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St. Joe’s Cooper Teare caps great series of runs
Cooper Teare crossed the finish line to a giant groan from the crowd at El Camino College in Torrance on Friday.
The St. Joseph Notre Dame-Alameda senior threw his arms straight toward the sky, pleading to the track and field heavens for an explanation.
Teare, the defending state 3,200-meter champion, had just won the Mt.
SAC Relays mile in 4 minutes, 00.16 of a second, the 10th-fastest mark nationally in prep history.
The converted 3:58.76 electronic time in the 1,600 meters is the fastest in state history.
All that was secondary, because Teare’s goal was to break the 4-minute-mile barrier.
The Oregon-bound runner missed by a whisker.
“I tested my speed and strength here in the mile,” Teare told PrepCalTrack.com after the race.
Happy?
Effort?
Longtime prep track expert and PrepCalTrack editor Rich Gonzalez said Teare’s performance capped the greatest month-long stretch by an individual in California distance running history, comparing Teare to prep distance icons German Fernandez (Riverbank High-Stanislaus County), Jeff Nelson (Burbank High-Los Angeles County) and Rich Kimball, a 1970s De La Salle-Concord graduate considered the best in Bay Area history.
Teare’s stretch started with a mile win at the New Balance Nationals in New York City (4:06.60) on March 12.
The following week, he won the Texas Distance Festival 5,000 meters (14:13.26) before a record-setting performance at the Arcadia Invitational on April 8, when he recorded a meet-best 8:41.46 in the fastest and deepest 3,200-meter race in high school history.
Nine runners came in under 8:50 and 25 under 9 minutes.
Teare’s time was 10 seconds faster than what he ran to win the 2016 state crown.
On Monday, Gonzalez didn’t back off his claim and noted that he saw Teare’s potential for racing cross country as a freshman at the Stanford Invitational.
“I saw him making the turn on the first loop and his smooth (stride) was eye-catching and he didn’t have any of the technical drawbacks you see in young runners,” Gonzalez said.
A massive growth spurt heading into his junior year — he’s now 6-foot-2 — lifted Teare to elite runner status.
“I’d never given a West Coast prep those high odds before, but he’s better than any high schooler from the region,” he said.
The weather conditions on Saturday were good, but the overall conditions were not ideal.
No other runner ranks among the top 10 in all three of those races.
Teare ranks among the top four in all three.
[...] has he peaked too soon in the season?
Most look for the “carnage,” in the final month of the season rather than the middle.
“His body has managed the torque surprisingly well,” Gonzalez said.
During his first lap Friday, I caught a glimpse of strain.
[...] he looked smoother by lap three.
What makes him so good?
“He has no limiting motion, which is key for a distance runner,” Gonzalez said.
None of these tools pays off unless you put in the work.
MaxPreps.com senior writer Mitch Stephens covers high school sports for The San Francisco Chronicle.
Chronicle
baseball top 10
Rec.
Foothill
De La Salle
NR
Sacred Heart Cathedral
Monte Vista
NR
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softball top 10
Rec.
Foothill
Heritage
Freedom
NR
More...
Cooper Teare crossed the finish line to a giant groan from the crowd at El Camino College in Torrance on Friday.
The St. Joseph Notre Dame-Alameda senior threw his arms straight toward the sky, pleading to the track and field heavens for an explanation.
Teare, the defending state 3,200-meter champion, had just won the Mt.
SAC Relays mile in 4 minutes, 00.16 of a second, the 10th-fastest mark nationally in prep history.
The converted 3:58.76 electronic time in the 1,600 meters is the fastest in state history.
All that was secondary, because Teare’s goal was to break the 4-minute-mile barrier.
The Oregon-bound runner missed by a whisker.
“I tested my speed and strength here in the mile,” Teare told PrepCalTrack.com after the race.
Happy?
Effort?
Longtime prep track expert and PrepCalTrack editor Rich Gonzalez said Teare’s performance capped the greatest month-long stretch by an individual in California distance running history, comparing Teare to prep distance icons German Fernandez (Riverbank High-Stanislaus County), Jeff Nelson (Burbank High-Los Angeles County) and Rich Kimball, a 1970s De La Salle-Concord graduate considered the best in Bay Area history.
Teare’s stretch started with a mile win at the New Balance Nationals in New York City (4:06.60) on March 12.
The following week, he won the Texas Distance Festival 5,000 meters (14:13.26) before a record-setting performance at the Arcadia Invitational on April 8, when he recorded a meet-best 8:41.46 in the fastest and deepest 3,200-meter race in high school history.
Nine runners came in under 8:50 and 25 under 9 minutes.
Teare’s time was 10 seconds faster than what he ran to win the 2016 state crown.
On Monday, Gonzalez didn’t back off his claim and noted that he saw Teare’s potential for racing cross country as a freshman at the Stanford Invitational.
“I saw him making the turn on the first loop and his smooth (stride) was eye-catching and he didn’t have any of the technical drawbacks you see in young runners,” Gonzalez said.
A massive growth spurt heading into his junior year — he’s now 6-foot-2 — lifted Teare to elite runner status.
“I’d never given a West Coast prep those high odds before, but he’s better than any high schooler from the region,” he said.
The weather conditions on Saturday were good, but the overall conditions were not ideal.
No other runner ranks among the top 10 in all three of those races.
Teare ranks among the top four in all three.
[...] has he peaked too soon in the season?
Most look for the “carnage,” in the final month of the season rather than the middle.
“His body has managed the torque surprisingly well,” Gonzalez said.
During his first lap Friday, I caught a glimpse of strain.
[...] he looked smoother by lap three.
What makes him so good?
“He has no limiting motion, which is key for a distance runner,” Gonzalez said.
None of these tools pays off unless you put in the work.
MaxPreps.com senior writer Mitch Stephens covers high school sports for The San Francisco Chronicle.
Chronicle
baseball top 10
Rec.
Foothill
De La Salle
NR
Sacred Heart Cathedral
Monte Vista
NR
Chronicle
softball top 10
Rec.
Foothill
Heritage
Freedom
NR
More...