FAIRMOUNT—It is hard to imagine that the Madison County Track and Field Championship has ever seen a greater performance than the one put on by Pendleton Heights senior sprinter Addison Stanley.
Coming in the aftermath of a devastating injury made her results all the more remarkable.
Stanley swept the sprints, winning the 100-meter, 200-meter, and 400-meter races with new County record times and ran the opening leg of the winning 1600-meter relay team, also with a new record time, headlining a dominant Arabians performance as the Pendleton Heights girls won the team title for the third straight time and for the 17th time in the last 18 meets.
For her efforts, Stanley was rewarded with the John McCord Award as the meet’s most outstanding girls athlete.
“It just feels amazing,” Stanley said. “When I get on the track and really think about it, I’m so blessed.”
The Arabians won 13 of the 16 events and scored 210 points, easily outdistancing runner-up Anderson at 122 points. Frankton was third at 92 points, followed by Madison-Grant (49.5), Lapel (38), Alexandria (30), Anderson Prep (27.5), and Elwood (22).
Stanley had suffered a fractured hip after her freshman year and had worked her way back to the state finals a year ago in the 400 meters, where she placed 22nd. Now running at full speed in all events, she made plenty of history on the track Friday night.
Her 100-meter time of 12.30 seconds broke the mark of 12.57 set by former PH star Kiawna Cottrell in 2014 and her 400-meter winning time of 58.77 edged the 59.91 that had been posted by Kaylee Lane of Elwood in 2019. Stanley ran the 200 meters in 25.24 seconds, shattering the mark of Anderson’s Jasmine McGhee, set back in 2009, by over a half-second.
“Addy had a fantastic meet on Friday,” PH coach Bill Coggins said in an email. “All of the coaches are very proud of her and the hard work and dedication she has put into this year and her entire time here at Pendleton Heights.
“She has overcome a lot of adversity over the years with her hip injury and surgery and for her to come back to this level is amazing.”
She had regained her status as ‘Madison County’s Fastest Female’, which she had earned as a freshman when she won the 100 and 200.
“It feels so good to feel fast again,” she said. “I can’t really explain it.
“I feel like I’m back. Last year, I had to have a specific workout routine. This year, I’m able to practice all out and I’ve been going full out.”
She then teamed up with Josephine Bell, Anya Zoeller, and Grace Lee to win the 1600-meter relay race in 4:04.19, a full 14 seconds better than runner-up Anderson and seven seconds faster than the previous county record set by the Arabians in 2012.
It is the same 1600-meter relay foursome that had placed fifth in the Indoor State Finals earlier this year and Stanley is confident in what they can do later this spring.
“We definitely can be state podium, those are my best friends and I love that we can run together,” she said. “I think the potential we have is top three. If we are top-five indoor, we can definitely be top three outdoors.”
The record-breaking night for the Arabians did not end with Stanley.
Zoeller took the 800-meter title in 2:14.33, defeating teammate Sadie Rauh by 20 seconds and bettering the record set by former teammate Ava Jarrell one year ago by over four seconds. Rauh then turned the tables on Zoeller, edging the state finalist at the finish of the 1600-meter run with a winning time of 5:42.44.
The PH 400-meter relay team made it six county records set by the PH girls as Aleah Robinson, Lee, Maddy Pfister and Sophia Bruce’s winning time of 50.68 was good enough to beat the 50.82 of the Arabians that had stood since 2019.
Pfister, who had won the 100 and 200 last year, was runner-up in the 100 this time around, but added a field championship with a new event as she cleared 6-foot-6 to claim the pole vault title.