Records are meant to be broken.

And Tuesday’s cross country meet at Lehighton provided the perfect platform for area runners in both the boys and girls races to rewrite the record books.

The top-five girls and top-three boys bettered the previous course record as the Indians hosted an eight team Colonial League meet.

Northwestern’s Rosalia Nestor crossed the line in 20:22 to win and set a new mark in the girls race, while Palmerton’s Connor Hibell finished in 16:49 to place first and establish a record-setting time in the boys race.

“There’s always room for improvement, but I’m pretty proud of my first performance,” said Nestor.

It was a day of firsts for each team, with Lehighton new to the Colonial League this year and runners taking on the Indians’ course for the first time.

They got acclimated quickly. Nestor led teammate Sophia Cornell (21:34), Lehighton’s Claudia Pagotto (21:38) and Brielle Frable (21:44), and Northern Lehigh’s Emma Heil (22:03) in a top five that broke the previous course record of 22:11 set by Blue Mountain’s Lucy Scheidel in 2023.

“Overall, this season has been pretty strong,” said Nestor, a freshman who was ninth at the Foundation Invite in Hershey over the weekend. “I definitely perform my best when I have competition, because then I can think more, instead of just, ‘I got to go. I have to get a gap.’”

Nestor was stellar, as was Hibell, who is unbeaten in four league meets this season.

Hibell, along with runner-up Elijah Pagotto of Lehighton (17:30) and third-place finisher Miles Etters (17:37) of Southern Lehigh, broke the previous course record of 18:00 set by Blue Mountain’s Jude Scheidel in 2023.

Hibell was the Times News Male Cross Country Athlete of the Year last fall, when he went unbeaten during the regular season en route to league and district titles and a trip to states.

“I’m pretty comfortable with my position because I’m able to get decent times for myself at most courses, and if it’s not an invite I’m typically able to get first,” said Hibell. “So I feel good about where I’m at.”

But Hibell, who also broke the course record at Jim Thorpe last week, is far from satisfied.

“I want to do better at states than I did last year,” said Hibell, who was 32nd in Hershey last season, just outside the top-25 and a medal. “I don’t have any goals for districts or leagues yet, but states I do want to do better than I did last year.”

Nestor and Cornell, the Times News Female Cross Country Athlete of the Year last season, led the Tiger girls to a 6-1 mark, with the loss coming to Southern Lehigh.

“I definitely think our team is very connected and very strong,” said Nestor. “We really encourage each other to keep going. We all have our own paces, but we push each other at meets and at practices, and that’s where we really bond.”

Lehighton’s girls went 5-2 on the day, highlighted by the strong runs from Pagotto and Frable.

“I’m really happy with our team and how much we’ve grown,” said Pagotto, a freshman. “And Brielle and I really push each other. It’s just been a great season. Everybody really just helps each other, and we just have such a supportive team. That helps me the most, just having everybody there.”

Heil has been a strong runner for the Bulldogs all season, something that continued on Tuesday. And something she hopes will continue into the postseason.

“I’m definitely stronger than I was last season and where I was at the beginning of the season,” said Heil. “It’s harder as the season progresses, so my body gets more tired.

“I definitely need to practice hills more. The course there (at DeSales for leagues and districts) has a lot of hills on it. It’s one of the more difficult courses. So running a course like this is good to practice for that.”

Elijah Pagotto’s PR on his home course also meant breaking the record, as the Lehighton boys posted a 6-1 mark.

“I’m pretty happy with that run,” said Pagotto, a state qualifier last season. “It was my fastest time on this course. I broke it by 30 seconds, so I’m really happy about that.

“And being in the Colonial League, it’s really different, because I don’t really know who I’m racing as well. So it’s nice to meet everyone that’s new and see where I am against them.”

And where he is is near the top.

The same place Northwestern’s Xander Giandomenico and Greyson Wellings, who were fourth and fifth, respectively, on Tuesday, want to remain as the season progresses.

“Today wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. I’m trying to get closer to those top guys,” said Giandomenico, whose Tigers went 5-2. “But overall, it was pretty good. Myself and Greyson did really good working off each other the whole race. I think being a senior gives us a lot of pressure. We want to do our best, and this is our last year to do so. Each race we just try to get better and better. I think we can beat some of the guys that were up there, so we just have to keep working toward that.”

