By David Fleet
Editor
Cooper Teare, a senior distance runner for the University of Oregon, recently set both an individual NCAA record and was also part of a relay world record. Teare is the son of Dave and Charlene Teare of Alameda, Calif. Dave is a former resident of Ortonville and a 1980 graduate of Brandon High School.
On Feb. 12, Teare ran the fastest collegiate indoor mile ever with a time of 3:50.39 at the Tyson Invitational at the University of Arkansas. That effort easily broke the old record by 1.62 seconds.
On Jan. 29, also at the University of Arkansas, the Oregon Ducks ran to a world indoor record as well as an NCAA Indoor record in the Distance Medley Relay with a time of 9:19.42. The Distance Medley Relay consists of legs of 1,200, 400, 800 and 1,600 meters. Teare anchored the relay with a 1,600 meter split of 3:53. The Oregon relay team, with Teare running the anchor, also had broken a 12 year old NCAA record in the DMR in the winter of 2020.
Teare is currently qualified for the United States Olympic Trials in both the mile and the 5,000 meters. The Trials will be held at his home track at the University of Oregon in June. During his career at the University of Oregon, Teare has been an All-American in both track and Cross Country.