Texas high school track star Cooper Lutkenhaus breaks U18 world record, qualifies for World Athletics Championships

Justin Northwest star takes 2nd at USA Outdoor Championships held Sunday in Oregon.

Nike Elite’s Cooper Lutkenhaus wins the boys 800 meters on the third day of the Nike Outdoor Nationals on June 21, 2025, at Hayward Field in Eugene. Back in Eugene on Aug. 3, he set a U18 world record. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Cooper Lutkenhaus made history Sunday afternoon a the USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships.

A junior-to-be at Northwest High School in Justin, Texas, ran 1:42.27 and finished second, qualifying for the World Championships next month.

His time was the fastest 800-meter mark in world history for any athlete younger than 18.

Lutkenhaus beat a pair of Olympians and broke the high school outdoor national record in the 800 for the third time this summer.

His previous US record was 1:45.45. 

During Sunday’s race at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, he was only nine-tenths of a second behind the winner, Donavan Brazier. The runner-up not only broke the U18 record, but he is now second among U20 runners and 18th all-time.

ONE FOR THE BOOKS, FOLKS. @DonavanBrazier just ran the third fastest time in American history in the Men’s 800m Final, followed by Cooper Lutkenhaus in second, earning a World U18 Best and cinching the American U20 record, previously held by Brazier 🤯🤯🤯 It doesn’t get better… pic.twitter.com/E6ldpgyRFJ

— USATF (@usatf) August 3, 2025

Thanks to being in the top three, he will run for the USA at the World Championships with Brazier and Bryce Hoppel, who placed fourth at the 2024 Olympics. 

Among the runners Lutkenhaus beat included American indoor record holder Josh Hoey, who was fourth and 2024 Olympian Brandon Miller, who took fifth. Lutkenhaus was in 7th place after the first lap but eventually pushed late and his final 200 helped him get a top-three finish.

According to Flo Track, Lutkenhaus is now in the top 5 all-time, regardless of age, for fastest Americans running the 800.

• Bryce Hoppel - 1:41.67

• Josh Hoey - 1:42.01

• Donavan Brazier - 1:42.16

• Cooper Lutkenhaus - 1:42.27

• Johnny Gray - 1:42.60

Lutkenhaus ran in a first-round heat on Thursday and then a semifinal heat on Friday to advance to Sunday’s race, which was shown on Peacock/NBC.

Imagine a 16 year old Sophomore in High School running...

200m- 19.75
400m- 43.88
Mile- 3:45.6
5k- 12:46

Those are the equivalent times to what Cooper Lutkenhaus just ran in the 800m (1:42.27) as a 16 year old.

Insanity.

— Steve Magness (@stevemagness) August 3, 2025

He finished up his sophomore year of high school by winning the Class 6A state title in the 800 in 1:47.04 on May 3. He took second in the 400-meter dash at the state finals as well.

He broke the high school national record twice in two weeks — first running 1:46.26 at the Brooks PR Invitational on June 8 in Renton, Washington. 

At the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Oregon, he ran 1:45.45 on June 21.

According to Texas MileSplit, Lutkenhaus didn’t lose at all in the 800 this year until this race.

He starts his junior year of high school on Aug. 13 and will be competing at the World Athletics Championships Sept. 13-21 in Tokyo.

He wasn’t the only medalist from Northwest ISD, in the western part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Sanaa Barnes, a Trophy Club Byron Nelson grad, took second in the high jump with a clearance of 6 feet, 4¼ inches. A state champion for the Bobcats, she competed at Villanova and Auburn in college.