 Bell Announces Additions to Coaching Staff
Aug. 7, 2009
ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis University head cross country/track and field coach Jon Bell announced the addition of three new coaches for the 2009-10 academic year. Ryan Bak has been added as a women's distance coach, while Jessica Scott joins the staff as a middle-distance coach. Valorie Thorson will coach the Billikens' sprinters. The trio joins a coaching staff that already includes Bell, Tim Bradley (men's distance coach) and John Cunningham (middle-distance coach). "In my short tenure at SLU, this is by far the most talented and diverse staff we have assembled," Bell said. "Our student-athletes will be prepared, excellently coached, and challenged like never before. This is also the most talented team we have ever put together, so I expect them to rise to the challenges that are ahead of them." Bak has made a name for himself on the professional running circuit, most recently as a distance runner with the Oregon Track Club Elite. He competed at the 2008 World Cross Country Championships in Scotland as a member of Team USA and performed in the Olympic Track and Field Trials in 2004 and 2008. Bak is a 10-time All-American and three-time NCAA Division III national champion out of Trinity College (Hartford, Conn.). He had previous assistant coaching stints at Western State College of Colorado (2006 to 2007) and Sheldon High School in Eugene, Ore. (2009). "Ryan brings intangibles that the program has never had," Bell said. "He will have a tremendous influence on all the student-athletes in our program. Ryan has been to the top level of our sport and has traveled the world to train and race. Passing those experiences along to our student-athletes will only enhance our ability to achieve success and become a force in Atlantic 10 cross country and track and field."
Scott ran cross country and track at UMKC and graduated in 2009. A four-time Academic All-Conference selection, she earned first-team All-Conference honors at the 2006 Mid-Continent Conference Cross Country Championships. She also posted top-10 finishes in the 1,500 indoor, 5,000-meter outdoor and 10,000-meter outdoor runs in conference competition. A registered nurse at Barnes Jewish Hospital, Scott served as a volunteer assistant coach at UMKC during the 2008-09 season. "I am excited for our student-athletes to have an opportunity to work with Jessica," Bell said. "She had a stellar prep career while being coached by John Cunningham at Edwardsville High School, and now they have a chance to work together. I believe they will be able to prepare our student-athletes to a degree unlike any other. Coach Cunningham and coach Scott communicate well and will leave no stone unturned in their preparation of our student-athletes." Thorson was a four-year standout track and field athlete at Columbia University in New York City. An All-Ivy League outdoor track and field performer as a member of the Lions' 4x800-meter relay squad, she earned a bachelor's degree in environmental science from Columbia in 2004. Thorson is a litigation paralegal at Brown and Crouppen Law Firm in St. Louis. "Valorie will be a great asset to our program," Bell said. "She had a great college career at Columbia and truly understands the meaning of 'student-athlete.' Coach Thorson will work primarily with our long sprinters, which will allow me to operate more freely within our program." Saint Louis University Cross Country/Track and Field Coaching Staff |
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