Two Northwestern Lehigh cross country runners competed in Saturday’s PIAA Championships.

Tiger junior Sophia Cornell placed 151st with a time of 22:22, improving on her run from last season. Teammate Haley DuBois was 192nd (23:19).

Both runners were back at states for the second straight season after they were part of a district championship team in 2022. Having run the difficult Hershey Parkview Course with a large pack of runners last year helped them prepare for this year’s race.

“It helps a lot,” said Cornell. “Last year I was really nervous. This year I was going in like ‘oh it’s going to be fun, I’m not nervous.’”

Dubois was running in the final cross country race of her high school career.

“Today was really special because it’s my last cross country race ever,” she said. “It was just really nice to being able to experience it with Sophia.”

Having a teammate along was special for both runners.

“It’s a lot better than being by yourself,” said Cornell. “We kind of got to experience all this together, and we both worked really hard to get here, and we just wanted to enjoy it.”

Cornell plans to return to Hershey this time next year.

“I want to be back here next year and I want to bring the team back next year,” she said. “I think we can do it and being here helps me visualize that for next year.”

When asked what she’s most proud of this season, Cornell looked to her teammates.

“I’m proud of the team,” she said. “I know we’re not all here right now but they helped me get here. I’m just proud of everybody.”