Cooper Teare just misses 4-minute mile at Meet of Champions

Cooper Teare has been on a historic tear in his quest for a unique track and field milestone.

The senior from St. Joseph High School in Alameda last week flirted with the magical 4-minute mile, just missing it.

Saturday night at American River College, the Oregon-bound Teare gave it another go in his quest to become just the fourth high school runner to break 4 minutes in prep-only competition and the second to do so in California. Teare won the 37th Sacramento Meet of Champions showcase race in 4 minutes, 1.29 seconds, obliterating a good field and shattering his meet record by just over six seconds from last season. He was fueled by a cheering crowd hoping for history just as much as he was.

Teare opened with a 57.4-second lap and was at 3:02 after three laps.

He said he simply didn’t have enough left to break the barrier.

“This would have been a great place to do it,” Teare said. “I had so much family and friends here to watch. At the same time, I can’t be that disappointed. It was hot, I ran a little uneven and still ran 4:01. With another big race and good competition, I think I can still get under 4 minutes.

Michael Vernau of Davis came in second with a lifetime best 4:09.85.

Teare went 4:00.16 at the Mt. SAC Relays last weekend in Torrance, his personal best by nearly six seconds and the fourth fastest ever in a prep-only race. Others have gone faster competing in showcase invitationals that feature college-aged runners.

The only California prep to break 4 minutes was Tim Danielson of Chula Vista in 1966.

For complete results of the Meet of Champions: sacramentomoc.com.