By JESSA PEASE / Staff Writer

PELHAM—A weekend in New York resulted in an amazing feat for one Pelham High School senior. Track star Erin Hines finished fifth in the New Balance Indoor National Meet, earning her All-American status.

Hines competed as one of 20 of the country’s top track athletes in the pentathlon, consisting of the 60-meter hurdles, shot put, long jump, high jump and the 800-meter race.

“I was excited for her. It’s something they have to qualify for. You can’t just pay money and go,” said Pelham head track coach Mary Springfield. “She had to have scored well enough earlier in the year to even qualify because they only take 20 girls. To even get to go up (to New York) is a great opportunity, and then to actually do well when you get there and earn All-American status, that’s a big accomplishment.”

Going into the competition, Hines was ranked No. 1 in the nation, but Springfield said many states don’t participate in the pentathlon. With some of the top athletes not competing in the event, Springfield said they weren’t sure what to expect.

“It was a really great, eye-opening experience to compete against some of the top contenders in the nation,” Hines said in a March 22 interview.

Starting with the hurdles, Hines said she didn’t do as well as she thought she would, as far as times go. From that moment on, she knew she’d have to make up the points in other places.

“It took a lot of drive and determination to keep up even though I was in the back to start off with,” Hines said.

She earned a career best in the long jump, as well as the record for Alabama’s best girls long jump, jumping 19-feet-2-inches, beating her previous record of 18-feet-3-inches.

Hines also dropped two seconds from her previous personal best in the 800-meter run.

“I was really, really shocked because, actually, going into the last event I was ranked sixth,” Hines said. “So I was counting the people in front of me as I was running the 800, and I was like ‘Oh my gosh, I cannot let six people get in front of me. I just need to keep pushing this.’ It took a lot of sweat and determination to push through those last 100 meters, because the 100-meter stretch is the hardest part about the race.”

In the end, the years of hard work and determination on Hines’ part paid off with her All-American nomination. The senior, who has been in the track program since seventh grade, said she is looking forward to seeing what the future holds for her.

Before graduation, Hines said she plans on committing to continue her track career at the collegiate level. She has multiple colleges and universities in mind and had not made a decision as of March 22.