The Northwestern Lehigh cross country teams are nearing the midway point in the 2024 season.

Both Tiger teams are 8-3 through their first two Colonial League multi-team meets. The teams have also competed in two invitationals this season.

At the season-opening Moravian Academy Lion Invitational on Aug. 23, the Northwestern girls team finished fourth overall while the boys were seventh.

Freshman Rosalia Nestor led the Tiger girls team with a third-place finish at Moravian. Sophia Cornell (20th), Devon Heinly (44th), Kellcey Pedron (51st) and Ava Smedstad (57th) rounded out the Tigers’ top five at the meet. Amber Carl (76th) and Sophia Penny (77th) also ran in the varsity race at Moravian.

Xander Giandomenico led Northwestern in the boys race, finishing 12th overall, followed by teammates Greyson Wellings (26th), Noah Griffith (67th), Brady Furman (68th) and Bryce Thrash (69th). Luke Thrash (71st) also competed in the varsity race for Northwestern.

That meet served as a tuneup for the beginning of the dual-meet season, which started with a 2-1 showing Aug. 29 at Southern Lehigh. The Tigers beat Salisbury and Catasauqua at the meet, but fell to the host Spartans in both the girls and boys meets.

Nestor posted a second-place finish in the girls race, followed by teammates Cornell (8th), Heinly (15th), Pedron (18th) and Smedstad (19th).

Giandomenico took fourth place in the boys race, with Wellings (8th), Jonathan Fornauf (18th), Furman (20th) and Griffith (22nd) making up the rest of the Tigers’ team score.

In their second regular season meet, both Northwestern teams went 4-0 with wins over Jim Thorpe, Lehighton, Palmerton and Northern Lehigh on Sept. 4.

Nestor was the top finisher in the girls race, breaking the tape in 19:44 while the second-place finisher, Elizabeth Kane of Southern Lehigh, took second place at 21:07.

Behind Nestor were teammates Cornell (3rd), Heinly (13th), Pedron (20th) and Smedstad (21st).

Wellings (3rd) and Giandomenico (4th) led Northwestern in the boys race, with teammates Griffith (18th), Fornauf (20th) and Furman (21st) finishing in a pack with Bryce Thrash (22nd) and Luke Thrash (24th) not far behind.

Last weekend Northwestern got to run against a number of teams from outside the Lehigh Valley, as well as some of the top teams from around the area at the Centaur Invitational at DeSales University.

Nestor finished third overall to lead the Tiger girls team to a fourth-place finish. The freshman was the top-finishing local runner as the top two finishers were Sofia Pocai of Central Bucks West and Katie Westmoreland of Mount Saint Joseph, which won the team title.

The rest of the Tigers’ top five in the girls race included Cornell (17th), Heinly (54th), Pedron (63rd) and Smedstad (74th). Amber Carl finished 78th at the meet in a field of 141 runners.

The Tiger boys team finished 10th at DeSales. Giandomenico (27th), Wellings (39th), Griffith (67th), Fornauf (76th) and Furman (94th) made up Northwestern’s top five, while teammates Bryce Thrash (104th) and Luke Thrash (120th) rounded out the line up in the field of 187 runners.