St. Joseph Notre Dame (SJND) long-distance runner Cooper Teare won two major long distance races earlier this month. 

First Teare won the New Balance Indoor National one-mile men’s competition Saturday, March 12, in New York, N.Y., with a time of 4:06.60. 

Teare’s time is the second fastest one-mile time in California interscholastic history. Thom Hunt of Patrick Henry High School of San Diego completed a one-mile race in 4:02.70 in 1976.

Teare, a senior, finished ahead of 29 other competitors including defending champion Reed Brown. Brown finished second with a time of 4:06.74. 

This will be one of the last races Teare and Brown, a native of Grapevine, Tex., will compete on opposite sides. The two renowned high school long distance runners both committed to the University of Oregon cross country and long-distance running team. 

Teare gained the lead from Brown 2:54 into the race after passing his outside shoulder. Teare relinquished the lead to Dalton Hengst of York, Pa., at the 3:18 mark. Teare regained the lead for good at the 3:50 mark, but had to stave off Waleed Suliman of Richmond, Va., who was closing in on him. Suliman came in third with a time of 4:06.82. Hengst finished fourth with a time of 4:08.21. 

Teare also won the Texas Distance Festival 5K race on March 18, in Southlake, Tex.

He completed the race with a time of 14:13.26. He won the competition with much more ease than in New York. Connor Lane of Raleigh, N.C., finished in second place with a time of 14:17.89. Noah Affolder of Carlisle, Pa., rounded out the top three with a time of 14:18.26.

Teare is off to a great start in his spring running season. Last spring Teare won the 3200-meter California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) title on June 4, 2016. He finished with an overall time of 8:51.845, just two one-thousands of a second faster than Cole Spencer of Temecula, Calif., who finished in second place. 

Last fall, Teare was just as solid in cross country. Teare won the Div. V 5K cross-country meet with a time of 14:58.50 on Nov. 28, 2016.