MileSplit LA Tasty Race! Classic Girls' 1600m!

Do you have your finger on the pulse of the 2024 Louisiana high school indoor track and field season? We are about to find out with one trivia question.

Are you ready?

There was only one school in Louisiana to go 1-2 at the LSU High School Classic. Which school was it? No cheating.

If you answered Baton Rouge Magnet, then congratulations. The school had the top finishers in the girls 1600m. Senior Natalie Venkataraman finished first and sophomore Lucy Thomas was second.

The race is this week's MileSplit LA Tasty Race.

Although, there is not much to break down, just a very solid opener from the two teammates, who worked their way to the front early on in the race. From there, Thomas would lead the way for the first half of the race with Venkataramen close behind.

Just past the midway point in the race, Venkataraman would take the lead and-with her kick- create some cushion between herself and Thomas over the race's last 200m.

For Venkataraman, who struggled through her junior year with injuries and iron deficiency, the race served as a "Welcome Back!" party. 

"I'm just glad to be back on the track and where I was my sophomore year," Venkataraman said after the race.

Where she was her sophomore year was at the top of the rankings and on podiums. She finished second in the 2022 LHSAA State Indoor Championships behind Ella Chesnut, who is now one of the best distance runners in the LSU Cross Country and Track & Field program. Her time of 5:04.14 is Venkataraman's personal record.

But, after her season opener at the LSU High School Classic, that personal record seems like it is living on borrowed time. We could see it fall as early as this week at the LSU High School Qualifier. 

Venkataraman's younger teammate, Thomas, is having to rewrite her goals for the 2024 season after running crushing the 5:18 time she had wanted to hit. Oh, by the way, it was the first high school meet of her career. 

"I have never run indoor before because last year I was JV so it was definitely iffy going into it," Thomas said. "I really wanted to PR. My goal was sub 5:18. So, I hit that it was very exciting."

While Thomas didn't run indoors last year, she did compete in JV meets during the outdoor season. Her 5:22.38 was the second fastest 1600m run by a freshman in Louisiana. Only Comeaux's Sya Bolden (5:10.56) ran faster.