No folks your eyes aren't deceiving you. That is sophomore sprint sensation Tyrese Cooper running the 300m hurdles at the Spartan Invitational. Cooper who set the high school national record in the 300m dash and US All-Time #2 in the 500m decided to mix it up and have a little fun. Coach Darius Lawshea told us afterwards this won't be the last time we see "Smoke" in this event.
"We are still learning the rhythm of the 300m hurdles and plan to do it one more time before we find a meet to run the 400m hurdles."
Cooper only competed in the prelims, but his time of 38.31 was the second fastest of the whole day behind only Thomas Burns of Miami Northwestern who ran a US#3 mark of 37.65. The Norland Viking can now add a US#14 300H performance to go with his US#1 400m dash (45.45), US#3 200m dash of 21.29, and US#7 100m dash time of 10.70.
This weekend he will go head to head with some of the best sprinters in the country in Anthony Schwartz (100,200), and former MGX teammate Jamal Walton (200,400). For all the distance and field event fans wondering when Cooper will charge into their territory, Lawshea adds it's coming.
"I want him to do the 800m once at a meet against whoever is the best. Last year, we went to a track and he went 1:55 in sneakers. He wants to try long jump and triple jump, but those events scare me."
One thing is for sure, no matter what the event, Cooper is looking to leave a legacy in track and field.
We want to know what you think. Should Tyrese Cooper test his skill sets in other events or should he stick to the sprints and not take the risk that comes with other events? Vote in our poll below and weigh in on our comments section as well.
