CENTER VALLEY - There was an expectation of what the moment would be like.

But the reality of the achievement far exceeded any of the anticipation.

Wednesday’s District 11 cross country championships produced season-defining performances for area teams and runners, with tickets punched to next week’s state championships in ways they won’t soon forget.

The Northwestern girls and Palmerton boys each left DeSales University with team titles, while Matt Santana captured his first individual championship for the Tigers.

Those performances highlighted a meet that saw 12 individuals and two teams advance to Hershey for next Saturday’s PIAA Cross Country Championships.

Palmerton advanced three girls to states, while Jim Thorpe, Marian, Tamaqua and Weatherly will each be sending two runners to the meet.

The top two teams and 10 best individuals not on those squads in each classification qualified for next week’s state meet.

“A Cinderella story”

Palmerton has been knocking on the door all season.

The Bombers kicked it in on Wednesday.

Senior Owen Hibell paced Palmerton with a second-place finish in 17:02 in the Class 2A boys’ race, while freshman Connor Hibell finished fourth in 17:29.

The Bombers won the team title with 82 points to top Blue Mountain (94). Tamaqua was third with 100 points, while three-time defending champion Northwestern finished fourth (105).

“It’s awesome,” said Owen Hibell. “I don’t even really know what to say. At the beginning of the season, there was a stretch that we thought we were going to win. Obviously, we knew we would have to beat Northwestern, and we just really wanted it. We lost by seven (to Northwestern) last week at leagues, and you could tell the entire team just wanted it. And we got it.”

Palmerton placed five runners in the top 35, with Dylan Hartranft finishing 17th (18:31), Aaron Simpson 28th (18:54) and Jeremy Salvaggio 31st (19:04).

“Our big focus has been depth,” said first-year Bombers coach Mike Horvath. “We knew we were going to have studs like Connor and Owen and Dylan, but it was that middle of the pack that we said, ‘You guys have to get up there.’

“And they kept working hard every week, and it’s just amazing that ... it’s a Cinderella story that paid off.”

Owen Hibell was eighth at last year’s district meet to qualify for states. The commitment from the entire team is evident throughout the lineup.

“We knew if we were going to win it, this was the year to do it,” said Owen. “We tried to get in as many practices this summer as we could. Everybody showed up and worked really hard for it.”

The Bombers were second at last week’s league meet, seven points behind Northwestern and finished the regular season with a record of 19-5.

“We knew we could do it as a team,” said Horvath. “If you look at our losses throughout the year, we’re talking a couple of points here, a couple of points there. And we had a couple of things go our way today. We had our foot in the door all season, and today they left it open and we stepped right in.”

Palmerton’s Emma Rex (12th, 22:12), Natalie Mosier (17th, 22:43) and Cora Wentz (18th, 23:05) also moved on to Hershey in the girls’ Class 2A race. Mosier qualified for states for the fourth year in a row, while Wentz will be going for the second straight year.

Tigers’ title

Northwestern head coach Chris Stitzel was crunching the numbers during the race.

He liked what he saw, but still wasn’t sure.

Stitzel couldn’t have been happier with the final outcome.

The Tigers won the Class 2A team title in the girls race, finishing with 45 points to top Allentown Central Catholic (55).

“They had a good start, and then they were at the mile mark, and I thought, ‘We have a shot,’” said Stitzel. “They have just continued to get better and better throughout the season. They believed in our system, and they just kept working hard. They believed in us, and we believed in them. You could see it, little by little, every week, they got a little more confidence.”

Northwestern placed five runners in the top 20, paced by senior Angelina Klein’s fifth-place result in 21:06.

“It’s absolutely incredible,” said Klein. “The last time we were able to take a team to states was my freshman year, so three years ago. That’s a long time. Last year, I had an awful race, and this is like amazing. All I wanted to do was get to states this year. That was the goal.

“I was so nervous all day. But I just had a feeling, I knew that we were so motivated, and I think that even though we were all super nervous today, we all just wanted it more than everyone else. We’ve worked so hard since the beginning of the season, and I could just see the progression in my teammates ... everyone was improving. We were all starting to run more in packs. We just improved so much, and I couldn’t be prouder of my team.”

Sophia Cornell (eighth, 22:02), Kellcey Pedron (ninth, 22:03), Haley DuBois (11th, 22:05) and Sophia Penny (19th, 23:12) rounded out the scoring for the Tigers.

