The Northampton Invitational was held on Sept. 1 featuring 37 different schools, an impressive event that continues to get bigger.

Northampton head coach Dan Benner said 1,057 total athletes competed in the varsity, JV and middle school races.

The Kids did well against some impressive competition as the boys took 10th out of 31 teams and the girls were ninth out of 25 teams.

“There were a lot of talented teams here, both in and out of the area, and I thought we held our own against them,” Benner said. “Competing against great runners only makes you work harder, which will help us at the EPC and district meets later this season.”

The Kids also earned five medals as Vince Gallagher took 15th in 16:58 and Evan Gillette was 25th in 17:07. Georgia Wiswesser was 14th in 20:15, Amber Poniktera was 15th in 20:16 and Megan Perelli was 21st in 20:31.

“I was thrilled that we were able to have five kids medal on the day,” said Benner. “It shows they came into the season ready to go. Obviously there is still plenty of work to be done as the season moves along, but I thought it was a great first step for the whole team. The boys showed a lot of depth, and I feel that as the season progresses they will push each other to get better as both individuals and as a team. The girls showed some potential. I still believe the 4-8 girls are key to our team success and we have a whole season to try and work our way up.”

Rounding out the top-five for the boys were Zeke Coyler (54th - 17:48), Isaiah Tyler (66th - 17:59), and Owen Nahf (68th - 18:02). The girls top five also included Brianna Tyler (85th - 22:51) and Olivia Rigo (95th - 23:32).

“Overall, it was a very successful start to the season,” Benner said. “After dealing with heavy rain the first week, and then brutal heat this past week, the team did well to persevere and train hard. Considering it is early in the season, and we have had inconsistent weather, I was very happy with the way the team competed.”

The middle school team also did very well, earning many awards. There were a total of 83 boys and 79 girls in the middle school races. Earning medals on the boys side were Liam Galicki, Dustin Kerrigan, Dominic Walnock, Tyler Kauffman and Xavier Floyd. The girls who earned a medal were Madelyn Hurst, Zoey Kerrigan, Sarah Mele, and Alyssa McCall. The boys team won the middle school team championship.

The high school teams continues their season on Tuesday, Sept. 11, when they take on Central Catholic, Emmaus and Whitehall at the Allentown Parkway.