History was made inside the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse at Saturday's LHSAA State Indoor Championships.
More than likely, this is not the first time you have read those words from me as I write about athletes breaking records, teams winning championships for the first time, or one of the all-time greats moving to all-time No. 1 in the MileSplit LA database.
The latter was the case Saturday in the girls 1600m, where Grace Keene moved into G.O.A.T. status with her 4:54.09. Greatest. Of. All. Time--for the time being anyway.
Before Keene moved away from the other four legendary runners on Louisiana' Mount Rushmore of female high school milers, she had to move away from the competition in Saturday's race.
The first was Dutchtown junior Keira Melan (5:04), who ended up finishing second with the No. 12 all-time indoor mile in Louisiana history.
After dropping Melan, Keene had Emma Aldana-Huegla eighth grader nipping at her heels until the 600m remaining.
That's when and where Keene separated herself. From good to great. From a rising star to the Greatest Of All Time.
Keene's performance separates her from St. Thomas Aquinas' Malia Cali (4:57.03), St. Joseph's Elise Brown (4:57.10), Parkview Baptist's Lucy Cramer (4:57.30), Natalie Venkataraman (4:57.42).
LOUISIANA GIRLS ALL-TIME INDOOR 1600m!
The Division II boys' and Division I boys' 1600m saw it's share of record-breaking performances as well. Highland Baptist's Tyler Blissett, who will be competing for Army this time next year, added yet another championship to his resume, by setting a division II record with a time of 4:21.05. The old record--set by Iowa State freshman Aiden Monistere--only last a year.
The brevity of distance records seems to be a common theme over the last five years as athletes and coaches continue to raiser the bar.
Blissett returned at the end of the day to win the 3200m with a time of 9:51.
In the Division I boy's race, Parkway junior Brennan Robin ran the fastest 1600m in state indoor meet history with a time of 4:14.97.
That race was the fastest indoor mile in Louisiana history. Airline's Jayden Williams (4:19.68) finished second and Catholic's William Decuir (4:19.82) finished third.
It goes even deeper on the all-time boys' list.
Fourth place finisher Connor Fanberg, who was the defending state champion in the event going in, ran a 4:22.43. That time ranks No. 20 all-time in Louisiana history. In fifth place was Denham Springs' Rowan Silk. He was credited with the same time as Fanberg and thus is tied for No. 20 all-time in Louisiana.
Even Agustin Juneau's sixth-place 4:22.68 ranks No. 23 on the all-time list!
LOUISIANA BOYS' ALL-TIME INDOOR 1600m LIST
That's heady stuff.
So, apologies to the No. 1 ranked sophomore shot putter in the nation--Alexandria's Carter Rivet, who broke the 60-0 for the first time in his career and has the No. 2 all-time mark in Louisiana, and sophomore sprinters St. Joseph's Academy's Amalia Terry Lee and Liberty Magnet's Destiny Harrison who battled to the line in the girls' 60m.
We will have plenty of time to talk about those athletes and other records which were broken last now, but, for now, Northshore's Grace Keene's performance at the 2026 LHSAA State Indoor Championships stands alone--both in the all-time rankings in the girls' indoor 1600m and the plethora of outstanding performances on Saturday.