana. “But once you see how much work they put in, they’re really not as high and lofty as you think they are.

“As long as you set your mind to something, I think you can do it no matter what. You just have to put a lot of work in, and be smart with how you do it.”

At leagues, Santana’s runner-up finish in 16:56 led the way for the Tigers, followed by Bower, who placed fourth in 17:15.

Northwestern placed six runners in the top 12 to claim the Colonial League meet title over Southern Lehigh, 33-66.

The Tigers were runners-up to the Spartans in the league meet last year by four points (51-55) and finished the 2020 regular season with a 17-1 record.

The competitive spirit that drove them throughout the year is something that had a trickle-down effect throughout the team.

“It’s really helpful to have guys like that, because if you’re not feeling totally motivated that day, it will motivate you when you have all those guys wanting to put in the work,” said Santana. “It will make you want to do it.”

Santana had a pretty good example to follow growing up.

“In middle school, I always looked up to Sam (Bower), because I was always second to him,” Santana said. “So once I saw what he was doing, I’d always put in the work just to get as good as he was. It’s great to have a teammate like him.

“He’s easily one of my biggest motivators coming into high school, and now I think he can say the same for me. We both motivate each other, day in and day out. And same with the other guys; Cole (Chukoskie), Nate (Vincent), all of them. They saw what Sam and I did, so we motivated them, and then they push us every practice, every time we do a workout.”

Santana’s 31st-place finish (17:44) paced the Tigers to a previous program-best sixth-place result in the team standings a year ago at states.

Though Northwestern loses seniors Cole Chukoskie, Joe Chukoskie and Nathan Vincent, Santana, Bower and Gruen are juniors, while Nelson is a freshman.

The foundation is there for the Tigers to add another chapter to their historic run next fall.

“This started last year, the confidence they built running with each other,” said Northwestern head coach Chris Stitzel. “The success that they had last year, just carried over to this year, with track, and once the summer hit, they got together everyday and just trained together. And it showed. They just made each other better.”

And they aren’t about to slow down anytime soon.

“They’re just a pleasure to work with,” said Stitzel. “We have Sam and Matt, and Gavin was just a freshman. The younger guys are going to have to step up a little bit. We’re going to miss these seniors we’re losing. But there’s no reason why we can’t, with what we have back, especially having that good 1-2 punch there.

“I know these guys are going to work hard, and they just keep getting stronger. Hopefully the success they had rubs off on the younger guys coming up.”