May 19, 2009

ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis cross country/track and field head coach Jon Bell today announced that Matt Coon (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township), Michaela Jones (Ames, Iowa/Gilbert) and Elise Medley (Louisville, Ky./Dupont Manual) have signed National Letters of Intent to attend the University and run for the Billikens. The trio will have four years of eligibility beginning with the 2009-10 academic year.

Coon split his prep career between O'Fallon Township High School in Illinois and Kubasaki High School in Okinawa, Japan, a school mainly attended by families of military officials. While in Japan, Coon posted a career-best 5K time of 16:22 while earning All Far-East Meet honors. Most recently, he has competed at O'Fallon Township High School and was an Illinois state qualifier in cross country and the 1,600 meters in outdoor track and field.

"Matt will provide depth for our men's cross country team and brings good range to our men's track and field squad," Bell said. "The main goal for Matt coming in will be to learn how to train at the collegiate level and contribute at the 8K distance. When we shift to track season, Matt will compete in events ranging from 800 meters through the 5K, so he will have his work cut out for him, but the coaching staff believes he has the ability to have a great career at SLU."

Jones is one of the top 400-meter hurdles competitors at the Class 2A level in Iowa. She has a personal best time of 1:04.46 in the event to rank second in the state. Jones has also posted top times of 59.45 in the 400-meter dash and 2:25.84 in the 800-meter run.

"Michaela will make an immediate impact on our women's track team next spring," Bell said. "She has earned All-State honors in the 400-meter hurdles in Iowa, so we are excited to have her as a Billiken. She has experience running a full 400 meters over hurldles, which should make her transition into collegiate racing much easier. She can also runc rucial relay legs at meets like the Kansas and Drake Relays."

Medley was an All-State cross country runner at Dupont Manual High School while also participating in distance events on the track. She has posted a personal-best time of 5:25 in the 1600 meters, 11:36 in the 3200 meters and 19:13 in the 5K.

"Elise comes from a great high school program and will immediately add depth to our women's distance group," Bell said. "She'll join an already strong group of women who have set high goals for next fall's cross country season. Eventually, I envision Elise being a factor in the 10K on the track, but in the mean time our goal will be to train consistently and become a stronger runner."

Saint Louis Billikens Cross Country