Cooper Lutkenhaus Named 2025 COROS MileSplit50 Indoor AOY

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As a freshman, Northwest (Justin, Texas) mid-distance star, Cooper Lutkenhaus, raised the bar for half-milers everywhere.

In his first-ever season at the high school level, Lutkenhaus became just the second freshman in high school history to break 1:50, surpassing Olympian and Missouri legend Brandon Miller (1:49.87) in the process. 

Lutkenhaus also became the first freshman to break 1:50 on multiple occasions, doing so three times in a row at the UIL State Championships, RunningLane Track Championships, and the Brooks PR Invitational, where he set the new national freshman record of 1:47.58.

Throughout his freshman campaign, Lutkenhaus stayed perfect, winning all 12 800m races in which he toed the line. Not only was he dominating over two laps, but he also posted an 8-4 record in the 400m, notching a PB of 47.33, the Texas freshman state record.

Last fall, just a few months removed from one of the most impressive freshman seasons we've seen in recent memory, Lutkenhaus took his talents to the grass for his second season of cross country.

The sophomore earned himself a PB of 15:58.6 at the Southlake #1 XC Invite in September, where he finished 44th overall and flexed his range against the region's top pure-distance runners. 

After a few months dedicated to building a base and gearing up for his first indoor campaign, the sophomore was ready to make some noise, and boy did he.

Opening up his season at the Texas Tech Red Raider Invitational, the Justin Northwest Texan opened up his year with a comfortable 1:50.15 over 800m, taking down a field of collegians in Lubbock, Texas.

A month later, at the 117th Millrose Games, Lutkenhaus entered unprecedented territory, becoming the first high schooler to ever break 1:47 on the indoor oval, running 1:46.86 to smash Josh Hoey's former record by over three-quarters of a second. 

To make his record-breaking run even cooler, Lutkenhaus broke the record in the same race that Hoey broke the American record. 

Video: Joshua Potts/MileSplit

A month later, the new high school national record holder capped off his indoor season at Nike Indoor Nationals, running 1:47.83 as he won by nearly four seconds. 

After a brief yet history-filled indoor campaign, the Justin Northwest star is heading into his second outdoor season with one more record in his sights, Michael Granville's 29-year-old 800m record of 1:46.45.

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