TOP OLYMPIANS ... Jim Thorpe’s Bowden Chicarelli placed ninth (18:59) in the boys race, while Stacy Bos was the top Olympian runner in the girls race, finishing 13th.

FUN ATMOSPHERE ... Lehighton’s Indian Pride marching band played prior to and during the start of the boys and girls races, offering an energized sendoff for the runners.

PERFECT CONDITIONS - AND COURSE ... The cooler weather offered ideal conditions for the stellar times Tuesday. The backdrop and setting of the course also might have helped for some of the runners. “The thing that I liked about this course was probably the views,” said Nestor. “You were in the bus and then you realize you’re here and it’s straight mountains. A lot of times it’s buildings, schools, parking lots. It’s nice to finally see the cross country aspect of it.”

BOYS

Palmerton 26, Salisbury 32

Southern Lehigh 20, Palmerton 43

Palmerton 15, Catasauqua 50

Palmerton 26, Jim Thorpe 29

Palmerton 15, Northern Lehigh 50

Jim Thorpe 15, Catasauqua 50

Jim Thorpe 15, Northern Lehigh 50

Jim Thorpe 24, Salisbury 31

Southern Lehigh 17, Jim Thorpe 44

Lehighton 15, Catasauqua 50

Lehighton 21, Jim Thorpe 40

Lehighton 20, Palmerton 43

Lehighton 25, Northwestern 32

Lehighton 15, Northern Lehigh 50

Lehighton 15, Salisbury 50

Southern Lehigh 24, Lehighton 35

Northwestern 15, Catasauqua 50

Northwestern 21, Jim Thorpe 40

Northwestern 20, Palmerton 43

Northwestern 15, Salisbury 50

Southern Lehigh 23, Northwestern 37

Northwestern 15, Northern Lehigh 50

Salisbury 15, Northern Lehigh 50

Southern Lehigh 15, Northern Lehigh 50

Individual results

(top-five plus other locals in top-20)

1. Connor Hibell (P) 16:49, 2. Elijah Pagotto (L) 17:30, 3. Miles Etters (SL) 17:37, 4. Xander Giandomenico (NW) 18:15, 5. Greyson Wellings (NW) 18:16, 6. Kyle Kuznicki (L) 18:52, 9. Bowden Chicarelli (JT) 18:59, 12. Gabe Wirth (JT) 19:14, 13. Varick Peiffer (L) 19:21, 15. Noah Griffin (NW) 19:29, 18. Sebastian Warner (L) 19:40, 19. Kai Salles (L) 19:43, 20. Aiden Eckhart (L) 19:47.

GIRLS

Southern Lehigh 15, Palmerton 50

Jim Thorpe 15, Catasauqua 50

Jim Thorpe 15, Palmerton 50

Jim Thorpe 15, Northern Lehigh 50

Jim Thorpe 15, Salisbury 50

Southern Lehigh 15, Jim Thorpe 49

Lehighton 15, Catasauqua 50

Lehighton 15, Palmerton 50

Lehighton 21, Jim Thorpe 36

Lehighton 15, Northern Lehigh 50

Lehighton 15, Salisbury 50

Southern Lehigh 25, Lehighton 36

Northwestern 15, Catasauqua 50

Northwestern 18, Jim Thorpe 45

Northwestern 21, Lehighton 38

Northwestern 15, Palmerton 50

Northwestern 15, Salisbury 50

Southern Lehigh 25, Northwestern 35

Northwestern 15, Northern Lehigh 50

Southern Lehigh 15, Northern Lehigh 50

Individual Results

(top-five plus other locals in top-20)

1. Rosalia Nestor (NW) 20:22, 2. Sophia Cornell (NW) 21:34, 3. Claudia Pagotto (L) 21:38, 4. Brielle Frable (L) 21:44, 5. Emma Heil (NL) 22:03, 12. Emily Gad (NL) 23:06, 13. Stacy Bos (JT) 23:12, 14. Devon Heinly (NW) 23:14, 16. Megan Fornwalt (NW), 18. Kellcey Pedron (NW) 24:03, 19. Anna Hawk (L) 24:10.