Top Teare Runner

University of Oregon athlete Cooper Teare strives for success in the classroom and on the track.

By Logan Auxier

As Cooper Teare toed the starting line of the 2019 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championship race, a multitude of thoughts raced through his head. “Get out hard” and “stay in the mix,” he thought to himself as he prepared for the challenge of facing the best collegiate athletes in the nation for 30 painful minutes. But primarily, his focus was on his team. Teare reflected on a season of hard work, talking with each of his teammates and trying to motivate and excite them for the biggest race of the season. They believed that they had a shot at having a podium finish as a team. Soon after, the starting gun shot into the morning sky, thereby releasing the herd of runners to tear through the wet, muddy course.

So many things had led up to that moment, rounding out the end of Teare’s junioryear cross country season. With two disappointing races as a sophomore—a 94th place finish at this same meet last year and a second-to-last-place finish in the NCAA Track Championships—he came into this race with determination, ready to prove that he had what it takes to vie for a national title.

As one of the top-ranked college athletes in the country, and racing for the storied University of Oregon, so much was riding on him to perform well. But for Teare, even in horrible weather conditions, the race was the accumulation of years of hard work and dreaming, and he couldn’t keep a smile off of his face. Running what he said was the best race of his life at the time, he finished in sixth place. Yet even in what should have been his moment of triumph, his thoughts were not on his personal achievement. “Immediately after, I was looking for my teammates. I easily would have traded my individual performance for our team goal,” Teare reflects.

Both on the track and in the classroom, Teare is a standout performer. He has learned the value of hard work and training by winning and also by falling short of his goals. Triumphs and defeats alike teach him to be patient and to trust the process, as well as having the humility to understand that growth is the result of work ethic and effort. Whether he’s running towards good grades or a finish line, for Teare, it is all about balance.

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Teare first began running competitively in sixth grade, and he has been hooked ever since. Over the years, he discovered that running was his passion. “I kind of started just by doing it for fun, not really taking it super seriously. It was just something to pass the time,” says Teare. “I was mostly just doing it because my friends wanted me to. And then as the years went on, I found that I actually really enjoyed it. I'm a pretty competitive person, so once I started getting a taste of winning some races, I felt like it got a lot more enjoyable. Over the years seeing myself progress, setting new goals and accomplishing them, I found that running was the thing that I like a lot, and it challenges me the most.”

High school changed everything for Teare. After a couple of years, it was apparent that there was not much that could hold him back. “[My] junior year was when I considered that I wanted to be one of the top runners in the nation,” says Teare. “That was my goal… to focus on running.”

Throughout his senior season of track in high school, Teare won multiple large-scale meets against some of the nation’s best, and finished on the podium several times. His competitive drive allowed him to stand out even among the nation’s fiercest competitors.

Many gifted athletes from around the world compete in the NCAA, and Teare could have easily been swept aside and pushed into the shadows. Yet, the moment he donned the trademark green and yellow of the University of Oregon it was clear that he would not be overlooked.

At the University of Oregon, Teare earned a spot to compete at the NCAA Track Championships Finals in the 5,000 meter race as both a freshman and sophomore, he broke the four-minute-mile barrier, and has received All- American honors in cross country. While impressive as the accolades he has earned may be, there is much more to Teare than his titles and awards. Teare matches all of the hard work and accomplishments with an equally fierce desire to excel in the classroom. Currently majoring in business (marketing), he strives to be the best, just like with his athletics.

Teare suggests that academic and athletic success go hand in hand. He says, “you can’t do well in one aspect while not performing well in the other.” He adds, “I've always put a big emphasis on school. I take my education seriously, and I want to succeed in the classroom.”

But there’s more to success than excelling individually for Teare. He thrives in a team atmosphere, the feeling of camaraderie giving him an even stronger sense of purpose within the sport. “You can challenge yourself, but you can also run for something bigger than yourself,” says Teare. “[I] see what [my teammates] are doing every day… seeing them succeed gives me so much motivation and [makes me] want to succeed as well.”

Teare has big goals for the remainder of his time as an Oregon Duck, including winning an NCAA championship, as well as qualifying for the Olympic Trials. However, he prefers to focus on smaller goals such as staying healthy, or the next workout, things that he can tackle in the present. He knows that it will lead him to a future of success, no matter what he runs towards. “I love this sport. There is always going to be another obstacle,” says Teare. “You can always find a new way to challenge yourself.”