Northwestern was 19-5 during the regular season, and third at last week’s league meet.

“For a lot of them, it will be their first time out there,” Stitzel said of the girls’ team. “So they can get their feet wet, and I have five of the top seven back next year. But I’m so happy for them. It just came together for them.”

Earning his stripes

Santana won the Class 2A boys race with a time of 16:52.

The senior was second last week at leagues, and also had a runner-up finish a year ago at districts.

“It felt great,” said Santana. “I’ve been waiting my whole high school career just to hopefully win a district race. Last year I had a shot, and I didn’t do it. But this year, I was very happy about how everything went.”

Santana, the Times News Male Cross Country Athlete of the Year last season, took an early lead and controlled the race from the front.

“It played out how I thought it was going to,” said Santana. “I was planning on taking it out a little faster that first mile, and I did. And that kind of got me a decent lead. I was just looking to hold on, and I did. I’ve learned to get comfortable with that (running at that front). Especially this season.”

The Tigers went 24-0 for a second year in a row, and won a league meet team title a week ago. They were seeking a fourth straight district crown.

“He’s been so consistent the last two years,” said Stitzel. “I’m so happy for him.”

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 a year ago.

“I’m looking for top-10,” Santana said. “I just usually race probably from the middle pack, and then just work the hills.”

Tamaqua tandem

Tamaqua sophomores Levi Kunkel and Anthony Marchetti also qualified for states in Class 2A.

Kunkel finished ninth (17:53) and Marchetti 10th (18:03). Kunkel qualified for states a year ago.

The opportunity to run in Hershey is one Marchetti, a first-time state qualifier, cherished.

“Last year, I just went with him, just to get the experience,” Marchetti said of going to the state meet with Kunkel a year ago. “And now, actually running it, it’s amazing. It truly is amazing for the first time. And I have the experience of knowing what the course is like.”

Kunkel was third last week at districts, while Marchetti finished seventh.

“We started in June in the summertime, and we had practice almost every day,” said Marchetti. “Coach (Tom) Kanger helped me so much. We’ve trained so much. The whole team really pushes me. We run so well as a pack. It’s just truly amazing.”

Olympian pair

Jim Thorpe’s Jordan Remmel and Nicole Carroll also qualified for states in Class 2A

Remmel placed sixth with a time of 17:45 in the boys race, while Carroll crossed the line in 21:57 in seventh in the girls’ race.

“It’s incredibly cool. I could not be happier,” said Carroll. “This is what I wanted. There were points where I didn’t know if it was going to happen, because of soccer. But it’s just incredible, to come out here and give it my all, and it to pay off like this.”

Carroll, who also qualified for states last year, splits her time between cross country and soccer with the Olympians, who captured the Schuylkill League title this year.

“I’ve gotten used to it a little more,” Carroll said of the balance. “I know what I can handle more now. They’re all so supportive with both sports. They’re all texting me right away. It’s incredible.”

Marian duo

In the Class 1A race, Marian’s Albin Petschauer and Emma Ashfield both qualified for states.

Petschauer finished third in 18:00, while Ashfield crossed the line with a 16th-place finish and time of 23:09 in the Class 1A girls race.

A junior, Petschauer wanted to bounce back after a disappointing run at last week’s Schuylkill League meet, where he was 19th.

“I just had a bad start, and it resulted in a bad race,” said Petschauer. “So just coming off that, and coming in trying to reprove myself, and also from last year, missing out on states by like one place, that especially helped in the finish, when I had people coming up behind me. I was just trying to do everything right.”

Ashfield will get to share the experience with a teammate in Petschauer, and the rest of the Marian squad.

“What our coach (Justin Huegel) does is, if a girl makes it, the whole girls’ team goes down. And if a boy makes it, the whole boys’ team goes down,” said Ashfield. “And now this year, the whole team will be able to go down and have fun. It’s really cool.”

Weatherly pride

In the Class 1A boys race, Weatherly’s Michael Berger and Jacob Parker both qualified for states.

Berger finished in eighth with a time of 18:16, while Parker finished 10th in 18:25.

“When I came in freshman year, I was running in the 21s, the 23s, and I was way at the bottom,” Berger said. “I was putting in work during the season and over the summer and just working hard at practices and meets, and I’m happy with where I ended up.”

The Wreckers were third in the team standings, finishing with 105 points.

