8th Grader Tyrese Cooper: Next U.S. Sprint Star?

8th Grader Tyrese Cooper: Next U.S. Sprint Star?

May 10, 2015 by Lincoln Shryack
8th Grader Tyrese Cooper: Next U.S. Sprint Star?


Tyrese Cooper runs at the 2015 Florida Middle School Championships

By: Johanna Gretschel for MileSplit

He may only be in the eighth grade, but Tyrese Cooper is already clocking sprint times that rank him within the national elite for high school athletes. He set meet records in the 100m (10.61), 200m (21.26) and 400m (47.76) at the Florida Middle School State Championships this weekend while racing for Miami Gardens Xpress Track Club.

To put those times in perspective, see below for how his marks compare to the national high school leaderboard:

EVENT HIGH SCHOOL US #1 MARK HS RANK FL RANK
100m 10.32 (Ryan Clark, GA) 10.61 US #35 FL #16
200m 20.69 (Michael Norman, CA) 21.26 US #16 FL #8
400m 45.91 (Michael Norman, CA) 47.76 US #41 FL #9


When compared to marks in the NCAA, we took a look at 2014 marks that qualified for the first round of the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships (top 48 times in each region advance to the first round). Tyrese is already knocking on the door...

EVENT NCAA EAST #48 NCAA WEST #48 TYRESE
100m 10.42 10.45 10.61
200m 20.95 21.04 21.26
400m 47.09 47.12 47.76


Watch the races below and prepare to be schooled - middle schooled, that is.

WATCH: Tyrese Cooper runs 10.61 100m FL Middle School meet record!

WATCH: Tyrese Cooper runs 21.26 200m FL Middle School meet record!

WATCH: Tyrese Cooper runs 47.76 400m FL Middle School meet record!

Stay tuned for more coverage of this fast-rising star, including a full profile tomorrow as well as photo galleries and more videos from the Florida Middle School State Championship!