The story of this track and field season has only just begun.

And if the first chapter is any indication of what’s in store this spring, there is an epic tale to be told.

Athletes from Northwestern and Palmerton eager to build on last season’s success got off to a strong start in the Colonial League opener on Tuesday. The host Bombers came away with a 76.5-73.5 win in the girls meet, while the Tigers secured an 88-62 in the boys competition.

The opportunity to build momentum and create confidence for the months ahead was one Northwestern’s Gavin Nelson and many others were eager to make the most of.

“I’m thrilled to have cleared 6-7,” the senior said of his winning height in the high jump. “It’s a great milestone, a great accomplishment. I tied my PR. Overall I’m just really happy, getting back on track. The scrimmage was a little bit rough; I cleared 6-3, but stayed confident in myself and my abilities. Coach (Chuck) Groller stayed confident in me all along, and it feels really good to come back out and tie my PR.”

Nelson is coming off a junior campaign where he cleared 6-6 to place third at states, success he hopes to more than just duplicate this spring.

“I was going for 6-8 1/2,” Nelson said of his final jumps. “Our school record is 6-8 1/4, so I was going to try to beat it. Just hit it with my butt a little bit. I’ve got some things to work on, but we’re right there.”

While Nelson has been a fixture in the high jump, another decorated area athlete made her debut in the event Tuesday.

Palmerton’s Nataly Walters made her first appearance in the event and did so with a winning leap of 5-2, a performance that helped the Bombers go 1-2, with Kamarrah Saslo taking second, clearing 4-11.

“This was my first time ever doing it in an official meet,” said Walters. “I had jumped once before on a basketball court in my sneakers. I was going to do the long, triple, 100 and 4x100 relay, but we had to move some things around to try to maximize our points and we had full faith in Aubrey (Frable) and Gabby (Lucas) and Julianna (Snyder) and our other jumpers that they would place well and go 1-2, or 1-2-3. So I didn’t do triple jump and we thought let’s see what happens in high jump. I came away with the win. And more than the win, I didn’t think I was going to clear 5-0. I was so happy with that.

“I didn’t have the greatest technique, but I just went up there, took Coach (Jim) Hay’s advice and tried to translate it into what I did, and I guess it worked well enough because it worked.”

As for her other individual events, Walters won the long jump with a mark of 17-0 and placed first in the 100 with a blazing time of 12.10. She combined with Claire Thomas, Sarah Sabo and Erin Gombert to win the 400 relay with a time of 49.70.

And in the triple jump, Frable (33-3), Lucas (32-7) and Snyder (29-4 1/2) went 1-2-3 to help Palmerton secure a valuable nine points Tuesday, while Allison Herrmann was second in the long jump.

Walters has won the last two PIAA Class 2A long jump titles. She was second in the triple jump after winning the event as a sophomore, and also helped the 400 relay team medal with a sixth-place finish last season.

The senior is also coming off a stellar indoor season where she was first in the long jump with a big mark of 19-5 1/4 at the state meet and third in the triple jump (39-4 3/4).

She competed at the New Balance Nationals Indoor event in Boston over the weekend and placed seventh in the long jump and 10th in the triple jump.

The success in the jumping events, among other areas, was crucial for the Bombers as Northwestern swept the top three spots in the discus and javelin, and went 1-2 in the shot put.

Adisan Kistler (29-0 1/2) won the shot put, Mallory Conner (79-11) placed first in the discus and Hanna Gober (104-10) came out on top in the javelin for the Tigers.

“I feel pretty good starting off the year in the 100s, low 100s is good for me,” said Gober. “Our motto is that we’re throwing for May. That’s when leagues are, that’s when districts are. So steadily through the season we’re working on our form, we’re getting a little bit more aggressive up front. And I think we’re all happy to start off the year where we’re at right now.

“I’ve just always had a lot of fun doing javelin. We are really a tight-knit group. Last year we had our PR chain, this year we have Thor’s hammer and it’s the PR hammer. We just have a fun time with it.”

And much like the Bombers deploying Walters and others in different events, Northwestern is also seeking to maximize points where it can, with Gober now trying discus this season.

“Sadie Fenstermaker last year, she was a phenomenal thrower for us,” Gober said of the graduated state qualifier. “Trying to find girls to fill in those shoes. You can’t replace what she did, but we’re working to continue that success.”

A standout thrower for the Bombers has been Ryan Burkett, who captured both league and district titles on his way to a third-place finish in the discus at states a year ago.

That success continued Tuesday, as Burkett won the discus with a throw of 140-3.

“It’s good, because I was nervous going in,” said Burkett. “I feel better now. I was able to finish first, which is what I wanted. I’m going to have to work on mental preparation and everything like that. But it was a great way to start the season, and I also got second in shot put (to teammate Logan Anthony), which was also great. It’s the first meet, and I’m just happy to be back. Now we’ll just go up from here.”

Being on that climb and starting that build is something that athletes and coaches enjoy equally as the season progresses.

“I’m very happy. I’m happy for the boys, I’m happy for the girls,” said Groller. “We gave it our best effort on the girls side, and I can’t ask for anything else. We were up for the challenge and gave it our best. We fell a little short, but we’ll be back. They’ll progress as we go through the season.

“For the boys, we might be there this year in the sense of competition. They’re very competitive, and we do have a couple of areas that we’re strong in and some where we need work. If we can put the pieces of the puzzle together, I think we’ll be there at the end of the year.”