“I’m extremely happy I’m going; I’m lucky I’m going,” said Parker. “I’m super proud of Michael having an awesome race. This was definitely the goal to finish it out. I wish we could bring our other guys, I wish (we were) bringing our other senior, Nate Tripp. But we gave it everything.”

Minersville won the team title with 42 points, and Tri-Valley claimed second place and a state qualifying spot with 88 points.

BOYS

Class 3A

Team Scores and legend

1. Parkland (Park) 38*, 2. Nazareth (Naz) 60*, 3. Emmaus (Emm) 87, 4. Easton (Eas) 126, 5. Liberty (Lib) 156, 6. Freedom (Free) 174, 7. Southern Lehigh (SL) 182, 8. Stroudsburg (Str) 222, 9. Northampton (Nor) 251, 10. Pleasant Valley (PV) 280, 11. Whitehall (Whi) 302, 12. Bangor (Ban) 331, 13. Pocono Mountain East (PME) 356, 14. East Stroudsburg South (ESS) 381.

Individual Results

(top 10 plus state qualifiers and locals in top 75)

1. Paul Abeln (Park) 16:49.98*, 2. Giovanni Mastromonaco (Naz) 16:57.27*, 3. Liam McGuigan (Park) 17:01.31*, 4. Dylan Boyle (Free) 17:01.67*, 5. Emrick Leshko (Lib) 17:05.63*, 6. Ethan Willard (Park) 17:10.84*, 7. Liam Davis (ESS) 17:16.65*, 8. Conor Fisher (Emm) 17:19.69*, 9. Jake Barnes (Park) 17:20.86*, 10. Connor Murphy (Naz) 17:30.48*, 12. Aaron Marcus (Eas) 17:38.67*, 14. Sam Dalton (Emm) 17:43.64*, 15. Evan Guydish (Eas) 17:44.95*, 16. Jared Petre (Emm) 17:46.11*, 17. Joe Bauer (Free) 17:47.08*, 18. James Viglianti (Eas) 17:53.49*, 37. Martin Green (PV) 18:42.28, 45. Frankie Morales (PV) 19:04.54, 61. Jake Smith (PV) 19:59.34, 68. Andrew Ryals (PV) 20:13.60, 69. Jacob Chechel (PV) 20:15.97.

Class 2A

Team Scores and legend

1. Palmerton (Palm) 82*, 2. Blue Mountain (BM) 94*, 3. Tamaqua (Tam) 100, 4. Northwestern (NW) 105, 5. Notre Dame Green Pond (NDGP) 128, 6. Allentown Central Catholic (ACC) 141, 7. Wilson (Wil) 169, 8. Lehighton (Leh) 184, 9. Jim Thorpe (JT) 240, 10. East Stroudsburg North (ESN) 245, 11. Pottsville (Pott) 283, 12. Bethlehem Catholic (BC) 316, 13. North Schuylkill (NS) 338, 14. Saucon Valley (SV) 346.

Individual Results

(top 10 plus state qualifiers and locals in top 75)

1. Matthew Santana (NW) 16:52.08*, 2. Owen Hibell (Palm) 17:02.62*, 3. Duke Ebert (ACC) 17:10.17*, 4. Connor Hibell (Palm) 17:29.57*, 5. Justin Williams (NS) 17:40.38*, 6. Jordan Remmel (JT) 17:45.91*, 7. Jake Mattes (NDGP) 17:51.14*, 8. Jude Scheidel (BM) 17:52.04*, 9. Levi Kunkel (Tam) 17:53.84*, 10. Anthony Marchetti (Tam) 18:03.26*, 11. Chad Albanese (NDGP) 18:06.94*, 13. Mekhi Britt (BC) 18:16.52*, 14. Chase Eller (Wil) 18:23.46*, 17. Dylan Hartranft (Palm) 18:31.48, 19. Samuel Bower (NW) 18:33.65, 20. Jesse Gormley (Tam) 18:36.74, 21. Owen Serfass (Leh) 18:41.07, 23. Elijah Pagotto (Leh) 18:43.24, 24. Stephen Kieffer (Tam) 18:44.02, 26. Sean Kershner (NW) 18:45.65, 28. Aaron Simpson (Palm) 18:54.14, 29. Zachary Santana (NW) 18:55.10, 30. Xander Giandomenico (NW) 19:00.48, 31. Jeremy Salvaggio (Palm) 19:04.93, 39. Adam Schock (Tam) 19:22.25, 40. Ridge Snyder (JT) 19:23.85, 41. Caden Kresge (Leh) 19:25.31, 45. Kyle Kuznicki (Leh) 19:35.40, 47. William Gruen (NW) 19:40.79, 54. Jordan Mann (Palm) 19:56.63, 58. Alex Saas (Palm) 20:07.48, 61. Bradley Yenser (Leh) 20:18.01, 64. Brody Boyce (Tam) 20:31.56, 65. Logan Morgans (Tam) 20:33.82, 66. Gabriel Wirth (JT) 20:38.72, 68. Evan Rosenbrook (JT) 20:44.22, 71. James O’Neill (JT) 21:01.76.

