It’s a bit ironic.

The last time the Northwestern girls cross country team lost in a regular season league meet was on October 13, 2010. Exactly five years ago to the day, the Lady Tiger harriers were on the verge of keeping their unbeaten league streak alive well into the 100s.

On Tuesday evening, the Lady Tigers did just that. Northwestern defeated all four teams (Moravian Academy, Notre Dame-Green Pond, Palisades and Saucon Valley) in their regular season finale at Palmerton High School that pushed their winning streak to 129 contests.

“It’s been a crazy journey,” said senior captain Angela Alden, who placed 10th. “Every year it’s scarier because we’re afraid of losing the streak, but we haven’t let it go yet. And I don’t think we will for many years to come.”

“They come out and they work their butts off,” said head coach Chris Stitzel, now in his 17th year with the program. “They had to do their spring sports, and then they take about a week or so off. Then they’re out there on their own training just about every day for us. When the group before them graduates, they hand the reigns down to this group and then to the next group.”

Thursday’s sweep solidified Northwestern’s fifth-consecutive regular season without suffering a loss. A total of 129 teams over the last five years have yet to defeat the Lady Tiger harriers in the Colonial League.

“It’s still mind-blowing,” said senior captain Abbie Smith, who placed 8th in Tuesday’s field. “Each year it doesn’t seem like it’s a lot, but it really is. We don’t have as many races as other sports have games, so it’s kind of hard to grasp onto.”

“Every time the number goes up it just blows my mind a little more,” Alden said. “It’s a huge number. I’m surprised he [Stitzel] doesn’t have the most wins in the state yet.”

In addition to the regular season, the Lady Tigers have won each of the last four Colonial League championship meets and three straight District Class AA crowns. Their chance at a fifth league title and fourth district championship is in the upcoming weeks.

“It’s because of the girls and the coaches that we have it,” Alden said. “The girls push hard and the coaches inspire us to do so.”

That success has gained plenty of recognition around the area and at the state level, where the Lady Tigers placed fourth as a team last year.

“The last couple of years we’ve been ranked in the state now as a team,” Stitzel said. “So they’re starting to get more recognition. I always tell them that their hard work is paying off. People are starting to see it now.”

A lot of factors play into Northwestern’s success over the years. The Tigers have been lucky enough to avoid any major injuries this season, which is a key to keeping the top competitors available throughout the season.

But the Lady Tiger harriers’ solid depth has to be the ultimate deciding influence over the years. It may not be as strong this season statistically with the graduates of Rachele Cerrone and Carly Pierce, but Northwestern is still producing at the front of the pack on a regular basis.

In Tuesday’s meet, nine of the top 11 runners were Lady Tigers: sophomore Molly Tarvin (2nd, 19:31), freshman Madeline Consuelos (3rd, 19:35), senior Abigail Supplee (4th, 19:52), sophomore Hannah Herzon (6th, 20:40), senior Rachel Mikols (7th, 20:42), Smith (8th, 20:51), junior Elizabeth Fornauf (9th, 20:57), Alden (10th, 21:01) and junior Brooke Devers (11th, 21:13).

“We didn’t gain as many in the top runners as we lost last year,” Smith said. “But we still worked hard from the beginning to try to get back to what we were expected to do again and what we were hoping to accomplish again this year despite the increased pressure.”

“Last year at states we had the best spread in the state from one through five at 45 seconds,” Stitzel said. “This year it seems like we have a little bit of a gap.

“Everybody is coming for us the next couple of weeks with leagues and districts. I think they live up to the challenges that we give them.”

What’s even more promising is that Northwestern’s young core of runners provides a bright outlook on the future despite a number of key seniors on this team set to graduate.

“I’m just proud to be a part of this,” Stitzel said. “The first year or two we were like, ‘OK this is a good streak.’ But then it just keeps going and going and going. I know it’s not going to last forever, but we’re going to ride it as long as we can and see what happens.”