Place lightning struck partly sent skyward (5)
I believe the answer is:
ninth
'place' is the definition.
(eg ninth on a leaderboard)
'lightning struck partly sent skyward' is the wordplay.
'partly' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue.
'sent skyward' says the letters should be written backwards (in a down clue, letters go up).
'htnin' is hidden within 'lightning struck'.
'htnin' written backwards gives 'NINTH'.
(Other definitions for ninth that I've seen before include "Ordinal number" , "Beethoven's "Choral", for example" , "Half-way hole?" , "Third of a third" , "Last of course to go out" .)