Cross Country
Jon Bell was named the interim men’s and women’s cross country head coach by the Saint Louis University Department of Athletics Aug. 21 and officially took over Aug. 27. He replaced Mike Nelson, who resigned from SLU and is currently the head coach of Marquette’s cross-country program. Previously, Bell has been at Utah Valley State, where he was an assistant track-and-field coach. He gained experience helping to lead four student athletes break school records, one of which won an NCAA independent championship.

Bell and the rest of the cross-country team will start the season Sept. 1 at the Washington University Early Bird Special in Forest Park. Returning men are junior Steve Vargas and senior Mat Stuber. Vargas led the team last year, finishing first out of his teammates in every meet last year, while Stuber was named to the Atlantic-10 All-Academic cross-country team last year.

Field Hockey
In its first regular season home game, the field hockey team shut out Missouri State 1-0 at the Anheuser-Busch Center. The team, now 1-2 on the year, scored in the first half on a shot from senior Catherine Donovan. Billiken senior goalkeeper Amy Wasserman kept the Bears scoreless with seven shots saved. Offensively, the Billikens dominated the entire game, out shooting the Bears 18-8. Junior Jacklyn McGranahan led the team with five shots, and the Bills outshot the Bears 18-8 on the game.

On the road, the Billikens started the season with two consecutive losses to Vermont and New Hampshire Aug. 25 and 26, respectively, in Durham, New Hampshire. This weekend, SLU will play two games, first traveling to Columbus, Ohio, in a match-up against the No. 13 Ohio State Buckeyes. Then on Sunday, the Billikens will battle the Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington, Ind.