CENTER VALLEY - It would seem fair if there were simply no more superlatives left to sum up Palmerton’s Connor Hibell.

The junior has shined in every situation, enjoying another stellar season after a breakout sophomore campaign.

Hibell had another standout performance Wednesday, winning his second straight Colonial League cross country crown, and doing so in dominant fashion, crossing the line in a personal best 16:43 at the DeSales University course,

“I’m really happy with how I ran,” said Hibell. “My second mile was pretty good. My third mile not as good. But I’m still happy with my performance.

“Today’s not as special as districts or states, but it still prepares you for that which is always nice.”

And Hibell knows what it takes to peak in the postseason after winning both league and district titles a year ago.

He has put together a second consecutive unbeaten regular season in Colonial League meets, something that has further cemented him as one of the area’s all-time great runners.

“It’s something I try to appreciate in the moment,” said Bombers’ head coach Mike Horvath. “It is truly cool to see people at any given race, any given week, stand there and go, ‘Wow.’ That’s all they say. He just has unbelievable talent. It is a blessing to be able to coach him his whole career.

“He is cross country. And not just physically. It’s mentally, too. He’s had some competition in invites this year, and a couple of kids beat him here and there. But he’s able to move on to the next one. He tries his best, he knows what he can do. And he is a workhorse. I’m excited to come here next week for districts and see what happens. I know he’s going to have some competition, sure, but whoever he’s going up against, he’s going to give them his best. He comes to compete.”

And Hibell brought the fight on Wednesday, crossing the line nearly 20 seconds ahead of the next runner.

But he wasn’t taking anything for granted.

“They keep me on my toes,” Hibell said of his competition. “The cheering from parents, and hearing other names, that can push you.”

Hibell executed his game plan and took care of business to win by a comfortable margin.

“I didn’t try anything too much, I just wanted to run for first,” said Hibell. “I guess I tried going up the hills a bit faster ... it works out, that’s what I usually do.

“I have to get a bit of a different strategy for districts, but it worked out.”

Hibell knows there’s work to do to defend his district crown, but he’s eager to take on the challenge.

In the hunt

Northwestern freshman Rosalia Nestor placed third in the girls race with a time of 20:07.

Nestor is recovering from a cold that kept her out of last week’s regular season finale, but has rebounded to be ready for the postseason.

“Coming into today, my goal was to break up the top two Wilson girls (Avery Errico and Juliana Bonham),” Nestor said of the pair, who were second and fourth. “My goal was just to be smart with my race, because I don’t want to get myself sick again with districts next week. I just wanted to do my best, get a decent time and shoot for third or fourth. And it happened.”

Nestor has been tremendous in her first varsity season for Northwestern, something she hopes will continue at districts, which is also at DeSales, and help her earn a trip to states.

“I know the course, I’ve been running here all summer, I’ve done two races here, so I feel pretty confident about it,” said Nestor. “This is probably one of my favorite courses, too. So I feel good about it.”

Tribe pride

Lehighton’s Elijah Pagotto has a solid run to place fifth in the boys race with a time of 17:31.

“I used today as a test day because, I know Connor (Hibell) won districts last year, this is the same course, and I wanted to try to start with him today,” said Pagotto. “Leagues isn’t the end of the world, so I wanted to use this to see if I can hang with Connor.

“And I realized I can’t,” laughed Pagotto. “But I wanted to try it. It didn’t go as I planned, but the important race is next week.”

The thought of making such a move a year ago wouldn’t have crossed Pagotto’s mind.

“Probably not. Definitely not, actually,” Pagotto said of the move. “But I realized this year that leagues isn’t the biggest thing, even if you have a bad race, You still have other races. And I thought I might as well try it.”

More experience - and confidence - have helped Pagotto throughout the season. And he’s hoping that mentality will help him make another run at a second straight trip to Hershey.

MEDALISTS ... The Tigers had a pair of medalists in Sophia Cornell and Xander Giandomenico. Cornell was eighth in the girls race with a time of 20:41, while Giandomenico also placed eighth in the boys race, finishing in 17:47.

SOLID RUNS ... Lehighton’s Claudia Pagotto was 11th in the girls race with a time of 21:05, while Northern Lehigh’s Emma Heil finished 13th in 21:13 and Jim Thorpe’s Stacy Bos placed 19th in 21:40. Bowden Chicarelli was 19th for the Olympians in the boys meet with a time of 18:43.

UP NEXT ... The District 11 Cross Country Championships will take place Wednesday, Oct. 23 at DeSales University.

RESULTS

BOYS

Team standings and legend

1. Southern Lehigh (SL) 56, 2. Notre Dame GP (NDGP) 75, 3. Lehighton (L) 98, 4. Wilson (W) 101, 5. Northwestern (NW) 110, 6. Palmerton (Palm) 200, 7. Saucon Valley (SV) 216, 8. Moravian Academy (MA) 221, 9. Jim Thorpe (JT) 226, 10. Bangor (B) 246, 11. Palisades (Pali) 275, 12. Salisbury (S), 13. Catasauqua (C) 333.

INDIVIDUAL

(top 5 plus other locals in top 50)

1. Connor Hibell (Palm) 16:43, 2. Alden Twist (B) 17:01, 3. Jeffrey Sunderlin (W) 17:01, 4. Miles Etters (SL) 17:09, 5. Elijah Pagotto (L) 17:31, 8. Xander Giandomenico (NW) 17:47, 11. Greyson Wellings (NW) 17:50, 12. Kyle Kuznicki (L) 18:21, 19. Bowden Chicarelli (JT) 18:43, 21. Noah Griffith (NW) 18:44, 25. Sebastian Warner (L) 19:01, 27. Varick Peiffer (L) 19:06, 29. Kai Salles (L) 19:11, 30 Gabe Wirth (JT) 19:12, 31. Jonathan Fornauf (NW) 19:16, 36. Chase Ader (Palm) 19:25, 41. Edward Benedict (NL) 19:42, 44. Bryce Thrash (NW) 19:55, 46. Luke Thrash (NW) 20:06, 49. Aiden Eckhart (L) 20:17, 50. Evan Rosenbrook (JT) 20:22.

GIRLS

Team standings and legend

1. Notre Dame GP (NDGP) 60, 2. Wilson (W) 71, 3. Southern Lehigh (SL) 74, 4. Northwestern (NW) 103, 5. Pen Argyl (PA) 126, 6. Saucon Valley (SV) 153, 7. Bangor (B) 186, 8. Lehighton (L) 196, 9. Moravian Academy (MA) 247, 10. Jim Thorpe (JT)

INDIVIDUAL

(top 5 plus other locals in top 50)

1. Virginia Kraus (SV) 17:55, 2. Avery Errico (W) 19:16, 3. Rosalia Nestor (NW) 20:07, 4. Juliana Bonham (W) 20:25, 5. Addison Priestaf (B) 20:30, 8. Sophia Cornell (NW) 20:41, 11. Claudia Pagotto (L) 21:05, 13. Emma Heil (NL) 21:13, 19. Stacy Bos (JT) 21:40, 22. Brielle Frable (L) 21:50, 28. Megan Fornwalt (NW) 22:24, 33. Kellcey Pedron (NW) 22:46, 35. Emily Gad (NL) 22:49, 37. Devon Heinly (NW) 22:53, 47. Ava Smedstad (NW) 24:02, 48. Anna Hawk (L) 24:12.