“It just feels good,” added Kemurry Morgan, who was third in the 100 and 200 and also on the winning 400 relay for the Tigers. “After these first couple of weeks of practice, you’re kind of unsure of things, you’re not exactly sure where you stand. But when you come here and get a good time and excel, and do better than you thought, it’s a great feeling overall. Being able to do it with my friends and family around me, it just feels really good.”

WINNING ... Connor Hibell scored wins in the 800 (2:08.80), 1600 (4:45.50) and 3200 (11:03.60) for the Bombers, while Ruby Walters won the 100 hurdles (16.90) and 300 hurdles (48.50). Rosalia Nestor ran to wins in the 800 (2:29.10) and 1600 (5:29.40) for the Tigers, while Ben Moyes won the 100 (11.80), and tied with teammate Seth Kern for first in the 200 (24.50).

UP NEXT ... Palmerton hosts Salisbury next Tuesday at 3:30 p.m., while Northwestern welcomes Catasauqua.

BOYS

Northwestern 88, Palmerton 62

100 - 1. Ben Moyes (NW) 11.80, 2. Vincent Taglieri (P), 3. Kemurry Morgan (NW); 200 - 1. (tie) Ben Moyes (NW), Seth Kern (NW) 24.50, 3. Kemurry Morgan (NW); 400 - 1. Benjamin Bachman (NW) 52.90, 2. Jayden Billig (NW), 3. Luke Fugazzotto (NW); 800 - 1. Connor Hibell (P) 2:08.80, 2. Brady Furman (NW), 3. Isaac Grubb (NW); 1600 - 1. Connor Hibell (P) 4:45.50, 2. Greyson Wellings (NW), 3. Noah Griffith (NW); 3200 - 1. Connor Hibell (P) 11:03.60, 2. Xander Giandomenico (NW), 3. Chase Ader (P); 110H - 1. Shane Leh (NW) 15.80, 2. Brendan Miller (NW), 3. Dayton Tindula (P); 300H - 1. Dayton Tindula (P) 46.80, 2. Caleb Pastier (P), 3. Shane Leh (NW); 400 relay - 1. Northwestern 45.80; 1600 relay - 1. Northwestern 3:52.10; 3200 relay - 1. Northwestern 9:37.50; High jump - 1. Gavin Nelson (NW) 6-7, 2. Trent Ader (P), 3. Seth Kern (NW); Pole vault - 1. Ethan Kaschak (NW) 9-3, 2. Wyatt Spalding (P), 3. Jacob Walkowiak (P); Long jump - 1. Del Tyler (NW) 19-8.5, 2. Dayton Tindula (P), 3. Bradley Burnard (NW); Triple jump - 1. Bradley Burnard (NW) 38-10.5, 2. Vincent Taglieri (P), 3. Blad De Los Santos Baez (P); Shot put - 1. Logan Anthony (P) 47-8.5, 2. Ryan Burkett (P), 3. Ian Zettlemoyer (NW); Discus - 1. Ryan Burkett (P) 140-3, 2. Logan Anthony (P), 3. Daymian Stocker-Gellock (P); Javelin - 1. Brendan Miller (NW) 130-5, 2. Dillon Borger (P), 3. Braidon Berk (NW).

GIRLS

Palmerton 76.5, Northwestern 73.5

100 - 1. Nataly Walters (P) 12.10, 2. Erin Gombert (P), 3. Carsyn Van Norman (NW); 200 - 1. Erin Gombert (P) 26.20, 2. Carsyn Van Norman (NW) 27.70, 3. Aubrey Frable (P); 400 - 1. Sophia Schaffer (NW) 1:02.20, 2. Emily Kistler (NW), 3. McKensey Miller (NW); 800 - 1. Rosalia Nestor (NW) 2:29.10, 2. Payten Fornaro (P), 3. (tie) Paige Bissell (NW), Chelsea Brown (P); 1600 - 1. Rosalia Nestor (NW) 5:29.40, 2. Sophia Cornell (NW) 5:54.10, 3. Cassidy Merkel (P); 3200 - 1. Devon Heinly (NW) 13:57.90, 2. Payten Fornaro (P), 3. Kellcey Pedron (NW); 100H - 1. Ruby Walters (P) 16.90, 2. Claire Thomas (P), 3. Delainey Keiser (P) 18.10; 300H - 1. Ruby Walters (P) 48.50, 2. Megan Fornwalt (NW), 3. Claire Thomas (P); 400 relay - 1. Palmerton 49.70; 1600 relay - 1. Northwestern 4:28.80; 3200 relay - 1. Northwestern 11:23.60; High jump - 1. Nataly Walters (P) 5-2, 2. Kamarrah Saslo (P), 3. Norah Silfies (NW); Pole vault - 1. Sadie Gair (P) 7-3, 2. Maddy Bennyhoff (P), 3. Ruby Walters (P); Long jump - 1. Nataly Walters (P) 17-0, 2. Allison Herrmann (P), 3. Sophia Schaffer (NW); Triple jump - 1. Aubrey Frable (P) 33-3, 2. Gabby Lucas (P), 3. Julianna Snyder (P); Shot put - 1. Adisan Kistler (NW) 29-0.5, 2. Mallory Conner (NW), 3. Cate Morgan (P); Discus - 1. Mallory Conner (NW) 79-11, 2. Adisan Kistler (NW), 3. Alexandra Diehl (NW): Javelin - 1. Hanna Gober (NW) 104-10, 2. Kylie Christman (NW), 3. Alexandra Diehl (NW).