Northwest sophomore Cooper Lutkenhaus won the 6A boys 800 in 1:47.04 Saturday at the University of Texas at Austin’s Mike A. Myers Stadium. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
Following a jump to 6A following the UIL’s biennial realignment in February 2024, Northwest sophomore Cooper Lutkenhaus was eager to get back on the track at the University of Texas at Austin’s Mike A. Myers Stadium to battle against the top runners in Texas’ highest classification.
“I think 6A is the best classification to run in at the state meet, and it’s one of the best state meets nationally,” Lutkenhaus said. “The field is just packed with talented athletes. Just how deep the depth is in each event, it’s definitely loaded. It’s always good to compete against the best competition.”
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Lutkenhaus quickly established his presence amongst the field in the 6A boys 800 run Saturday. After getting out to a quick start, he led the field for the majority of the race to the finish line en route to claiming the gold in 1:47.04 — setting a new conference and state record.
One of the youngest competitors in the first at just 16 years old, Lutkenhaus outran silver medalist Austin High senior Luke Bone (1:49.23) by more than 2 seconds. Katy Tompkins senior Mathias Pitzel garnered bronze in 1:51.82.
“I’m very happy with the experience from my first 6A state meet,” Lutkenhaus said. “I knew it was going to come out hot. I was in second for about the first 250, but my coach [Chris Capeau] and I talked about taking the lead whenever I felt that slight little slow-down from the rest of the guys — just take the inside of [Lane] 1 and hammer down the rest of the way. I ran the first lap in 53 seconds, and I told myself, ‘I can do another 53.’
Lutkenhaus’ performance broke the 6A and state record of 1:48.21 set by Abilene’s Jonathan Johnson in 2001. His new fastest-time is about half a second behind the 1:46.45 clocked by Michael Granville (Bell Gardens High School, Bell Gardens, Calif.) in 1996.
The young Texan’s time in his sophomore gold medal-winning campaign was about 3 seconds faster than his 5A state championship win in 2024 (1:49.84), which broke the freshman national record set by former Texas A&M runner Brandon Miller at the 2017 AAU Junior Summer Olympics (1:49.87).
In his second race of the state meet, Lutkenhaus ran his say back to the podium by clocking 46.30 for silver in the boys 400 dash — a quarter-second behind state champion Katy Mayde Creek senior Elijah Ferguson (46.05). Austin Lake Travis junior Abram Reagan ran 46.54 for bronze.
“It was actually a surprise to medal in the [400],” Lutkenhaus said. “After the 800, I told [Capeau] that I felt pretty good. Last year didn’t go so well in this race when I finished seventh (48.82) in 5A. But going into this year’s race, I was more fit, a lot stronger and able to recover faster in between races. I thought I could at least grab bronze, but the outcome was definitely better than expected.”
Lutkenhaus credited strategic planning by the Northwest coaching staff and himself for his growth as an athlete since his rookie campaign in 2024.
“I think [Capeau] and I really planned out the year perfectly together,” he said. “We hit hard weeks with maybe races or hard workouts, and we really focused on keeping me as fresh as possible leading up to this meet.”
With three total state medals in his first two seasons, Lutkenhaus plans to use the same methods that got him to state as a freshman and sophomore for his junior season.
“I think just being consistent with everything is key,” he said. “[Consistency] was a big reason for my success this year. I changed a few things training-wise, as well as some workouts, but just doing it every day is the biggest thing… I just want to run as fast as I possibly can. I want to make it to state all four years, so I know I’ve got to keep my head down and focus on what I need to do, and just be ready for it.”
Capeau was proud of Lutkenhaus’ efforts to return to state and compete against a tougher field at the 6A level.
“Cooper had both a confidence and a calmness to him this year,” Capeau said. “He was excited after the 800, and told me that he thought he could get on the podium in the 400. The kid loves to run — some people do it because they’re good at it, but he just really enjoys it and has fun with it. [The state meet] is definitely the atmosphere he loves to be in.”
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