NILES, Illinois — The Northridge cross country program made a statement Friday evening at the 2024 Loyola Academy Flight Night event, finishing in 4th place out of a loaded field featuring some of the top athletic programs in the Chicagoland area.

Junior Peter Kipp and sophomore John Masaka finished one second apart, placing 19th (16:10.2) and 20th (16:11.9) as the Knights top finishers on the hilly 3-mile course. Senior James Barder came in at the 26th slot with a time of 16:24.8. Junior Ryan Holler also completed his day with a top-40 finish, rolling in at 35th with a time of 16:47.4. Rounding out the top five finishers for the Knights was sophomore Josh Allen, who placed 42nd with a time of 16:52.7.

The Knights fourth place finish saw them above Chicago area schools like Loyola Academy, Niles Notre Dame, DePaul Prep, Whitney Young, St. Laurence and Niles West.

"Our runners turned in a very impressive and inspiring performance at the Loyola Flight Night event," Knights athletic director Will Rey said. "We were up against many of the largest public and private schools in the area and we finished 4th. The competition was excellent but our guys stepped up and gave a very strong accounting of themselves. I'm sure they will continue improving as we head into the ISL meet and the state tournament."

The Knights will next compete in the Independent School League conference meet on Thursday, Oct. 17 before beginning IHSA state competition.