Beating one opponent is difficult enough, but in Tuesday’s eight-team cross country meet at Palmerton, the Northwestern boys swept seven teams to improve its record to 17-0 on the season.

Palmerton also had a big day, as the Bomber boys won against five competitors, and suffered just one loss to improve their season’s record to 14-4. The Northern Lehigh boys’ team added four wins as well.

Individually, Tiger runners placed second and third after Thomas Smigo of Palisades had crossed the finish line first. Matthew Santana completed the course 25 seconds behind the winner, and ahead of his teammate, Samuel Bower, who crossed 18 seconds after Santana.

Palmerton runners grabbed the next three spots as senior Owen Hibell and his freshman brother, Conner, finished just 12 seconds apart to take fourth and fifth place, respectively, while senior Dylan Hartranft was close behind in sixth place.

Bombers coach Mike Horvath said his team was primed to have a good race.

“We finally brought a full arsenal with us,” Horvath said, “The big thing today was we were the host team, and there was a little extra focus with all of our runners.”

On the girls’ side of the race, Northwestern took first place overall by beating all of its challengers, including its biggest win against Saucon Valley, who had beaten the Tigers by one point in a dual meet earlier in the season.

Leading Northwestern was Angelina Kelin, who finished in third place behind Sonali Patel of Moravian Academy and Olivia Bortz of Saucon Valley. The Tigers racked up the points as Sophia Cornell, Emma Heil, Haley DuBois, and Kelcey Pedron finished in 11th through 14th place, respectively. Northern Lehigh’s Delaney Szwast crossed in 21st place out of 54 total runners.

Before the race, Northwestern coach Chris Stitzel believed his girls would have a good race.

“They’ve been getting better and better, and there’s more confidence in all of them,” Stitzel said.

TENT PEOPLE ... Cross country has its own version of tailgating before events. Teams set up large tents before the meet with their school’s name printed on the canvas in large letters. Runners, coaches, and even family members join in on the pre-event team bonding.

WATCH ME ... Several runners in yesterday’s race wore wrist watches. As they crossed the finish line, they looked down at their times in hopes of running their personal best. Cross country runners compete against themselves as well as opponents from other schools.

BOYS

Northwestern 15, Moravian Academy 50

Northwestern 15, Notre Dame ES 50

Northwestern 23, Notre Dame GP 32

Northwestern 24, Palmerton 31

Northwestern 15, Palisades 50

Northwestern 15, Saucon Valley 46

Northwestern 15, Northern Lehigh 50

Palmerton 15, Moravian Academy 50

Palmerton 15, Notre Dame ES 50

Palmerton 15, Northern Lehigh 50

Palmerton 15, Saucon Valley 49

Palmerton 15, Palisades 50

Saucon Valley 15, Northern Lehigh 50

Notre Dame GP 15, Northern Lehigh 50

1. Thomas Smigo (Pali) 16:10.55, 2. Matthew Santana (NW) 16:35.66, 3. Samuel Bower (NW) 16:53.44, 4. Owen Hibell (Palm), 5. Connor Hibell (Palm), 6. Dylan Hartranft (Palm), 7. Jake Mattes (NDGP), 8. Chandler Albanese (NDGP), 9. unknown runner (MA), 10. Xander Giandomenico (NW), 11. unknown runner (MA), 12. Jordan Smith (NDGP), 13. Sean Kerschner (NW), 14. William Gruen (NW), 15. Malcom Naughton (NDES).

GIRLS

Northwestern 15, Moravian Academy 50

Northwestern 15, Notre Dame ES 50

Notre Dame GP 20, Northwestern 40

Northwestern 15, Palmerton 50

Northwestern 16, Palisades 47

Northwestern 26, Saucon Valley 30

Northwestern 19, Northern Lehigh 42

Northern Lehigh 15, Moravian Academy 50

Northern Lehigh 15, Notre Dame ES 50

Northern Lehigh 15, Palmerton 50

Northern Lehigh 25, Palisades 31

Saucon Valley 19, Northern Lehigh 42

Notre Dame GP 15, Palmerton 50

Saucon Valley 15, Palmerton 50

Palisades 15, Palmerton 50

1. Sonali Patel (MA) 18:49.29, 2. Olivia Bortz (SV) 20:26.76, 3. Angelina Kelin (NW) 20:47.64, 4. Isabella Johnstone (SV), 5. Olivia Schweitzer (NDGP), 6. Lauren Bower (NDGP), 7. Katherine Koons (NDGP), 8. Samantha Karwacki (NDGP), 9. Brenna Hammerstone (NDGP), 10. Ella Schweitzer (NDGP), 11. Sophia Cornell (NW), 12. Emma Heil (NL), 13. Haley DuBois (NW), 14. Kellcey Pedron (NW), 15. Emma Rex (Palm).