Class 1A

Team Scores and legend

1. Minersville (Min) 42*, 2. Tri-Valley (TV) 88*, 3. Weatherly (Wea) 105, 4. Lehigh Valley Academy (LVA) 125, 5. Moravian Academy (MA) 138, 6. Salisbury (Sali) 182, 7. Bethlehem Christian School (BCS) 194, 8. Notre Dame East Stroudsburg (NDES) 226, 9. Nativity (Nat) 231, 10. Marian Catholic (MC) 251, 11. Mahanoy (Mah) 267, 12. Catasauqua (Cat) 275, 13. Shenandoah Valley (SV) 300.

Individual Results

(top 10 plus state qualifiers and locals in top 75)

1. Thomas Smigo (Pali) 17:07.57*, 2. Keegan Duba (Min) 17:52.56*, 3. Albin Petschauer (MC) 18:00.70*, 4. Drew Mariani (MA) 18:01.86*, 5. Wyatt Leitzel (TV) 18:03.26*, 6. Jared Bowen (LVA) 18:07.15, 7. Alex Kurtek (Min) 18:11.39*, 8. Michael Berger (Wea) 18:16.17*, 9. Ayden Kurtek (Min) 18:24.81*, 10. Jacob Parker (Wea) 18:25.11*, 12. Joseph Rossi (Nat) 18:38.90*, 13. Ayden Zamudio (SV) 19:06.15*, 14. Malcolm Naughton (NDES) 19:14.43*, 15. Carter Daniel (SH) 19:14.89*, 26. Sebestian Williams (Wea) 20:02.58, 29. Alex Porambo (MC) 20:19.50, 31. Nathan Tripp (Wea) 20:25.02, 38. Carlos Otero (Wea) 21:16.48, 52. Raymond Montz (Wea) 22:15.58, 56. Niko Saldukis (Wea) 22:44.13, 57. Ayden Scanlon (NL) 22:47.80.

GIRLS

Class 3A

Team Scores and legend

1. Emmaus (Emm) 37*, 2. Southern Lehigh (SL) 67*, 3. Easton (Eas) 78, 4. Parkland (Park) 102, 5. Liberty (Lib) 129, 6. Stroudsburg (Str) 160, 7. Nazareth (Naz) 208, 8. Freedom (Free) 221, 9. Northampton (Nor) 235, 10. East Stroudsburg South (ESS) 288, 11. Whitehall (Whi) 312.

Individual Results

(top 10 plus state qualifiers and locals in top 75)

1. Lana Hurwitz (Park) 19:09.49*, 2. Hailey Reinhard (Emm) 19:17.66*, 3. Madelyn McCartney (Emm) 19:27.69*, 4. Maura Lenhart (SL) 19:41.79*, 5. Avaline Fihlman (Free) 19:46.44*, 6. Kaya Meler (PMW) 19:59.35*, 7. Madeline Mumma (Lib) 20:06.15*, 8. Addison Johnson (Emm) 20:24.02*, 9. Emily Stock (SL) 20:40.46*, 10. Catharine Brinker (Str) 20:40.96*, 13. Erin Vincent (Eas) 20:57.05*, 14. Faith Belote (Eas) 21:00.09*, 15. Kylie Karavitch (Naz) 21:00.61*, 17. Addison McPeek (Eas) 21:08.28*, 64. Keeley Lawrence (PV) 24:41.83, 68. Lily Dannels (PV) 25:25.69, 70. Kaitlyn Guzman (PV) 25:39.80, 74. Jenna Doman (PV) 26:46.51.

