Saint Louis Catholic’s Halyn Senegal unofficially breaks Louisiana High School girls 800-meter record

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - St. Louis’s Halyn Senegal topped the LHSAA girls 800-meter record time at last week’s Taussig Relays. Senegal’s time of 2:10.84 would have set not only the Class 3A record, but the composite mark as well. The state record is 2.12.04, which was set by Chelsey Jones of Mandeville in 2014. The 3A record was previously set at 2:14.56 by Ciera Johnson of Redemptorist in 2008.

While state records can only be officially set at the LHSAA State Championship Meet, Senegal’s unofficial record is a standard she’s set for herself.

“Well before the race started, I had a goal and my main goal was to set a [personal record]. Which my PR was a 2:14,” Senegal said. “I did not expect to run a 2:10 or to break any big records but it happened.”

At that moment, Senegal did not even realize she was approaching record territory. The Nevada signee remembers the crowd at the event cheering her on.

“I finished and I felt pretty good but I didn’t think that I ran that fast, Senegal said. “Then my coach and my dad were cheering and stuff, and I was looking and I was like what’s going on? Then my other coach was like ‘you ran a 2:10!’... It was just crazy!”

Senegal will get the chance to turn a PR into an official state record at the LHSAA Outdoor Track & Field State Meet in May.