By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

CHICAGO – Cooper Jeffcoat’s trophy case is quickly filling up after another successful spring for the Oak Mountain Eagles, but his latest honor puts him in an elite class of athletes at Oak Mountain High School.

Jeffcoat was named the 2025 Gatorade Alabama Boys Track and Field Player of the Year in a press release from Gatorade on Wednesday, June 25.

Jeffcoat made a splash on the national scene with his success at the RunningLane Track Championships. Jeffcoat beat out a crowded field of competitors at Huntsville’s Milton Frank Stadium on May 23 to win the men’s 800-meter national title by just 0.13 seconds.

What’s more, Jeffcoat’s time of 1:49.75 set a new state record for Alabama in the event. It’s the 28th-fastest time nationally among prep boys competitors.

His national title came hot on the heels of more success with Oak Mountain, where he won the Class 7A 800-meter state championship with the Eagles thanks to his time of 1:53.95. He would shave four seconds off in a matter of weeks to win at the RunningLane championships.

Jeffcoat also took third place in the boys 1,600-meter state championship with a time of 4:12.93, setting a personal-best in the process, and finished in sixth in the boys 400-meter state championship.

It was only a continuation of his indoor success as Jeffcoat broke his own school record in the Class 7A boys 800-meter state championship. Jeffcoat won the event with a time of 1:53.06 to win his first of two state championships in the year.

He also set a personal record in the indoor boys 1,600-meter state championship with a time of 4:17.07, which was just 0.08 seconds behind his teammate John Shoemaker for the state championship. Shoemaker won four state championships this year in the 1,600-meter run and 3,200-meter run and was runner-up in the Class 7A cross-country state championship.

Jeffcoat capped his indoor season with an eighth-place finish at the New Balance Indoor Nationals with a time of 1:51.42, beating his indoor personal record.

To be named Gatorade Player of the Year, one must succeed athletically, academically and serve the community. Jeffcoat checks all of those boxes, holding a 3.72 GPA going into his senior year and also volunteering regularly at events alongside Oak Mountain’s track team. He is also an active member of Church of the Highlands.

Jeffcoat is a second-generation athlete at Oak Mountain as his mother Jessica was one of the first track and field athletes in school history. She also specialized in the 800-meter run and coached Cooper at Oak Mountain Middle School.

She was on hand at the 2024 Class 7A indoor track and field state championship when Cooper first broke the school indoor 800-meter record as a sophomore. He has since broken that record multiple times over and also holds the outdoor state and school records in the event.