Cooper Teare runs to the top
EUGENE, Ore. — Cooper Teare, a senior cross country and track and field runner at the University of Oregon, won his first NCAA Outdoor Track and Field title in the 5000 meters on the final day of the men’s competition at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
The event was held at the University of Oregon’s Heyward Field from June 9-12. The races featured the best runners from across the nation who got there by qualifying from the preliminary rounds held in Jacksonville, Fla., (East regional) and College Station, Texas (West regional).
Unlike some other runners who competed in more than one race, Teare only prepared for and ran in the 5000 meters. That strategy appeared to pay off as Teare used an electric sprint in the last 150 meters of the race to win the title with a final time of 13:12.27. That time was the fastest 5000 meters time this season, the second fastest in collegiate track history and better than the Olympic standard time. Additionally, Teare set a new University of Oregon program record in this race, surpassing the previous record of 13:14.80 set by Bill McChesney in 1982. What made Teare’s time even more impressive was that he raced against some of the best collegiate distance runners in the nation including his teammate, freshman Cole Hocker, who won the 1500 meter race earlier in the day and finished fourth in the 5000 meters.
Teare’s victory in the 5000 meters marks his latest remarkable achievement in cross country and track and field and puts a cap on his successful 2021 indoor and outdoor track and field seasons.
Teare prepped at Saint Joseph Notre Dame High School in Alameda, Calif., where he became one of the best runners in the state of California. He won two straight California Division V cross country championships in 2015 and 2016 as well as a state championship in the 3200 meters during the 2016 track season. During his high school senior track season, Teare put forth a valiant effort, yet ultimately fell just short of achieving his goal of breaking the four–minute time barrier in the mile.
Nevertheless, three years later, during this year’s indoor track and field season, he achieved this objective. At the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., on Jan. 12, 2021, Teare ran the mile in a personal best and collegiate record time of 3:50.39, surpassing former Oregon runner Edward Cheserk’s time of 3:52.01.
Tony Fong, Teare’s high school cross country and track coach, shared his thoughts about Teare’s latest success at the collegiate level and how Teare has been able to separate himself from the other elite runners.
“His goal was always to win an NCAA outdoor title and the fact that he qualified for the Olympic standard is even more impressive,” Fong said. “At SJND he worked hard and took this same kind of mental attitude of hard work to Oregon. All the interval workouts and strengthening got him to this point. He has made us all proud at SJND and Alameda.”
As a result of his recent success, Teare has qualified for the Olympic trials by running Olympic standard times in both the 1500 and 5000 meter races. Thus, Teare now has to prepare for the Olympic track and field trials that are going to be held at Hayward Field from June 18 to the 27th, during which he will try to make the US Olympic team for this summer’s Olympics in Tokyo.
While Teare already has achieved remarkable success in his running career, it appears that his legacy is just beginning.
