Cooper Teare Gave Chase To A World Best With His Anchor Leg (3:53.2) But The Overall Effort Was Three Seconds Short

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

A quartet of ex-Oregon distance runners, led by Nike pros Cooper Teare and Cole Hocker, put on a tantalyzing show for nearly 16 minutes, but came up a bit short of the all-time 4xMile standard of 15:49.08 set by a legendary Irish lineup in 1985. 

Hundreds of spectators lined the track for the finale of the Oregon Relays as Matt Wisner, James West and Hocker and Teare were hemmed in by a wall of noise and flashing pacing lights as they set out after a slice of history. 

Teare closed with a split of 3:53.2 but the overall time of 15:52.05 was three seconds short and the second-fastest ever run. 

The early season effort was about creating a fun atmosphere and a memory for those in attendance. A majority of the spectators at Oregon Relays this weekend were soaking in their first experience at the rebuilt Hayward Field, which opened in 2021. 

"I saw that I needed (a last lap) 53 or so if I wanted to go under that record, and I went out at a good clip and tried to give myself a shot, and on the right day I think maybe I can close in that."

First legs of 3:59.7 by Wisner, who was able to run with Reed Brown, carrying the baton for Oregon's 'A' team, and 4:01.8 for West left a pretty big hole for Hocker and Teare. 

The pacing lights kept getting further and further away. 

"It's hard, because you know those (lights) aren't getting tired and they're just going," Hocker said. 

Eventually, the lights were so far away that they were turned off after Teare took off with the baton. He caught up part way to the theoretical pacing marker needed to break the record even without them.

Ray Flynn, a prominent track agent based now in Tennessee, was a member of the Irish team that set the record, along with current Villanova head coach Marcus O'Sullivan, Frank O'Mara and he legendary Eamonn Coghlan. 

Flynn also happens to be Hocker's agent. And for now, the 37-year-old time still holds up as the best ever. 

"He's probably going to be stoked," Hocker said of his agent. "He's probably having a drink right now."

The event closed two days of action at the Oregon Relays and drew additional fans into the stadium as the sun was going down on Saturday. Oregon students were offered free admission to come and cheer on the runners as most of the crowd moved onto the crowd in Lane 7 help generate excitement. 

Brown, an Oregon senior, led Wisner through the first leg of the race and split 3:59.10. 

The Duck Track Club believed it could take down the 1985 time and it ran 11 seconds faster than the 2009 Oregon team of Shadrack Biwott, Andrew Wheating, Matthew Centrowitz and Galen Rupp that ran 16:03.24 to break the college record in a similar atmosphere at the old Hayward Field.

"It was a really good showing and doing it with guys that I train with every day is super-cool and it doesn't get much better with this crowd," Teare said. "The goal was just to have fun. This was one of those things that wasn't really a big deal. It was kind of a last-minute thing, and we decided why not and give a crack at it. To be No. 2 all-time is really cool."