Northwest sophomore Cooper Lutkenhaus to face world’s best at 2025 Milrose Games
Justin Northwest sophomore sensation Cooper Lutkenhaus keeps finding ways to make history.
Lutkenhaus will compete in the 2025 Milrose Games, an indoor track competition involving some of the best competition in the world. At 16, Lutkenhaus is the top 800-meter runner in high school athletics nationwide.
Lutkenhaus will compete against a star-studded lineup of professional athletes that includes world indoor champion Bryce Hoppel, US indoor 1K record holder Josh Hoey, Irish record holder Mark English, NCAA outdoor champion Shane Cohen and also Jonah Koech, who placed fifth at the 2024 Olympic trials.
The Milrose Games are billed as “the world’s premier indoor track and field event” and will take place at the Armory in New York City on Saturday, Feb. 8.
All athletes in the competition besides Lutkenhaus have an outdoor 800-meter PR of under 1:45, which is a zone Lutkenhaus is heavily trending toward as his high school career continues.
As a freshman, Lutkenhaus claimed wins at the RunningLane Championships, the Brooks PR Invitational, and the Nike Outdoor Nationals, and he also set the Texas state record. Lutkenhaus posted an absurd time of 1:47.58, which is more than three seconds faster than the previous national freshman record of 1:50.48.
Lutkenhaus has a reputation for turning on the jets and showcasing elite speed at the end of races. In the Milrose Games, he could target the 1:47.67 U.S. high school indoor national record set by Hoey.
His performance ranks him as one of the best high school runners of all time, and he has three years to make improvements with the high school national record of 1:46.45 as a target.
Hoppel, who placed fourth in the Olympics while competing for the United States, will attempt to defend his Milrose 800-meter championship. Lutkenhaus’ high school times, after a freshman season, have already surpassed what Hoppel posted in the entirety of his high school career.
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