Northampton High School senior, Isaac N’jenga, placed 19th out of 166 runners in the boys’ varsity race at the Northampton Cross Country Invitational on Sept. 3 at Bicentennial Park.

“It was tight at the start with all the schools, but at the one mile mark, it opened up, and I maintained my pace,” N’jenga said. “I was just looking ahead, trying to catch the next person.”

N’jenga’s time was 16:56.

“I tried to pick up from the last quarter mile and finish strong,” he said. “It felt good. It’s definitely something to push forward from.”

David Endres from Central Bucks East won the race in 15:49.

Freedom’s Isaac Gross placed 27th with a time of 17:11.

Northampton’s Nicholas Bodnar was 32nd in 17:21, and Vince Gallagher was 46th in 17:34.

“Issac led the way for us and ran a strong, consistent race on his way to winning a medal at 19th place,” said Benner. “The five freshman boys we had running their first high school race all ran great. Having Nick, Vince, and Isaiah [Tyler] all run in the 17’s is a great way to start their high school cross country careers and really raises expectations.”

Bethlehem Catholic’s Ivan Korpics placed 60th with a time of 17:46.

In team results, Central Bucks East placed first with 39 points. Northampton was eighth with 252 points, Freedom was 11th with 324 points, and Becahi was 18th with 437 points.

“Overall it was a very encouraging day for the boys team, which should be much improved this season,” Benner said.