TYLER BLISSETT (FAR RIGHT) LEADS THE PACK AT THE LA 2 MILE FESTIVAL!
If you ask Highland Baptist sophomore Tyler Blissett, feeling the wind through your hair is overrated. Last Wednesday, Blissett went to his father--who is also his coach--and told him he wanted a haircut.
Add barber to Toby Blissett's many hats.
At the Louisiana 2 Mile Festival on Saturday--under the lights of L.J. "Hoss" Garrett Stadium--Blissett enjoyed eight laps around the track and the aerodynamic qualities of his high and tight cut. Blissett finished with a personal record of 9:20.92.
"It feels good," Blissett joked about his new hairdo. "I can feel the wind on the side of my head."
It's the fastest 3200m in Louisiana through three weeks of the Louisiana high school outdoor season and currently ranks No. 10 in the nation among sophomore boys.
The time also ranks No. 7 All-time among sophomore boys in Louisiana.
The first half-mile of the race was run in 2:23, thanks to a first lap of 1:14 which looked like a walk in the park for the elite field. Blissett came through the first mile at 4:44.
"My plan was to go steady the first mile--4:40 and then go negative from there," Blissett said. "I executed well."
Later in the race, Ruston's LA Thomas Rogers would go with Blissett as he pulled away from the lead pack. Rogers took the lead on the sixth lap, but Blissett would move around Rogers on the seventh and slowly began to seperate. With a tremendous kick, Rogers closed the gap, but finished second with a time of 9:21.79, the No. 2 time in Louisiana this year.
Rogers' time is the new standard on Bearcat Drive with a massive school record performance.
"I knew it was going to be fast with guys coming from all over the state," Rogers said. "I ran a PR, so that's always good. Obviously, I would like to win. He (Blissett) has come up and raced before. He is fast. I knew he was going to push me to run faster. It was nice to kind of work together there the last couple of laps. He outkicked me, but we both ran PRs."
Blissett competed at Ruston High School for the first time a year ago when a meet he was scheduled to run in was cancelled due to weather. Blissett's father scrambled to get him in Ruston's "Hoss" Garrett Relays. The Blissetts have been coming back to North Louisiana ever since--and bringing other Bears along with them.
2024 LOUISIANA'S TOP 3200m BOYS!
| RANK | TIME | ATHLETE/TEAM | GRADE | MEET DATEPLACE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9:20.92 | 2026 | LA 2 mile Festival1st F | |
| 2 | 9:21.79 | 2024 | LA 2 mile Festival2nd F | |
| 3 | 9:26.04 | 2026 | ||
| 4 | 9:32.39 | 2024 | LA 2 mile Festival3rd F | |
| 5 | 9:37.07 | 2027 | LA 2 mile Festival4th F | |
| 6 | 9:38.20 | 2024 | LA 2 mile Festival5th F | |
| 7 | 9:39.49 | 2025 | LA 2 mile Festival6th F | |
| 8 | 9:39.81 | 2025 | LA 2 mile Festival7th F |
On Saturday, it was teammates Madalynn Salsman, Ella Blake, and Amelia Perello. All three headed back to New Iberia on Saturday night with personal records. Salsman's time of 11:57.87 breaks the Highland Baptist record in the event a day after she broke both the 800m and 1600m school record at the E.D. White Meet.
"They have good meets here," Blissett said. "Good competition. It's a good, well-run meet."
As for goals for the remainder of the season, Blissett, who will run this week at Catholic-New Iberia on Friday, wants to go sub 9:15 and under 4:20.
C.E. Byrd had two runners in the top three finishers in the girls' 3200m. Senior Jenna Key, who signed with LSU earlier this year, ran the second fastest time of her career. Her 11:07.09 was just off her personal record of 11:06 at last year's Texas Distance Festival.
Ruston's Parker Nations was the runner-up with a personal record time of 11:23. Nation's previous personal best was a third-place finish at last year's Region 1-5A Meet where she ran a time of 11:35.
Key's teammate, Spencer Frierson, finished third on Saturday night with a time of 11:33. It's the second week in a row that Frierson has lowered her personal record in the event. Last week, she had a PR of 11:42 in a third place finish at the Yellow Jacket Relays.
REACTION FROM COACHES...
"He ran a great race obviously. He had a game plan and stuck with it. We figured Thomas would stick with him. Those two duked it out for what we knew was going to be a great race. They did great. He asked me to cut his hair on Wednesday so I obliged. He got every penny's worth on that free hair cut. We love coming to Ruston. He has been able to PR and do something special every time he has been here. The environment is good. It's fun. It's laid back. Coach Cochran and Coach Falting do a good job of putting on a fun event. We hope we can grow it and get more of those South Louisiana schools here." Highland Baptist HC Toby Blissett.
"The school record here is 9:33. Neal Petit-John ran it back in the day. Dyllon Nimmers fractionally got a little better at it his senior year and ran 9:33. And Thomas ran 9:33 indoors. I was like 'listen, we're going to go even faster. We didn't really care about indoors so much. We're going to get even better outdoors. He asked me this week 'where do you you think I'm at coach?" I said if we run 9:20 at this meet, we're going to be on schedule. He had to go to the lead a little early, but it let him and Tyler get a really good time out of it. I think both kids leave pretty happy and that's great. " Ruston Coach Dustin Cochran.
"I'm extremely proud of both girl's performances this early in the outdoor season. A few years ago, I felt it was the beginning of a special era for distance running at Byrd. That's exactly what has transpired with those two leading the way. Our Class of 2024 has set the bar very high for future Yellow Jackets." C.E. Byrd HC Juan Plaza.