Cooper Teare, a junior distance runner for the University of Oregon, recently ran a 3:55 mile in a major

invitational track meet at Boston University. That effort, which saw him defeat the 2016 Olympic 1500 meter champion, made him the 3rd fastest indoor miler in the long history of Oregon distance running greats.
Cooper is the son of Dave and Charlene Teare. Dave is a former resident of Ortonville and a 1980 graduate of Brandon High School.

The Boston race capped off a very successful indoor season for Teare. A month prior, he anchored the Ducks Distance Medley Relay Team to a new NCAA record, breaking the old record that had stood for 12 years. He ran the final 1600 meter leg of the relay in 3:55 as the Ducks broke the old record by more than 2 seconds. In between the mile and relay races, Teare also ran the 4th fastest 3000 meter race in Oregon running history with a 7:46 effort.

Those three efforts qualified Teare for the NCAA nationals in New Mexico. He was one of only two runners in the country that qualified in three different distance races and was planning on competing in the 3K and the relay. Unfortunately, with the cancellation of all NCAA winter sports national championships, the season ended one day before his final races were to be run.

Teare, who was also a First Team All American in the 2019 Cross Country season, is now back at his parent’s home in Alameda, Calif., continuing his training with hopes that collegiate competition will resume soon.