LOCKPORT – With two individuals and a doubles team as the lone returning state qualifiers in badminton at Thursday’s Lockport Sectional, it was a good bet the host Porters would again claim top honors.

But the most important thing to veteran Porters coach Denise Hadley was to see her squad prepare for competition at next weekend’s state finals at EIU-Charleston by competing at a high level in the six-team sectional.

And Lockport’s players did just that, claiming the top two spots in singles play and first- and third-place finishes in doubles as they defeated Sandburg, 17.5-10.5, for the sectional title.

It’s the third straight year that the Porters won a sectional championship and the third year in a row they qualified two singles players and two doubles for state.

Junior Jessica Miller beat classmate Haley Egelhof for the title in singles, while seniors Lauren Hueckstaedt and Jen Inczauskis won top honors in doubles, and seniors Deanna Cooper and Sarah Heimberg were third. Egelhof and Miller qualified in singles last year, as did the doubles team of Inczauskis and Hueckstaedt.

Hadley, in her 31st year at Lockport, is tied for second for most sectional titles with 16, a total equaled on Thursday by Downers Grove North’s Anthony Calderone. Former Andrew coach Terry TerHaar won 24 sectionals during his career.

“Jessica and Haley practice great together and they’re really good friends and really compete with each other,” Hadley said. “And I have one more year of that, so I’m happy about that. They’re just fun to be around or of course otherwise I wouldn’t do it.

“I like at the sectional when the girls play at the top of their games, and that’s what they looked like tonight. We were seeded high, but they all still had some butterflies. But once we get to state, they’ll have a better feel for it because of their experience.”

The singles title match turned into one of the tightest meetings yet between the Porters teammates as Miller edged Egelhof, 22-20, 18-21, 21-18.

“It’s never been that close before,” Miller said. “It’s either I beat her by a lot or she beats me by a lot. But the pressure was off, and we were laughing the whole time. Having the experience helps a lot because we know how to handle the pressure. Last year, it was just fun to go to state, but this year we want to accomplish things.”

Egelhof was pleased with the way that she and her teammates performed at the meet.

“It was a great day,” Egelhof said. “Obviously, we all played our best, and that was the best games that we’d played this season in general. Everything about it was wonderful. We had three out of four come back this year, so that gave us a more confidence and less nerves. This group of girls is so close, and we connect with each other and all work as a team.”

In the doubles title match, Hueckstaedt and Inczauskis captured a 21-18, 21-3 victory over Sandburg’s Megan Higgins and Reilly Scanlon.

“It’s exciting knowing that everyone on our team is going to state,” Hueckstaedt said. “I feel like Jen and I have gotten to know each other better because last year we were first-time partners together. It’s a lot more fun this year because we know what each other is doing and we laugh a lot. We’re all super close with each other and joke all of the time.”

Inczauskis is looking forward to her second state trip with five other Porters.

“It’s nice to know that we won and we’re going to state again,” Inczauskis said. “We’re more experienced and know what we’re going up against and want to make it the second day. It helps that we’ve been partners for two years and we know how to help each other.”

In the third-place match in doubles, Heimberg and Cooper won, 21-15, 21-16, over Lincoln-Way North’s initial qualifiers, Allison Gerk and Ashley Pop. Sandburg’s Emily Tunney beat teammate Katie Schroeder for third place in singles.

Plainfield North beat Lincoln-Way North, 6-5.5, for third but failed to get any qualifiers.

Plainfield South (3) and Plainfield Central (0.5) also competed.