At just 16 years old, North Texas’ Cooper Lutkenhaus made track and field history.
EUGENE, Oregon — A 16-year-old from North Texas stunned the world Sunday at the U.S. national track championships and punched his ticket to the World Championships.
Cooper Lutkenhaus, a rising junior at Northwest High School, finished second in the men’s 800 meters with a time of 1:42.27. Lutkenhaus finished just behind 2019 world champion Donavan Brazier.
Though he didn’t get first, Lutkenhaus snagged a world record: the fastest performance for an athlete under 18. His time was also the fourth-best in U.S. history and the fifth-fastest in the world.
The silver medal finish qualifies Lutkenhaus for the World Championships, which will be held in Tokyo, Japan, in September.
The Lutkenhaus family is ingrained in the North Texas community. Cooper’s father, George, is the director of athletics for Northwest ISD, and his mother, Tricita, is the principal of Barksdale Middle School.
“Cooper exemplifies the best qualities of a student-athlete,” Northwest ISD said in a statement. “He trains with an unbridled passion, yet he remains humble and supports his classmates with the same passion he trains with. We are so incredibly proud of Cooper, and we’re so happy for the entire Lutkenhaus family. Cooper has now etched his name in the history books for track and field not just in the United States, but the entire world.”
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