Northwestern sent two cross country teams to states for the first time since 2013 after the boys and girls captured district titles two weeks ago.

The Tigers placed 14th in the boys Class 2A team standings Saturday at the PIAA Cross Country Championships, and were led by Matthew Santana’s 130th-place finish (18:09).

“It felt good to get this experience, and to know what it feels like to make it to states,” said Santana. “I thought it was good to experience it, and to be able to do it as a team.”

Sam Bower (148th, 18:20), Cole Chukoskie (149th, 18:21, RJ Zack (166th, 18:36), Joseph Chukoskie (198th, 19:08), Nate Vincent (208th 19:29) and Joseph Pleban (221st, 20:03) rounded out the Tigers’ contingent.

On the girls’ side, Northwestern was 15th among 2A schools. Angelina Klein’s 115th-place result (21:34) paced the Tigers, who were third in the team standings a year ago.

“Just getting out here is a huge accomplishment,” said Northwestern head coach Chris Stitzel. “The way the year was going, we didn’t think we were even going to get out here with injuries and sickness. But we put it together for the postseason.

“And for the girls, just knowing that you’re one of the top 15 teams in the whole state of Pennsylvania is awesome. I know they wanted to do better, but overall they had a great year. We told them no matter what happened, we’re proud of them. They put in so much hard work to get to this point, and just getting here is an accomplishment.”

Kailyn Jones (121st, 21:38), Allison Costa (153rd, 22:14), Molly McGorry (168th, 22:50), Maci Fisher (172nd, 22:57), Alexis Vennera (191st, 24:07) and Nicole Landes (198th, 25:01) completed the Tigers’ pack.

Klein, a freshman, embraced the opportunity to compete in Hershey, something she hopes to learn from in the future.

“It was hard,” said Klein. “I think I definitely was mentally prepared today. I definitely feel like it wasn’t my best race; I know I need to work on my mental game more.

“But I’m glad that we’re all here, and we all had the opportunity to come and run with all these amazing people. And I really hope we can all come back and do it again next year so we can improve. Now that I know where I stand, I know that I just have more room to improve.”

Santana, also a freshman, echoed that sentiment.

“I hope that we make it back here again,” he said. “And I hope the girls do, too, because it would be great to get both teams here.”

With Pleban and Costa the only seniors running for the Tigers on Saturday, the program is well positioned to return to Hershey next season.

“Hats off to them, and the freshmen that did step up for us,” said Stitzel. “Now, we build from this and go at it next year. We’re a young team. They’re hungry to get back here again.”

BACK-TO-BACK … Northern’s Marlee Starliper won the Class 2A girls’ race in a record time of 17:11 to win her second straight title ... Mount Lebanon senior Patrick Anderson also defended his title, winning the boys’ Class 3A race for the second year in a row in a record time of 15:25.

D11 PRIDE … Several District 11 runners stood out on Saturday. Blue Mountain’s Olivia Haas (18:24) and North Schuylkill’s Cori McCormick (18:44) were fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 2A field, while Thomas Smigo of Palisades placed seventh (16:31) in the Class 2A boys’ race ... Liberty’s Emily Jobes finished 13th (19:06) in the 3A girls’ race, and Notre Dame Green Pond’s Grace Medei was 17th (20:23) in the Class A girls’ field ... Liberty’s Cole Frank was 18th (16:22) in the Class 3A boys’ race, while Saucon Valley’s Matthew Chaikowsky was 19th (16:45) in the 2A field ... Allentown Central Catholic’s Isabel DeVos placed 25th (20:06) in the 2A girls’ race.