But as she stood by the sand pit following her final attempts, one inch away from doing so, she still appeared satisfied. It hadn’t been the perfect outcome, but she still had an incredible overall performance. With a PR of 38-11 in the triple and an 18-8 ¾ in the long jump, her third best career mark, she’d earn bronze medals in both events at the PIAA track and field championships.

“It’s pretty good. I PR’d, so I can’t really be mad about it,” said Hendricks. “I wish I would’ve broken our school record but there’s not much you can do now.”

It wasn’t just the last time she’ll compete with Central Mountain, as she’ll opt to focus on her studies moving forward. She’s taking on a tough, time-consuming major in architecture and doesn’t see herself having time to be effective in both, with one likely to affect the other.

She’ll miss competing, but she’s satisfied with what she was able to accomplish through her time with the Wildcats. Knowing full well her run at states would be the end of it heading into the event made her all the more motivated to finish things off on a high note.

CHRIS MANNING/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Central Mountain's Lily Hendricks claims bronze in the long jump at the state meet.

“I knew this was going to be it for me, so I wanted to prove it to myself that I could still compete,” said Hendricks. “I’m going to miss it.”

She wraps up her career as a three-time state medalist, four-time district champion, four-time PHAC champion and current holder/shareholder of two program records. She credits her family as one of the key reasons for her success.

“Just my family, they’re great,” said Hendricks. “Every meet, my dad helps coach me. They’ve always been proud of me, no matter what I do.”