Track Prelims: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Cruises To 49.49 Semifinal Win; Bryce Deadmon Leads Nine Men Into 44s, But Quincy Wilson Eliminated; Athing Mu-Nikolayev Misses 800 Final By One Spot

By Oliver Hinson of DyeStat

Becky Holbrook photo

EUGENE — After spending the spring proving he was undoubtedly the best high school 800-meter runner in the country, Cooper Lutkenhaus made a name for himself on the professional scene Friday afternoon.

After getting clipped and stumbling in the last lap of his semifinal heat of the men’s 800 meters, the 16-year-old from Justin Northwest High in Texas stayed on his feet, kept his composure and made a furious move in the last 150 meters, slingshotting his way from fifth to second place and earning an automatic qualifying spot to the final with a time of 1:45.57.

“I don’t know if I could have imagined it,” Lutkenhaus said of his performance. “That was a special race. I didn’t really expect myself to make the final… getting that opportunity in a few days, I’m not gonna let it go.”

Lutkenhaus said that the semifinal “was my final.” While top contenders like Bryce Hoppel and Josh Hoey controlled their heats without expending too much energy, Lutkenhaus knew that he needed to go for broke. That urgency, according to him, was one of the reasons he was able to keep his focus after his stumble.

 “I don’t like to give up,” Lutkenhaus said. “This could have been the last race of my season. Just knowing I wanted one more against the best competition in America, I really wanted to go for it and just push through.”

Lutkenhaus’s original race plan was to sit on Hoppel and make a move with 200 meters left. When he got clipped, though, he found himself in second to last place, and he knew he needed to go earlier. 

He made up one spot in the back stretch, then another in the last turn. With 100 meters left, he was in fifth place, and he knew that his heat wouldn’t be fast enough for him to rely on a time qualifier. He was going to need an auto-qualifier, which required him to get first or second. 

With the energy of the Hayward Field crowd propelling him, Lutkenhaus blazed through his last 100 in 12.96 seconds — no other runner in any heat split under 13.00 — and passed three men, outleaning Isaiah Jewett at the line to cinch second place.

Lutkenhaus said he always has confidence in the fact that he can be competitive in any race — “even against really good competition like today” — but the Hayward Magic gave him a major boost.

“I think one of the biggest things that helped me get through the last 150 was the crowd,” Lutkenhaus said. “The crowd was just super electric.”

Lutkenhaus is certainly not a stranger to Hayward Magic; last month, he torched his own high school national record in the 800 at Nike Outdoor Nationals on this track, running 1:45.45. Despite the stumble, he finished only 0.12 seconds off of his record time, which he said was a great indication of where his fitness is at. In a clean race — which could come on Sunday in the final — he and his coach believe he can run much faster. All he has to do is execute.

“I’m just gonna go out there and leave it all on the track,” Lutkenhaus said.

Aside from the high schooler’s heroics, the semifinal races went mostly as expected. Hoey, Hoppel and Brandon Miller won their heats, while Donavan Brazier, Isaiah Harris, Colin Sahlman, Abraham Alvarado and Camden Marshall all qualified.

The women’s 800 meter semifinals were less predictable. Only one of last year’s Olympians, Nia Akins, advanced to Sunday’s final; the other two, Juliette Whittaker and Allie Wilson, did not qualify. 

Unlike the men’s heats, the women’s were exceptionally fast. Twelve women broke 2 minutes, and four of them did not qualify for the final. Akins, Sage Hurta-Klecker and Roisin Willis won their respective heats in 1:58.09, 1:58.40 and 1:59.60. Ajee Wilson, 31, turned back the clock with a strong effort and 1:58.30.

Hurta-Klecker said the final feels wide open. 

“Everyone’s very close this year,” she said. “I’ve seen multiple races throughout the season, even races that I’ve been in, go either way with people.”

American record holder and 2021 Olympic champion Athing Mu-Nikolayev ran 1:59.79 and was one spot away from making the final. 

Bryce Deadmon, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone Lead 400 Qualifying

Bryce Deadmon stormed to a win in his semifinal heat of the men’s 400 meters, running 44.34, the fastest time of the day.

That was Deadmon’s second straight sub-44.50 performance, an indication that he’s back on track after some lackluster performances in the middle of his season. He ran 45.52 in the 400 and 21.01 in the 200 at the Miami Grand Slam meet, finishing seventh and eighth, respectively, in those events.

“I don’t know what the hell was going on mid-season,” Deadmon said. “That’s my question, too, honest to God.”

Around the time of those performances, he went to his coach, Vince Anderson, and told him that he was worried, but Anderson’s reaction changed his demeanor.

“I went to him saying I was panicking midway through the season when I was running the times I was running,” Deadmon said. “And he just seemed so calm and cool about it, so I was like, ‘If he’s chilling, then I need to calm down.’”

Anderson helped him make some tweaks in terms of race strategy, but the biggest difference maker was simply believing in himself. 

“He’s had numerous Olympic athletes and legends that he’s coached,” Deadmon said of Anderson, “so if he believed in me, I needed to believe in myself.”

Deadmon was one of nine men to run in the 44s in Friday's semifinal heats.

Vernon Norwood and Jacory Patterson won the other two heats, running 44.78 and 44.63, respectively. High school phenom Quincy Wilson, who was projected to contend for his second national team, finished fourth in Norwood’s heat in 45.39 and missed making the final by two spots.

In the women’s heats, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone stole the show, as expected. She ran the fastest time of the day by nearly half a second and looked incredibly smooth doing so, cruising to a time of 49.59 seconds. 

One of the major questions heading into the weekend was whether she could break Sanya Richards-Ross’ American record of 48.70 seconds. She didn’t stop after her race to speculate on her chances, but with how easy she made 49.59 look, it’s not out of the question.

Quanera Hayes and Isabella Whittaker won heats one and two, respectively, running 50.76 and 50.07.