PENDLETON — Some thought Pendleton Heights junior Ellie McCardwell had maxed out on the pole vault during her sophomore year after she failed to claim first place at the state meet.

They forgot to tell McCardwell.

The state leader in the pole vault established an even higher mark last week by jumping 13 feet, 5 inches, making her the top-ranked vaulter in the nation.

McCardwell’s record came at the PH sectional on May 19, a meet McCardwell and her teammates won. She will be at the Ben Davis regional on Tuesday.

“I’m really happy,” McCardwell told The Herald Bulletin correspondent Pete Boberg after the meet. “It was a good day of jumping. I just came out trying to do my best, and I’ll go for a state record next week at regionals.”

The boys track team also had an impressive week and broke multiple records along the way. The 1,600-meter relay team of Adam Garretson, Maliachi Broadwater, Sam Giddings and Nathan Hendershot set a new school record and a Mount Vernon sectional record with a time of 3:26.86.

Giddings, a freshman standout, also took first place at sectional in the 400-meter run in a time of 51.62, less than a second ahead of teammate Garretson. Hendershot won the 800-meter run in a time of 1:58.56 and junior Hunter Mills ran a personal best 4:25 in the mile.