INDIANAPOLIS -- Shattering the high school record in the boys' 800, Cooper Lutkenhaus(Justin, TX/USATF Southwestern) earned recognition as the 24th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2025.
Lutkenhaus, who just completed his sophomore year at Northwest High School in Justin, won the Nike Outdoor Nationals Championship 800 title in 1:45.45, breaking his own national high school record of 1:46.26 that he set two weeks ago. It is the fastest U18 time in the world this year and ranks him No. 5 on the all-time U.S. U20 performer list.
The Texas state 6A champion in the 800 and runner-up in the 400, Lutkenhaus also won the Nike Indoor Nationals 800 crown in March and was sixth in the elite men's 800 at the Millrose Games.
Other top performances from last week:
Lauren Harris bettered the American record* for the women's 20,000 race walk on the track with a 1:31:50.4 at the Chula Vista International Invitational. The ratified track AR is 1:33:28.2 by Teresa Vaill in 2005.
Michelle Rohl, 59, won the overall and women's age grading titles at the USATF Masters Mile Road Championships with a 5:09.72. She bettered the ratified AR by 15 seconds and her age grade was 100.71%.
Dan King, 65, won the men's 65-69 title at the USATF Masters Mile Road Championships with a time of 5:10.03. He bettered the AR for his age group by almost eight seconds and age graded at 99.19%.
Natalie Dumas won the 400 in 51.14 (#8 all-time high school performer), the 400 hurdles in 55.99 (#8 all-time high school performer), and the 800 in 2:00.11 (#8 all-time U.S. U20 performer & #5 all-time high school performer) at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals.
Meagan Humphries scored 5,791 points to win the women's heptathlon at the USATF U20 Championships to set a meet record and move to No. 4 on the all-time U.S. U20 performer list.
* – all American records subject to verification by USATF Records Committee
Now in its 24th year, USATF’s Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week when there are high-level competitions and features the athlete on USATF.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week.
2025 Winners: January 15, Zariel Macchia; January 22, Conner Mantz; January 29, Katelyn Tuohy; February 5, Ethan Strand; February 12, Yared Nuguse; February 19, Grant Fisher; February 26, Josh Hoey; March 5, Heather MacLean; March 12, Cole Boone; March 19, Isabella Whittaker; March 26, Claire Bryant; April 2, Curtis Thompson; April 9, Taylor Roe; April 16, Valarie Allman; April 23, Jane Hedengren; April 30, Kaitlin Bounds; May 6, Masai Russell; May 13, Lynna Irby-Jackson; May 20, Jaydin Blackwell; May 27, Jonah Koech; June 3, Anna Hall; June 10, Jane Hedengren; June 17, Nico Young; June 24, Cooper Lutkenhaus.
We welcome your nominations!
To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about their performance to communications@usatf.org.
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Photo Credit: Benjamin Smith / Runnerspace.com