Class 2A

Team Scores and legend

1. Northwestern (NW) 45*, 2. Allentown Central Catholic (ACC) 55*, 3. Saucon Valley (SV) 70, 4. Blue Mountain (BM) 120, 5. Bethlehem Catholic (BC) 149, 6. Wilson (Wil) 173, 7. Tamaqua (Tam) 177, 8. Pottsville (Pott) 188, 9. East Stroudsburg North (ESN) 246, 10. Bangor (Ban) 258, 11. Lehighton (Leh) 266.

Individual Results

(top 10 plus state qualifiers and locals in top 75)

1. Avery Errico (Wil) 20:07.02*, 2. Olivia Bortz (SV) 20:27.44*, 3. Izzy Kehoe-Buck (ACC) 20:49.59*, 4. Lucy Scheidel (BM) 20:58.49*, 5. Angelina Klein (NW) 21:06.06*, 6. Isabella Johnstone (SV) 21:41.10*, 7. Nicole Carroll (JT) 21:57.81*, 8. Sophia Cornell (NW) 22:02.12*, 9. Kellcey Pedron (NW) 22:03.18*, 10. Andie Hollander (BM) 22:04.22*, 11. Haley DuBois (NW) 22:05.71*, 12. Emma Rex (Palm) 22:12.16*, 16. Margaret Burke (BC) 22:42.94*, 17. Natalie Mosier (Palm) 22:43.27*, 18. Cora Wentz (Palm) 23:05.00*, 19. Sophia Penny (NW) 23:12.77*, 21. Ava Smedstad (NW) 23:19.70*, 24. Gabby Cinicola (JT) 23:27.19, 25. Mia Jones (Tam) 23:27.98, 27. Maci Fisher (NW) 23:36.41, 32. Samantha Plasha (Tam) 23:55.75, 36. Katie Wojton (Leh) 24:17.15, 42. Aubrey Bonner (JT) 24:43.27, 44. Isabella Jones (Tam) 24:56.84, 50. Cali Frantz (Tam) 25:16.85, 53. Olivia Serfass (Leh) 25:23.23, 61. Ava Jones (Tam) 25:54.14, 66. Timara Klotz (Leh) 26:46.79, 74. Hailey Williams (Tam) 28:03.62, 75. Lyla Clemson (Tam) 28:23.17.

Class 1A

Team Scores and legend

1. Notre Dame Green Pond (NDGP) 20*, 2. Mahanoy Area (Mah) 90*, 3. Northern Lehigh (NL) 103, 4. Catasauqua (Cat) 119, 5. Palisades (Pali) 138, 6. Pine Grove (PG) 139, 7. Moravian Academy (MA) 163, 8. Marian Catholic (MC) 166, 9. Shenandoah Valley (SV) 227.

Individual Results

(top 10 plus state qualifiers and locals in top 75)

1. Victoria Kraus (MA) 18:51.00*, 2. Olivia Schweitzer (NDGP) 20:40.09*, 3. Katherine Koons (NDGP) 20:43.20*, 4. Ella Schweitzer (NDGP) 21:14.49*, 5. Brenna Hammerstone (NDGP) 21:14.93*, 6. Anna Schaeffer (SH) 21:31.55*, 7. Emily Batten (Sali) 21:40.17*, 8. Samantha Karwacki (NDGP) 21:52.56*, 9. Alivia Baer (Cat) 21:59.24*, 10. Kaylee Sengler (Mah) 22:20.03*, 11. Giada Smith (Pali) 22:36.17*, 14. Kaylei Wentz (Min) 23:07.01*, 15. Julia Burgess (Min) 23:08.10*, 16. Emma Ashfield (MC) 23:09.38*, 18. Samara Yule (SH) 23:22.13*, 21. Delaney Szwast (NL) 23:46.42, 22. Emma Heil (NL) 24:04.38, 29. Ava Fritz (MC) 24:52.31, 30. Emma Smith (NL) 24:56.29, 33. Haylie Fenstermaker (NL) 25:13.35, 37. Dekota Barthold (NL) 25:52.27, 49. Adriana Danyluk (NL) 27:49.75, 52. Kerrigan Digris (MC) 28:46.77, 53. Kasia Dos Santos (NL) 29:01.96, 55. Isabella Horvat (MC) 29:10.69, 68. Elizabeth Burkit (MC) 32:41.18, 69. Alyssa Porambo (MC) 32:59.20.