Northwestern's girls cross country team was trying to continue its tradition of excellence. The Tiger boys team was trying to build that kind of tradition.

Both were successful at last week's District 11 Championships. The girls capped a second straight undefeated season with a Class AA district title, their second in the last four years. The boys team, which finished it's league season behind Bangor, won its first district title in program history.

Both teams will compete at this weekend's PIAA Championship Meet in Hershey.

"This is the first time in school history we're taking two teams to states in the same year," said Northwestern head coach Chris Stitzel. "They worked hard. I'm proud of both of them."

Led by senior Tyler Stelmack in fourth place and followed by a solid pack of runners in 16th through 20th place, the boys team cruised to the title, outscoring Central Catholic 75-119 last Wednesday at Bethlehem Municipal Golf Course.

"They ran phenomenal today," said Stitzel. "Nice pack running. Our main concern was Stelmack. He's been under the weather the past week or two. He came through for us and the team just followed in behind him. It was awesome to see them come in one right after another."

Stelmack, the 2010 Colonial League champ who is making his third trip to states, battles a condition called vocal cord dysfunction. His vocal cords tighten, making breathing difficult.

"It was bothering me for the whole race," he said. "I was cramping up and couldn't get full breaths in. It's been happening a lot this entire season. I don't know when it's coming until it actually happens. Then it's really hard to get rid of it when it's there."

In addition to problems breathing, it's also painful. It was so bad he dropped out of a big early-season invitational. It didn't matter how bad it got at districts, Stelmack wasn't going drop out of that race as long as he was still standing.

"It was really painful but I knew I had to finish for my team," he said. "That was my top priority today. We knew we had a shot at winning the district."

Behind Stelmack in the Tigers' top five were Ryan Cerrone (16th), Patrick Strobel (17th), Brayden Heller (18th) and Jarrett White (20th).

The Tigers' other two district competitors weren't far behind. Joey Duffy finished 30th in 18:41. Mitchell Evans was 37th in 18:45.

The trip to Hershey might taste the sweetest for Strobel, a senior and four-year member of the team.

He missed most of last season after getting hit by a tractor trailer while biking at practice. He broke his tibia and his hip in several places, but is thankful that it wasn't any worse.

He recovered in time to run in a few races last year and wished he could have helped the team more.

This year, back at full strength, Strobel had his best season, helping the team score in every meet, sometimes as high as the team's No. 2 runner.

"It's amazing," he said of the district title, "especially since it's our first one and I'm a part of it. It makes me feel normal again. I wish we could have done this last year, too."

The girls Class AA title also came down to Northwestern and Central Catholic, with the Lady Tigers earning a 58-85 win.

Led by junior Haley Yost in third place and sophomore Rachele Cerrone in fourth, the Lady Tigers placed three runners in the top 10 and five in the top 23.

"It feels great," said Yost. "I think the team likes to come out and prove people wrong. We like to push ourselves and see what we can do."

Yost, a fifth-place Class AAA district finisher last year, when the meet was split up into just two classes, has been battling late-season injuries and illness.

Because it was a warm afternoon last Wednesday, she paced herself from the start and then made up time at the end.

"The first mile I stayed more conservative with the heat and the hills," said Yost. "I was in the top six the whole race.

"I was just hoping to go top two or top three. These past couple weeks have been tough. I'm just trying to get whatever I can to get to states and help the team where I can."

Yost hopes to feel closer to 100 percent for next Saturday. Her goal is a top 10 individual finish.

Cerrone improved on her 12th place finish from last year when she ran a 21:02. She made a big drop this year, running course in 20:36.

"I went out a little fast in the beginning then I kind of dropped back," said Cerrone. "The heat got to me. I was around eighth and then I started picking up. Near the end I started to get better and I started to pick off girls. My goal was fourth place."

The rest of the Tigers top five included Carly Pierce (seventh), Zoe Strickland (21st) and Erin Ondush (23rd). Katrina Hartman tied for 26th place in 22:32, while Lauren Alden was 28th at 22:40 as the Tigers got all seven runners in before Central's fifth-place runner.

This year's Class AA individual champs were Brendan Shearn (North Schuylkill) and Central Catholic's Colleen Daday. Shearn, the defending state champ, took home his second district title with a time of 16:11. Daday, a freshman, ran the girls reace in 19:27 to beat beat three-time champ Elizabeth Chikotas (Saucon Valley) by 33 seconds.

This year's Class AAA champs were Easton's Collin Abert and Bangor's Meredith Colton. Colton ran the race in 19:21, beating defending champ Paige Stoner (Pottsville) by 20 seconds. Abert finished 16:21.

Class AAA team titles went to Parkland's girls and Freedom's boys.

Minersville's Cassidy Mason won the Class A girls title in 22:46. Teammate Wesley Yutko won the boys title in 22:46. Minerville won the boys and girls team titles.