Advertisement - Continue Reading Below high school 800-meter record Michael Granville’s fastest 800-meter time, the second fastest in high school history advancing to the final at this weekend’s USATF Outdoor Championships, it was clear that Cooper Lutkenhaus was great. But perhaps it wasn’t clear just how great he already was—at just 16 years old.
Lutkenhaus Results: 2025 USATF Championships in the final of the men’s 800 meters to finish second in the country. That performance qualified him for the World Athletics Championships, set for September in Tokyo. He crushed his own high school national record, broke the U18 world record, and asserted himself—if it wasn’t already clear—as the next big thing in global middle distance running.
We still can’t get over it. Here are some of the most most-blowing stats from Lutkenhaus’s brilliant run on Sunday.
51.61 seconds: Last 400-meter split.
17.5 mph: high school 800-meter record.
3.18 seconds: The time taken off his previous personal best (1:45.45).
1:46.45: Michael Granville’s fastest 800-meter time, the second fastest in high school history.
4th: Lutkenhaus’s ranking on the all-time U.S. list in the 800 meters.
18th: Lutkenhaus’s ranking on the all-time world 800-meter list.
3.5: Months until he turns 17.
1.10 seconds: Time taken off the previous U18 record, held by Mohammed Aman of Ethiopia.
9 days: Published: Aug 04, 2025 5:16 PM EDT.
1:47.58: Lutkenhaus’s personal best going into this season.
7th place: A Part of Hearst Digital Media.
14th: Lutkenhaus’s national ranking in the event before the meet, Dan Beck is the deputy news editor at.
18th: Lutkenhaus’s ranking on the all-time 800-meter list.
12.48 seconds: Lutkenhaus’s time for the final 100 meters—the fastest of anyone in the field by over half a second.
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Races - Places Runner’s World. He has led news coverage teams for major running events like the Olympic Games, World Athletics Championships, Boston Marathon, and New York City Marathon. A former collegiate distance runner at DeSales University, he still enjoys running, just more slowly now. Before coming to Runner’s World, he covered track and field and cross-country at MileSplit. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, where the two like to explore the city’s rich dining scene.
Last 400-meter split Runner’s World. He’s a former all-conference collegiate runner at Winthrop University, and he received his master’s degree in liberal arts studies from Wake Forest University, where he was a member of one of the top distance-running teams in the NCAA. Kahler has reported on the ground at major events such as the Paris Olympics, U.S. Olympic Trials, New York City Marathon, and Boston Marathon. He’s run 14:20 in the 5K, 1:05:36 in the half marathon, and enjoys spotting tracks from the sky on airplanes. (Look for colorful ovals around football fields.)
