Breaking the mile’s four-minute barrier has been done plenty of times, yet it still holds special significance for any runner who achieves the feat.

In the men’s mile at the UW Last Chance College Elite meet in Seattle, four Ducks ran under four minutes. Charlie Hunter finished second overall in 3 minutes, 57.74 seconds. James West was right behind him in 3:57.75, while Blake Haney ran 3:58.73. Jackson Mestler finished last in the seven-man field, but still dipped under the mark, going 3:59.77.

This was the first sub-4 minute mile for Mestler and Hunter. West had run 3:58.69 before coming to Oregon. Mestler’s previous best was 4:07.06, which he set at the Razorback Invitational last month. Hunter was even closer to breaking the barrier earlier this season, as he ran 4:01.86 at the Husky Classic earlier this month.

Oregon now has six runners who have a sub-4 minute mile this season, with Cooper Teare and Reed Brown as the other two.

The day before, the quartet of West, Jacob Miller, Brown and Teare raced an impressive distance medley relay, finishing less than a second behind Washington in 9:28.62. The race was the No. 5 time in Oregon history, and the fifth fastest DMR this season. It was a dramatic improvement from the one previous relay the team had run beforehand, when they went 9:36.21.
The men and women have moved up the national rankings this week. The women moved up to No. 4 team in the USTFCCCA poll, while the men went up seven spots to No.12, which matches the preseason rankings.

The next meet will be the MPSF Championships on Feb. 22 in Seattle, where Oregon will look to add a few more qualifying times before the indoor championships in March.

Follow August Howell on Twitter @howell_august