First-Year Nike Pro Runs 3:34.81 To Highlight A Damp, Cool Night At Hayward Field

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Photo by Phil Yearian

Cooper Teare checked the weather forecast repeatedly Friday, hoping to catch a break on a day of unrelenting rain punctuated by moments of sun. World Championship standards aren't easy to come by in the best of conditions, let alone in wind and rain. 

Despite his best efforts to wish it away, the rain poured into Hayward Field during the Bill McChesney Jr.  1,500 meters Friday night at the Oregon Twilight Meet. 

But Teare refused to let the opportunity go to waste. With training partner Cole Hocker leading the way as a pace-setter, the first-year Nike pro forged ahead to a time of 3:34.81 for a meet record and dipped under the standard with the fourth-fastest time in the world so far in 2022. 

For Teare, running the 1,500 for just the fifth time since 2018, it was also a personal best. 

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"I was checking the forecast and from 2 or 3 o'clock on, it was going to be pouring," Teare said. "Then I'm sitting at my house looking out the window to blue skies. I did see some gusts of wind, which was a little bit terrifying. 

"We came under (the stadium) to get ready and there wasn't a drop of rain, and then when we came out to line up it was pouring."

It was an Oregon Twilight bracketed by double-rainbows and swollen gray clouds. The wind blew and then it stopped. 

Teare returned to the track after his race and did a set of 200-meter intervals under the lights to complete the day's work.

"It's cool to be able to come out and hit that standard, and obviously I would have wanted to run a little bit faster, but conditions permitting, it was solid," Teare said. 

Hocker got some speed work in by running an 800 meters, and took a rare loss from Oregon's Luis Peralta in a close finish, 1:49.12 to 1:49.15. 

Hocker's highlight was his pacing job for Teare.

"Any time either one of us have an opportunity to aid in that process of getting a time like that, it's good," Hocker said. "I was happy to help him do that even if I don't know if he needed me."

 A pair of former North Meford High standouts won two events apiece Friday night. 

Oregon's Jaida Ross launched a career-best throw in the women's discus, 182-1 (55.51m), and moved to No. 3 in program history in the event. She also won the shot put with 55-0.25. 

"It's big for confidence," Ross said of her sixth-round best in the discus. "I think I needed this for myself and knowing that, Ok, I can throw things. And I can go into competitions without worrying about my first three throws being big."

BYU's Halle Folsom, a sixth-year senior, collected wins in both hurdles events. She ran 14.04 into a slight headwind and then came back to run 59.11 in the 400-meter hurdles. 

Folsom, who was making her first trip to Hayward Field since 2015, expects to compete in the 400 hurdles at the NCAA West Regional and is likely to compete at the NCAA Division 1 Championships in the heptathlon. 

BYU's Ashton Riner, the NCAA leader in the women's javelin, threw 191-11 (58.51m) to win her event. 

"All the girls out there was comfortable and talking and having fun, and that's when I'm the most comfortable and relaxed," Riner said. 

Riner is targeting the NCAA record in the javelin and believes she can go after it in better weather. She could also give BYU's distance-heavy lineup a boost in the national meet. 

"I think people bypass throwers sometimes and I want to show them, hey, BYU's got throwers too," she said. 

Another BYU athlete, Kenneth Rooks, improved his time this season in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, running 8:31.19 to move to No. 4 on the NCAA list. 

Oregon's Rieker Daniel won the men's 100 meters in 10.71 as he works his way back from injury and prepares for next week's Pac-12 Conference Championships. 

Daniel's younger sister, Harley, broke the Oregon all-time best in the 300-meter hurdles earlier this week. Harley Daniel, an Oregon City senior, is committed to the University of Utah. 

"We always joke around about who's the best and she's definitely proven that (now) so I'll give that to her," Daniel said. 

University of British Columbia's Rowan Hamilton won the men's hammer throw with a personal best throw of 249-3 (75.98m), elevating to the No. 2 competitor in Canadian history and the No. 12 all-time collegiate performer, regardless of division.