If anyone was surprised by Barbe's Kennedi Burks breaking the fieldhouse composite record at Saturday's LHSAA State Indoor Meet, they haven't been paying attention. While it certainly was not a given, the 55.87 was no surprise to Burks, who has been running 56 seconds consistently in practice.
Continuing that consistency, Burks stuck with the same strategy which has served her well during the 2024 season.
"The plan is usually always the same," Burks said. "Get out strong, get in a good position, and finish strong."
While she talked about the 400m record of 55. 93 set by Christie Fairley 24 years ago, that was not the goal.
"The goal is always to PR," Burks said. "Whether it's one tenth of a second or a whole second. I knew it was something I could reach."
While 55 seconds may not have been a time Burks expected to run coming into the season, she does have a good idea on how she has been able to run that kind of time.
"I did start (training this year) a little earlier," Burks said, "so that played a big part in my time."
Joining Burks on the podium in the Division I girls' 400m was Brusly's Aaryona Kinchen (57.26), who finished second, and Scotlandville's Sade Gray (58.24), who came in third.