Cathedral High Crowd Rewarded For Its Belief In Hocker, Cheers Ring Out As Hometown Hero Wins Men's 1,500 Meters In Paris

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

Photo courtesy Cathedral High

The loud and raucous noise coming from the Dining Hall of Cathedral High on Tuesday afternoon was all joy.

A crowd of nearly 200 – alumni, current faculty and staff, students, former teammates and coaches — all gathered together to watch Cathedral (Indianapolis) graduate Cole Hocker run to an Olympic gold medal in the men's 1,500 meters race in dramatic fashion, clocking an Olympic record 3:27.65. 

“Everybody's Apple Watches told them to get into a quieter environment, we were making over 100 decibels,” said Cathedral track and field coach, and Hocker's former coach, John O'Hara. “Just any type of move he made in the race, the whole place was classically conditioned to cheer loudly. It was really neat to see the community come together, and that last little final kick (by Hocker), it was just incredible to see the elation on everyone's face.”

Hocker, a 2019 graduate of the private Catholic high school in Indianapolis, Indiana, wasn't favored to cross the finish line first, let alone smash a record.

The men's 1,500, was singled out by many as the main event on the Paris Olympic track schedule – a battle between Great Britain's Josh Kerr and the defending Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway.

O'Hara said he told people it was going to be a fast race. And from Hocker's prep days, he explained that if Hocker could stay in the race with the top pack with 100-150 meters to go, he has the ability to be right there. The coach was right. 

“We had our staff meetings yesterday, so the entire school was there. (The environment) was kind of like nervous confidence,” O'Hara said of the watch party. “I've been talking to Cole's dad (Kyle) the last few days and he was saying, “He feels fit, he feels ready, he feels comfortable.

"And I think everybody was just over the moon hoping for a medal, but when crossed for gold the place just erupted.”

While Hocker was first, Kerr finished second, fellow American and University of Notre Dame graduate Yared Nuguse was third, taking the bronze medal and making it two runners with Indiana ties on the podium. 

O'Hara said staff who have been working at the school this summer, have gathered together to watch Hocker's races leading up to Paris. They watched him win the U.S. Olympic Trials and knew, with him competing in his second Olympics, something special could happen this time. 

“Back in 2021 when he was running in Tokyo with the time difference and some of the COVID-19 protocols going on here, we weren't able to have the big watch party we wanted,” he said. “And of course with everything going on with Cole over this last year and his progression and where he is now, the whole place was very excited.”

O'Hara witnessed Hocker's progression first hand from a young age. He watched him drop time in the 1,600 and mile, he witnessed Hocker become the Foot Locker Cross Country National champion his senior year and finish off his prep career running the anchor leg on the winning New Balance Nationals Outdoor distance medley relay. 

“Coming into Cathedral, it's a pretty high-level athletics and academic school,” O'Hara said. “Cole was on a track team with a current NFL player, he was one of the guys in the program, and as a freshman, sophomore, junior, you just started to see how much work he put in and how much drive he had and passion he had in this sport to take care of his body.”

O'Hara said it didn't surprise him when Hocker signed with the University of Oregon, one of the top distance programs in the country. He said Hocker's always wanted to do big things. 

“You can just see that Cole was always able to do great things with other great people also,” O'Hara said. “He also was a great teammate at Cathedral and Oregon, and now his pro career.”

After finishing sixth in the 1,500 (3:31.40) at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Hocker came back to Cathedral and spoke at the school.

O'Hara said Hocker's story is one current students can relate to and admire. Hocker's parents still live in the area, and Hocker, who trains and resides in Blacksburg, Va., is much closer to Indiana now. O'Hara said once things settle down, they'd love to have Hocker come back and visit. 

“We are kind of a unique school in that we don't have a 400-meter track; we have this 287-meter track around the softball field that I guess gets the job done for some speed work,” O'Hara said. “Cole doing what he's done I think that the cool that the younger kids get to see is that you come to a place like this and there good camaraderie, good tradition, we see high achieving-people in whatever capacity — mathematicians, mayors, and now Olympians. It's cool to see these young kids gravitate toward someone like Cole, who is a great influence.”