In a few short weeks, Cooper Lutkenhaus will be beginning his junior year at Northwest High School in suburban Fort Worth. Just a few weeks into his semester, he’ll be flying across the world to Tokyo to compete for the United States in the World Athletics Championships, after qualifying with a record-shattering performance at Sunday’s USA Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore.
Lutkenhaus, who just began running track three years ago according to Runner’s World, finished second in the 800-meter with a scorching time of 1:42.27, shattering the world record for a runner under 18. He finished a hair behind champion Donavan Brazier (1:42.16), running the fourth best time in U.S. history. He also broke his own personal record in the 800 by three seconds.
Among those that the rising high school junior beat in the race are Josh Hoey, the American indoor record-holder and reigning indoor world champion in the 800-meter, and Olympians Bryce Hoppel and Brandon Miller…