Sometimes it seems like Cooper Teare is not that good BUT…

Drew hunter was in it and he got 4th in the 10k at the trials.

He should have run WXC. He should try the steeple for next year.

This sounds contradictory but the 2022 1500 win was the worst thing to happen to his career.

Hocker and Kessler got bounced in the rounds while Nuguse shat the bed in the final.

Of the top 8, only 1 man besides Teare had broken 3:36 in the past.

Yet this win gave him the confidence to believe he could compete in this years stacked M1500 final, where he couldn't.

Would have done better in the long term to lose that race and understand that his place was in the 5K/steeple

He's just another talent being wasted on the track. He needs to be on the roads and training for marathons. Too many US runners lack the finishing speed on the track should be crushing it on the roads. That is why we are so behind the competition beyond the track.

Haha, I thought it was just me that thought that!

A year ago anticipating the 1500 would not go well for him I pushed for him to try the SC, with Jager as a teammate. My hunch has proven true. At this level mistakes can destroy a career, & Coop’s momentum is headed the wrong way.

He can't let go of being a miler

This guy ran a 3:50 mile on a 200m track in college. He’s really good. The US just has a lot of distance talent right now.

I think Teare just needs a bit more development and to find the pro training/racing strategy that works for him.

Look at Kessler, obviously he’s younger than Teare but he had a rough go at being pro for his first couple of seasons and now it’s clear he’s gonna become a world level podium threat for a while.

He has so much potential that it is going to almost impossible to live up to it! It is the curse of talent and early success. It was the same 20 years ago with Alan Webb. He was soooo good that no matter what he did, it was never really good enough for the fans.

Teare is like that but in a much deeper era. He has these amazing PRs (and talent) but unless he starts making a lot of teams and vying for medals, he will have not lived up to his potential (in our eyes). Honestly, that is a little bit unfair, right?

Maybe 3:32, 3:50, and 12:54 is just not what it used to be? Maybe this is his ceiling? That's okay. It is better than all but a dozen or so Americans can hope to achieve.

Maybe he will have another big improvement in the coming four years, but if he stays at this level, he is just one of twenty guys who can run these times (not that there is anything wrong with that).

p.s. I am a Teare fan, so there is no disrespect intended.

Not only was the 2022 final a (respectfully) weak field, but the winning time was a 3:45.86. One thing to win a tactical race in a slow time against a fast field, but it’s another to win with a slow time against a slow field.

lol that was not the same version of Drew Hunter.

USA Cross was in January 2024. It was Hunter's first ever 10K. He hadn't raced a 5K since May 2022 (18 months prior), where he ran 13:34.

His last 3K was a 7:50 14 months prior to USA Cross.

His only races in 2023 had been 1500's north of 3:35 and miles worth of 3:55.

Hunter developed nicely and ran incredibly towards the end of his season, but was not really a threat at USA Cross. He faded early and finished 30 seconds off of Teare in 9th or 10th

Idk about you guys but i wish I had even one of those pr's lol. It's tough at the top but he is at the top in comparison to regular runners.

People really are stupid or just rude. His PRs make him one of the top US runners in history. He is young. He had a bad meet. He will make a team during his career.