Cooper Lutkenhaus at the US Championships in Eugene (© Kelcey McKinney for TrackTown USA)
Highlighted by a world U18 best and an area U20 record, 13 US U20 athletes made it to their nation’s biggest stage as they competed at the USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
Sixteen-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus went into the championships with a personal best of 1:45.45 and one goal – to make it to the 800m final. In the first round, he clocked 1:47.23 for second in his heat behind US short track record-holder Josh Hoey to get automatic qualification into the semifinal.
Lutkenhaus went into the second round with a last-race mentality, knowing that it could very well take the best day of his young career to make it into the final among a deep domestic field. On the heels of Bryce Hoppel – the US record-holder at the distance – the Northwest High School (Texas) rising athlete clocked 1:45.57 to become the youngest runner to ever make the US senior 800m final.
Taking the inside lane, Lutkenhaus lined up against a decorated field in Sunday’s final with a plan to seize the opportunity and rely on his strong kick.
“200 (metres) to go is kind of my sweet spot,” said Lutkenhaus of his race strategy. “Everyone was in the race with 100 to 200 metres to go and I just gave everything I had left.”
Lutkenhaus shot off the final turn and down lane three as he passed Brandon Miller, Hoey and Hoppel to take silver behind the 2019 world champion Donavan Brazier, who won in 1:42.16. A 1:42.27 earned Lutkenhaus a world U18 best and moved him to No.2 on the world U20 all-time list.
“I look up to (Bryce Hoppel and Donavan Brazier) so to actually race those guys has just been fun,” said Lutkenhaus. “I always think it’s cool to see younger guys make a final because I think it makes it more exciting to see a youngster going up against those with a lot more experience.”
In the men’s 100m, the top three US U20 stars all had a fighting chance at securing a lane in the final. Christian Miller entered with the top time of the trio in 2025 at 10.02, Tate Taylor had a 10.10 to his name, and Maurice Gleaton a 10.11.
All three went through the heats without a hiccup, and Gleaton was the lone qualifier out of the semifinals, clocking 10.05 to secure a lane in Friday’s final by time. He lined up for the final in lane nine alongside four Olympians, including two-time Olympic silver medalist Kenny Bednarek.
The 18-year-old out of Langston Hughes High School (Georgia) clocked 9.92 for sixth place, taking down Miller’s North American U20 record by a hundredth of a second.
“Top three was (my idea of success) going into the race,” Gleaton said following the competition. “I tried to stay relaxed during the race but I kind of got carried away when I saw everybody in front of me, but I got sixth place at 18, so I feel pretty good about it.”
In just over a year, Hayward Field will play host to the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 as up-and-coming athletes from across the world look to find their own Hayward magic.
A full list of results from the USATF Outdoor Championships can be found here.
