2026 LHSAA STATE MEET: Most Watched Race Video

Connor Fanberg of Jesuit High School came out on top and credited runner-up Brennan Robin of Parkway High School for "pacing it perfectly."

Fanberg is headed to Johns Hopkins University, where he will be coached by former Jesuit head coach Cullen Doody. Robin is headed back to Parkway for his senior year, where he and coach Kent Falting will begin work to make Robin Louisiana's first sub-4-minute miler.

Of course, it could happen before next year. It could happen this weekend at the RunningLane Track Championships in Huntsville. Stranger things have happened.

Both runners shattered the old composite record set by Keith Iovine of Archbishop Rummel High School, who ran 4:12 in 1982. Fanberg posted a nine-second personal record to win in 4:04.91. Robin finished in 4:05.84.

Class 5A Boys 100 Meters

If not for the heroics of Fanberg and Robin in the 1,600 meters, the most-watched video likely would have been Easton Royal of Brother Martin High School breaking Rod Richardson's 46-year-old composite state record of 10.20 in the 100 meters.

Richardson said the weather was "gorgeous" the night he set the record, though it took a long time for the 10.20 to appear on the scoreboard. It was the first year the LHSAA used fully automatic timing. That contrasted with Royal's 10.17, which came on a wet track with the result posted almost immediately.

A comparison to Golden Tempo, the horse that surged from last to first late in the Kentucky Derby, may not fully fit. Royal had been the favorite all season, consistently posting the state's fastest times.

Still, the thoroughbred and Louisiana's top sprinter share one trait: both typically come from behind. Royal did not get a great start in his record-breaking race, which raises the question of what he might run with a clean start. That answer may have to wait until next season.

Royal is committed to play football at University of Texas. Spring is often the busiest recruiting period for elite junior football prospects. Louisiana track fans can only hope Royal returns to Bernie Moore Track Stadium next year after a season free from the pressures that often accompany major recruiting attention.

Do yourself a favor and watch the Class 5A 4x100-meter relay video. Count how many teams are ahead of Royal when he takes the baton on the anchor leg. Competing against some of the fastest athletes in the state, Royal looked like a man among boys.

Class 5A Boys 4x400 Meters

While the 4x100 relay did not crack the top four most-watched race videos from the state championships, the same cannot be said for the Class 5A boys 4x400 relay, where C.E. Byrd High School held off Catholic High School, which had won the previous four gold medals in the event.

Byrd's quartet of Berekat Raines, Markeith Niblett, Wyatt Ditt and Jordan Blakes accomplished something the school had not done since 1966. That team featured Russ Neely, Grant Thomas, Ricky Bryant and Charles Beasley, who ran 3:19.3 in the mile relay.

This year's finish was even tighter. Byrd won in 3:17.25, while Catholic finished just behind in 3:17.26.

Captain Shreve High School in 2012 was the last team from Caddo Parish to win a 1,600-meter relay in the highest classification at the LHSAA State Outdoor Championships.

Before that, it was Richardson's Fair Park High School squad in 1980, which needed a victory in the event to secure the state championship. Richardson said the team was in fifth place entering the third leg. According to Richardson, teammate Carl Johnson ran a "fantastic" leg and handed him the baton in third.

Richardson, who split 47.0 on the anchor leg, passed both the winner and runner-up of the 400 meters to lift Fair Park to the relay victory and the 1980 LHSAA State Outdoor Track and Field championship. No team from northwest Louisiana has won a state title in the highest classification since Fair Park accomplished the feat in 1980.

The Class 5A Girls 800 Meters

Instant Classic!

That's the only way you can describe the 5A girls 800 meters.