Fans packed the circumference of the track for an up-close-and-personal look at the record attempts. Photo by Cierra Hitner
The men of the newly-formed Duck Track Club took to the track Saturday night at the Oregon Relays to try to set a new world best for the 4 x mile relay. They didn’t make it – the team, made up of Oregon alums Matt Wisner, James West, Cole Hocker and Cooper Teare, finished in 15 minutes, 52.04 seconds, about three seconds shy of their goal.
Although they didn’t reach the 15:49.08 posted by Irish runners in 1985, they did run the fastest time on U.S. soil.
And they did generate some noise.
Earlier this month, Oregon Track & Field turned all eyes on the event when they posted on Instagram an open call for challengers to the record and invited fans to “come witness history.”
It wasn’t just the world best being challenged – Oregon also created a team, made up of Reed Brown, Jack Yearian, Elliott Cook and Evan Holland, to challenge the collegiate record of 16:03.24, set by Oregon in 2009.
Minutes before the meet-closing race, the crowd descended from the stands onto the track to cheer on the runners from Lane 5, forming a circle two or three rows deep all the way around the stadium. The Beastie Boys’ “Intergalactic” and Katrina and the Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine” played overhead for the first half of the race. And then, just in time, as third-leg Cole Hocker took the baton the music changed to “Shout,” Oregon’s iconic third-quarter gameday song.
Wisner kicked off the first leg, keeping a close second to Oregon’s Reed Brown, who was part of the collegiate team. The Duck Track Club team kept that second until second-legger West moved into first midway through his third lap, creating a gap widened by Hocker.
Anchoring was Teare, who came blazing in at a 3:53.24 split, the fastest of the four legs, for a 15:52.04 finish. Oregon’s team “A” was second, finishing in 16:29.87 – not quite making the 16:03.24 record.
Here’s a play-by-play breakdown of the meet’s star-studded, and most-anticipated, event.
Lead-off leg: Matt Wisner
Matt Wisner follows Reed Brown on the first leg of the relay. Photo by Cierra Hitner
Coming into the weekend, Wisner knew he was the slowest of the four for the mile, but felt confident starting things off. Chasing the pace lights, which weren’t set exactly as he had expected, Wisner started a little faster than planned.
“It was so fast at the beginning,” said Wisner. “And I really paid the price in my final lap. I never felt so heavy in my arms.” Wisner finished his leg with a time of 3 minutes, 59.687 seconds.
This race was a fun way for Wisner and his teammates to open their season. However, the team also endured some hate. The On Athletics Club is making a run at the same record next week at the Penn Relays, and the Oregon group’s announcement that it was running the same event on the other side of the country sparked some anonymous internet criticism.
Wisner doesn’t often find himself what he called the “victim of online stress,” but this experience has opened his eyes to what his higher profile friends, Hocker and Teare, deal with all too regularly.
“By the time the gun went off, I was pretty focused,” said Wisner.
– by Jasmyne Tomas
Lead-off leg, collegiate team: Reed Brown
Brown’s mile split of 3:59.150 seconds gave Oregon an early lead.
“I was pretty much out there to help pace for the other team, so my job was to kind of drag Matt to a quick time,” Brown said. “We don’t get to run too many miles outdoors. Matt is more of an 800 kind of guy, so he just needed a little help in that mile part. So they just kind of threw me out there to help him along there.”
Brown picked up the pace on his final lap, creating a 10-meter separation between him and Wisner after the first 100 meters. Wisner caught up to Brown toward the end.
“Last lap is always the hardest,” he said. “I was definitely feeling yesterday’s race on that last lap. I was looking back trying to help Matt out, telling him to speed up a little, catch up to me.”
Brown enjoyed having the fans on the track.
“I was hoping that they would be in a little further in lane 4 or 5,” he said. “It’s always great to have the fans to be involved in the sport. Just getting them on the track like that kind of pumps you up even more – just makes you want to go even faster.”
– by Izzy La Rue
Second leg: James West
James West enjoyed the atmosphere, even though it was hard to hear. Photo by Kevin Neri
West said he was somewhat tired from both a heavy training week and from his ninth-place finish Friday in the 1,500 meters. But he said he usually races his best when he’s slightly tired.
“We weren’t particularly rested for this weekend, and that was the plan,” West said.
