PENDLETON — For the second time this year, a Pendleton Heights girls’ athletic team has captured the county, conference, and sectional title in the same season.

Tuesday, May 19 the Pendleton Heights Girls’ Track Team won the Pendleton Heights sectional that was decided near the end of the tournament. But a win is a win, no matter how or when final points are put on the scoreboard.

“The two-mile won the sectional for us,” Pendleton Heights track coach Ron Hinton said. “Brittany Ward and Leslie Hersberger finished fourth and seventh that gave us the points needed for the win. They both put in great runs and I’m very proud of them.”

Pendleton Heights junior Ellie McCardwell put in another outstanding performance, where she set a new national high of 13 feet and 5 inches in the pole vault.

“If a high school athlete vaults 12 feet they are good,” Hinton said. “But Ellie has surpassed 13 feet. She’s an incredible athlete.”

Earlier this spring, the Lady Arabians won the Madison County Track Tournament and the Hoosier Heritage Conference. It was the first time since 1994 that the Pendleton Heights girls’ track team has captured the conference title. The victory was a big win for Hinton and the team.

“The conference was a huge win,” Hinton stated. “We haven’t won the conference in 15 years and it was a great accomplishment. We’ve won the sectional and county several times, but winning the conference is always great because of the competition.”

With the help of assistant coaches Josh Knotts and Melissa Hagerman, Hinton led the team to a record of forty wins and eight losses. Paige Perkins, Elyse Werling, Ellie McCardwell, and Leslie Hersberger serve as team captains. Seniors Perkins and Werling, who throw the shot put and discus, were also members of the Lady Arabians basketball team that won the trifecta last winter. Both say they are very proud to have been a part of the teams.

“It’s been an amazing year,” Perkins stated. “I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”

“Everything held together our senior year,” Werling added. “I’m so glad to have been on these great teams.”

Unlike other sporting events that are confined to one area, Hinton and company have a roster of 35 athletes that are simultaneously competing in different track and field events.

“There is something always going on,” Hinton stated, “and I’m always trying to keep point totals in my head. It’s hard to get all athletes performing well at one time. We did it at the conference and again at the sectional.”

“We have been blessed with some very talented athletes,” he added. “The girls have a lot of depth that got us through a successful year.”