Northampton harrier Liv Jusinski will be making a return trip to the PIAA State Cross Country Championships after placing eighth at the District XI Class 3A girls meet on Oct. 23 at DeSales University, Center Valley.

“I thought my race went well, and I’m excited about going to states,” Jusinski said. “That was my goal this season, so I’m happy to have done that.”

Northampton coach Dan Benner spotted Jusinski throughout the course and was pleased with what he saw.

“She got out a little bit slower than last week which kind of works to her advantage. She went out a little more controlled, and she kind of hung in the 12ish range for a little while,” Coach Benner said. “When I saw her with about a half mile to go, she was in ninth place and looked pretty strong and closing in on the one girl, so I wasn’t surprised that she finished eighth. She’s a tough kid and able to hold her pace better than some of the other kids. She’s been really good and has done everything she’s had to do. She works hard and is more of a leader by example, and it’s always fun to end by making it to states.”

Jusinski recorded a time of 20:44.5 on a relatively warm day for the end of October.

“It definitely negatively affected my race, fighting against the temperature as well as the course, but I was happy with my overall place,” she said. “The second half of the race has always been my strongest, so being able to sprint the last 400 or so really helped my place. There was nothing going through my mind, just that I had to get to the finish line as fast as I could. Complete exhaustion. My legs were dead. I assumed (I medaled) based on the places other coaches were yelling.”

Also competing for Northampton’s girls team were Jocelyn Perl (26:05.8), Olivia Kuhns (26:11.7), Juliana Joseph (28:07.3), and Grace Schall (29:07.5).

Northampton’s girls team placed ninth of 11 teams.

Emmaus placed first and Easton came in second in team results.

Emmaus’s Madelyn McCartney won the girls race with a time of 18:56.4.

Competing for Northampton’s boys were Edwin Wright (18:27.0), Abel Veltri (20:14.2), and Tobias Scott (22:34.6).

Freedom’s Dylan Boyle won the boys race with a time of 16:39.1.

In boys team results, Nazareth placed first and Emmaus placed second.

Jusinski will compete in the state meet on Nov. 2 in Hershey.