McNeese Indoor No. 2 Interviews (More to be posted today--2/1/26)
The high jump apron during a high school indoor meet at the McNeese Recreation Complex is not for the faint of heart. It is Louisiana high school track and field's war zone. Semi-controlled chaos.
I came to this conclusion as I found myself in the action waiting for the girls high jump to begin.
Delcambre junior Emma Smith began her warm up placing her bag and shoes neatly against the barrier separating the apron from the sprint straight away only to have a group of non-high jumpers which included athletes and coaches to come set up shop right by her bag and make themselves at home.
Smith was unbothered by the intrusion, methodically going about her warm up routine.
As she marked her approach, she had to roll up the end of the blue pole vault runway to give herself enough of a run up.
It was a little too much for me. I decided I was part of the problem, and left the area.
When I returned to watch Smith as the bar reached the meet-record height of 5-8, I found there were other distractions that Smith and the rest of the high jumpers were having to deal with.
The crack of the starter's pistol, people walking across the apron right in front of the high jumpers as they would begin their approach, and the screams for cheering teammates on the second level of the complex who would cheer on their teammates when they ran by.
None of this seemed to phase Smith---or any of the other high jumpers for that matter. She focused in on the task at hand and ended up clearing the bar at 5-10.
Where that effort puts Smith in terms of the history of the sport is as lengthy as the distractions she had to overcome to get there on Saturday.
Let's start with this, Smith tied the all-time No.1 indoor mark for girls' high jump in Louisiana. Former Parkview Baptist high jumper Ariel Pedigo jumped 5-10 at the Adidas Indoor Nationals in 2021 before going on to Oklahoma University. Now, Pedigo shares the No.1 ranking with Smith.
LOUISIANA'S ALL-TIME INDOOR LIST FOR GIRLS HIGH JUMP
Being at the top of the rankings is nothing new for Smith, who came into the meet as Louisiana's all-time No. 1 junior with a mark of 5-8, which she cleared in both of her first two meets of the season.
Before the season started, Smith had set the goal of jumping of 5-10 by the state outdoor meet. Having reached the goal before the end of the January, Smith and her coach--who is also her aunt-- are going back to the drawing board to come up with a new goal for the 2026 season.
6-0 maybe? Nothing seems impossible for Smith, who one would guess is the president of her school's Z-Club than one of the best high jumpers of Louisiana high school track and field history.
Nationally, Smith is currently tied for No. 2 in the nation in all classes. She is only half of an inch behind New York's Ella Michelitch, who jumped 5-10.5 yesterday.
On the National list for girls in the Class of 2027, Smith is No. 1.
Amid all of the chaos on the apron, Nacogdoches High School's Micah Lockett had himself a day as well. Lockett jumped 7-1 soaring to No. 1 in Texas rankings and moving him to No. 4 in the nation.
There is a traffic jam at the top of the boys' national rankings in the high jump with Indiana's Jordan Randle, New York's Ryan Buskey, and North Carolina's Chase Hunter all at 7-2.
2026 USA BOYS INDOOR HIGH JUMP RANKINGS
While that was going on downstairs, the big news of the day on the oval upstairs was Parkway junior Brennan Robin, who ran a 9:12 in the 3200m. The time shattered the meet record of 9:37 set by Iowa State freshman Aiden Monistere a year ago.
It's also the fastest 3200m time of La. High School junior, and No. 2 all-time in any classification behind Monistere's 8:58 at last year's VA Showcase.
LOUISIANA ALL-TIME LIST FOR BOYS 3200m
Despite an epic performance, Robin, who spent most of the week preparing for the McNeese Indoor No. 2 on his treadmill after Winter Storm Fern dumped ice and snow across most of North Louisiana, expected more, and when I talked with him after the race, you can tell that he is focused on doing some big things in the coming weeks.
Huge shout out to McNeese State head coach Brendon Gilroy, his MSU coaching staff, and athletes for a great meet. I also want to thank CFPI Timing for using MileSplit Live results.