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 team left DeSales University with a team title, while Matt Santana captured his first individual championship for the Tigers.

Northwestern head coach Chris Stitzel was crunching the numbers during the girls 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’s trip to Hershey “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.”

Santana, a second-place finisher at the Colonial League Championships, won the District 11 Class 2A boys race with a time of 16:52.

“It felt great,” said Santana, who was a district runner-up last year. “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 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.”

The Tigers’ Sam Bower finished 19th at districts, narrowly missing a trip to Hershey. Sean Kershner (26th), Zachary Santana (29th) and Xander Giandomenico (30th) round out the Tigers’ top five at districts.

BOYS

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

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*, 19. Samuel Bower (NW) 18:33.65, 26. Sean Kershner (NW) 18:45.65, 29. Zachary Santana (NW) 18:55.10, 30. Xander Giandomenico (NW) 19:00.48, 47. William Gruen (NW) 19:40.79.

GIRLS

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

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*, 27. Maci Fisher (NW) 23:36.41.