With the District 11 Track and Field Championships a little over two weeks away, this past Friday's Allentown School District Invitational offered a glimpse of what the postseason might look like for many programs.

Northwestern competed at J. Birney Crum Stadium against a varied field that included schools from the Colonial and Schuylkill Leagues as well as the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and a few programs from outside of District 11.

The Northwestern girls, 9-0 this season and 31-0 over the last three years, have been dominant once again this season in the Colonial League, and much of that success has had to do with the Lady Tigers prowess in the middle distance and distance events.

The trend continued on Friday, as the Northwestern girls opened the meet with a win in the 3200 relay with a time of 9:53.52.

The victory was impressive for many reasons, not the least of which was that the Lady Tigers were running without one of their usual members in Rachelle Cerrone.

After trailing for the first half of the race, Sarah Segan took the baton and opened a sizable gap for Abbie Smith, who was running for Cerrone.

"I just didn't want to let down my team," said Segan, who also took fifth in the 400. "They (Sabrina Mertz and Carly Pierce) worked so hard and ran great legs before me and I didn't want to let them down.

"I just tried to stay there and I felt good enough to kick before the end so I just tried to take it."

The surge put Smith in the lead when she took over, something she wasn't necessarily expecting.

"I was actually planning on finding someone to pace myself off of and trying to stick with them," said Smith. "But it obviously didn't work out that way. What kept me going was everyone screaming, because I thought someone was right behind me."

Mertz and Segan, along with Lauren Anderson and Alexis Gawelko, took second in the 1600 relay with a time of 4:10.32.

Gawelko had a fine day individually as well, taking third in the 100 hurdles (15.95) and eighth in the 300 hurdles (48.81).

"I'm really happy with how I did today," Gawelko said afterwards. "I knew that there were some really tough girls coming in that had great times. I'm pretty surprised that I placed and with how I did."

Regardless of her place, the meet allowed Gawelko to see where she stacks up against many of the girls she will be seeing in the postseason.

"This is the first time that we've really faced any EPC girls at all, so it's really great to be able to come out and perform this well today," Gawelko said.

Natcheli Gomes showed the Lady Tigers could also excel in the field events, clearing 5-2 to take second in the high jump.

When all was said and done, the Northwestern girls placed fifth in the team standings with 49 points, something coach Chuck Groller took great pride in.

"We haven't really peaked yet, but today I saw a little bit of what we're capable of," said Groller. "I saw that dedication and hard work finally start paying off. They've all got a great work ethic and a good attitude, now they know what they need to do.

"We're hoping to finish out the season on Tuesday (against Palmerton and Northern Lehigh) undefeated. That's our goal, and we'll be 33-0 (over the last three seasons) if that happens. And for these seniors, that's one heck of a run."

Cameron Richardson was the top performer for the Northwestern boys, taking fourth in the 200 (23.32) and eighth in the 100 (11.88).