When Dakota Grossman got her first taste of distance running in the first grade, she immediately asked for a second helping.

"She came off (the track), and she’s like, ‘I want to do that again,’ " said her father and coach at Seabury Hall, Bobby Grossman.

Life has been a nonstop race for Dakota ever since. Not coincidentally, she’s outlasted almost everyone who dares to lace ’em up against her.

The University of Utah-bound senior is already a four-time state track individual champion — three 3,000-meter titles and one in the 1,500. In addition, she has four cross-country individual championships to her name.

Four-peating could become a familiar feeling. At the HHSAA state meet on May 9 and 10 at Kamehameha, she stands a good chance at some pretty rare history.

If she can win the 3,000 one more time, Grossman will become the first athlete to accomplish a four-year sweep in the longest-distance event at states since Punahou’s Victoria Chang did so from 1997 to 2000.

In the history of Hawaii state meets, a girls athlete has won all four years in one event only seven times.

The impending conclusion of Grossman’s stellar high school career — along with several talented teammates — has lent an all-or-nothing sensation for the Seabury Spartans this spring.

Tiny Seabury (enrollment: about 300) of upcountry Maui has talent in almost every event; sprinter Alyssa Bettendorf was especially impressive in winning the 100-meter dash and long jump at last week’s Honolulu Marathon Invitational meet at Kamehameha.

But it all goes back to Dakota. When it comes to coordinating their plucky group, Bobby Grossman sometimes just stands back and lets his daughter go to work. And why not? She refused to miss a single practice growing up in basketball and soccer, even though they weren’t her favorite sports.

"Dakota, because of her leadership, she’s created this situation more than I even have," he said. "She got her friends to come out. She pushes her friends, and they start to get more aggressive and train harder and get other people on the team."

Dakota had a winning tradition to uphold right from the opening gun. Her older sister, Hailey, won the 3,000 three out of four years at Seabury immediately preceding Dakota’s arrival as a freshman.

"You feel proud. You had your sister going and winning," Dakota said. "Then I come in and it’s kind of like, expected for me to keep it going. But at the same time … it’s really nice."

Get this — Hailey Grossman only got into the sport because her single-minded little sister needed a running partner.

"She’s always had that inner fire and drive ever since she was little," said Hailey, a former Hawaii Pacific University distance runner. "She inspires me, definitely."

When Dakota has her mind wrapped around a goal, she needs no further inspiration than what comes from within. And this year’s goals are four-fold: keep the family tradition going in the 3,000 (a seventh title in eight years); break the existing state record in the 1,500 (something she did last year in her favorite event, only to finish second behind an even better Zoe Sims of Hawaii Prep); add an 800 championship to her list of accomplishments; and claim Seabury’s first girls track team title (which would be a first for a Maui Interscholastic League school).

The Spartans will likely have to do the last part with just five different athletes scoring points, which sounds ridiculous until you consider they nearly pulled it off with the same team last year.

Seabury fell in heart-wrenching fashion to dynastic Punahou, 69-68. (This seems like a good time to mention Seabury doesn’t have its own track, and must drive to War Memorial Stadium to share practice time with Baldwin.)

"It definitely was devastating to only lose by one point," Dakota said. "So I think it motivates us for this year, because we really want to win. And so many people are coming up to us, ‘Are you going to do it this year?’ So, it’s definitely on our minds and that’s our goal."

Over the next few weeks, Grossman will seek to better her times in preparation for track and cross country in the (aptly) hyper-competitive Pac-12.

But first, there’s some unfinished business at Kamehameha’s Kunuiakea Stadium.