A former Oregon NCAA Championships qualifier from Kent, England, he completed his mile in 4:01.812.
“The time was a tad slower than I wanted,” said West, who was aiming for 3:57. “I couldn’t hear the splits a little bit, and that made it difficult.”
The Oregon Relays were West’s season opener in his progression toward the British trials in June to qualify for the World Athletics Championships in July. He’s running the 1,500 meters at the Oregon Twilight Meet in two weeks and will “have a go” at the qualifying standard for worlds.
Even though the crowd made it hard for him to hear his coach, Ben Thomas, calling splits, West still said the atmosphere was amazing.
“Next year, now we know how it works because this is the first time we’ve done that,” West said. “I think next year will be really good.”
– by Madeline Ryan
Second leg, collegiate relay: Jack Yearian
Yearian, who finished 19th in the 5,000 meters Friday night in 13:55.84, said that he was feeling a little tired Saturday, but was excited to have fans out on the track.
“That’s not something that happens very often,” he said. “I think it was one of the most energized races I’ve raced in quite awhile. It was super fun.”
Yearian clocked his leg in at 4:06.631. The mile relay was only Yearian’s second race of the outdoor season after competing indoors late into March and focusing on gearing up for late May and the championship season.
He said the collegiate’s relay team’s goal was to get out and set a good pace for their professional counterparts – former Ducks who still mill around Eugene and serve as training partners. It’s not something Yearian takes for granted.
“I came here to Oregon to run with high-level athletes and be the best I can,” said Yearian. “It’s been a blessing to be friends and teammates with these guys … it’s been a blast.”
– by Elias Esquivel
Third leg: Cole Hocker
Olympic finalist Cole Hocker hands off the baton to friend and teammate Cooper Teare. Photo by Kevin Neri
Hocker – whose agent, Ray Flynn, ran the anchor leg of the Irish world best team – ran 3:57.31, three seconds slower than his personal record, noting that he was exhausted by the end of his leg.
“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed,” he said. “I think we have a group of guys who could run the fastest time ever.”
As Hocker, who made the Olympic final in the 1,500 meters, ran, fans gathered on the outer lanes to watch him chase a speeding light that seemed to signal the world-best pace.
“It was hard chasing it because you know those things don’t get tired,” Hocker said.
– by Alex Roth
Third leg, collegiate relay: Elliott Cook
Cook, who finished seventh in the 1,500 meters Friday night in 3:41.23, shook off some stiffness in order to compete.
“Woke up this morning, my hamstrings were a little tight,” he said. “Being able to hear the crowd out here made everything go away.”
In two weeks, Cook will compete in the 800 and 1,500 at the Oregon Twilight Meet. “I’d love to sub-3:40,” he said. “Just build that confidence going into the season.”
– by Tristen Shaw
Anchor leg: Cooper Teare
Cooper Teare crosses the finish line just short of the world-best time. Photo by Kevin Neri
Teare saw the time during his last lap.“I saw that I needed a 53 or so if I wanted to go under that record and I tried to give myself a shot,” he said. “And I think on the right day, I probably can coast in that.”
However, Teare said at a certain point he had hit his threshold. But he believes this race displayed his position in fitness and in training for the upcoming outdoor season.
“Really the goal was to just have fun,” he said. “To give a crack at it and be number two of all time is really cool.”
Teare said this attempt was “an awesome way to kick off the outdoor season.” The next couple of months will be difficult as he navigates his first outdoor season as a professional. ‘To come out here with people I know and the community that I love — it takes a little bit of that pressure off of that.”
– by McKenzie Days
Anchor leg, collegiate relay: Evan Holland
By the time it was Holland’s turn, Oregon ‘A’ had fallen off the pace. he found himself on the final leg running, alone — with quite some distance between him and the other runners.
“The atmosphere was fantastic,” Holland said. “But it’s tough when you don’t have someone behind you or in front of you to gauge off of. I had no idea the splits I was running … It’s definitely tough, but something to help for racing in the future.”
Oregon ‘A’ ran 26.59 seconds slower than the collegiate record set by Oregon in 2009. Holland, who is only a redshirt freshman, hopes to be a part of an annual attempt to take down the 4×1 mile relay record.
Holland felt thankful to be part of this finale.
“We got 16 guys out here running four laps – it’s pretty special,” Holland said. “I think we all came away pretty happy.”
– by Aaron Heisen
