On This Date: Oct. 23, 1997

October 23, 1997 — Palmerton’s Jeff Dobias and the Northern Lehigh boys team both earn gold at the District 11 cross country championships. Dobias completes the 3.1-mile course at Lehigh University in a time of 16:58.1 to top all 2A runners. His time is almost seven seconds faster than runner-up Alex Kowalcyk of Northern Lehigh. The Bulldogs also have Matt Oertner finish in the top 10, placing sixth, to help claim the team title. In the girls race, Panther Valley’s Lacey Gonzalez cops third with a time of 20:05.4. Following Gonzalez is Northwestern’s Laura Schenkel and Lauretta Lear in fourth and fifth, and Jim Thorpe’s Chelsea Mullins in sixth.