Hardy, Teare Named 2021-22 Hansen Medal Winners

Hardy, Teare Named 2021-22 Hansen Medal Winners
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SAN FRANCISCO – Eden Hardy of the women's soccer team and Cooper Teare from the men's track and field and cross country teams have been named 2021-22 Pac-12 Tom Hansen Conference Medal recipients for the University of Oregon.
 
A Conference Medal is awarded annually to each Pac-12 member institution's outstanding senior male and female student-athlete based on the exhibition of the greatest combination of performance and achievement in scholarship, athletics and leadership.

 
Last month, Hardy became just the fourth Duck – and the first from the soccer program – to earn the prestigious 2021-22 Pac-12 Student-Athlete Leadership Award.
 
Hardy has been a member of the executive committee of Oregon's SAAC since 2019, serving as the co-chair of its BEOREGON subcommittee. BEOREGON is the department's diversity and inclusion initiative, which encourages people to be their most authentic self and to highlight and celebrate the diverse backgrounds of Oregon student-athletes and staff through education, events and other opportunities.
 
In addition to her SAAC executive role, Hardy has represented Oregon at a number of conference events to share her experience as a student-athlete participating in activism and the importance of using her platform to make change, including the Pac-12 Global University Sports Summit in 2019 and Pac-12 Green Team: Amplifying Voices for Change in 2021. She also participated in the Pac-12 Student-Athlete Impact Activism Panel earlier this year, where the group discussed social injustices in the United States and the importance of using their voices, and attended the Pac-12 Student-Athlete Health Conference.
 
Hardy has also taken advantage of other speaking and community outreach engagement opportunities inside and outside of Eugene during her time at Oregon. In the summer of 2019, she went on an O Heroes service trip and constructed a basketball court for primary school students in Jamaica.
 
On the field, Hardy was part of a senior class that delivered the program's first winning record since 2006, as well as posting back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in 40 years. Hardy and her teammates became the first Oregon class to defeat not only Stanford, but also Portland and Texas, and were the first team to shutout UCLA at home in more than three years.
 
She finished her five-year career third in program history in matches played, 85, with eight goals and seven assists.
 
A biology major with a double minor in chemistry and Spanish as an undergraduate, Hardy plans on becoming a doctor and will continue her studies in medical school.

 
Teare was a two-time NCAA champion during this Oregon career, winning his first as a member of the Ducks' distance-medley relay that set a new meet record of 9:19.98 at the 2021 NCAA Indoor meet. The next day, he returned to the track for a national runner-up finish over 3,000 meters. The Men of Oregon won the 2021 NCAA Indoor team title.
 
The Alameda, Calif., native secured a second individual NCAA title in a school-record effort in the 5,000 meters at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships. He stopped the clock in 13:12.27 to break the meet record, surpass the previous UO mark of 13:14.18 and record the then-No. 2 time in collegiate history.
 
During the 2021 indoor season, Teare broke the NCAA record in the mile (3:50.39) two weeks after anchoring the UO men to a collegiate record in the DMR (9:19.42). In setting the indoor mile record, he eclipsed the old mark of 3:52.01 by another past UO standout Edward Cheserek.
 
Teare was also a two-time Pac-12 champion with victories over 5,000 meters in 2019 and 1500 meters in 2021. He was also twice a runner-up at the Pac-12 Cross Country Championships (2019, '21) and had a career-best sixth-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Cross Country Championships.
 
A 2021 semifinalist for The Bowerman, Teare finished fourth in the 5,000 meters at the 2021 Olympic Trials, and is entered to compete in the 1500 and 5,000 meters at this weekend's USA Championships in Eugene.
 
Academically, he completed his undergraduate degree in applied economics, business and society and earned a spot on the 2020-21 CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team. Teare was also a three-time member of the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll.
 
Conference medal winners have been named every year since the 1960-61 academic year. In 2009, the Pac-12 renamed the award the Tom Hansen Conference Medal in honor of Hansen, who retired at the end of June 2009 after serving for 26 years as Commissioner of the Pac-10.
 
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