The fourth-ranked men’s team finished 14th out of 29 at the Greater Louisville Classic on Saturday, Oct. 1, while the second-ranked women’s team took 13th out of 30.

Seniors Liz Phillips (17:52.48) and Erica Jackey (17:54.58) led the Bears past big-name schools like the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville in the women’s 5K. Jackey shattered her 5K personal record time by nearly a minute and ran her best mile-split time of the season.

The men’s team defeated the University of Alabama and the University of Mississippi, among others. Three of the top five Wash. U. runners cut at least 28 seconds from their 8K times at last week’s Wheaton College Invitational, including leading runner Michael Burnstein (24:44.13), who was nearly 40 seconds faster.

Junior David Hamm (25:00.14) posted the second best time of his career in his first meet of the season.

The Bears have a week off before the Brooks Oshkosh Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 15.

Nathaniel Margolies | Student Life

Senior Scott Pettit vaults at the Washington University Mini Meet on Friday. Pettit and teammate Kevin Lind each participated in the event.

The meet was the squad’s first since the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 11-12 and began the transition to running on a 400-meter track versus the 200-meter track used for indoor competitions.

“Everyone was definitely excited to be back outside,” junior Nick Carroll said. “Being able to race at our own track and to be outside on a full 400-meter track was definitely something that we were looking forward to. There’s so many more events, so a lot more people are able to participate.”

While the meet was not officially scored, both the men’s and women’s teams saw the event as a solid gauge of their position to begin the season, despite low temperatures and a light drizzle that lasted throughout the meet.

“It was good to get going,” head coach Jeff Stiles said. “The kids made no excuses, and we had kids that made personal records, the best performances of their lives in some cases.”

The men’s side featured several individual winners. Junior Tyler Jackson picked up where he left off at the end of the winter season, taking both hurdles events with a time of 15.40 seconds in the 110-meter race and 57.34 seconds in the 400-meter race. Senior Scott Pettit and junior Justin Pieper won their respective events as well, with Pettit posting 3.97 meters in the pole vault and Pieper recording 1.85 meters in the high jump. Senior Andrew McClelland took the hammer throw for the Bears with a distance of 43.52 meters.

The men’s squad had two more first-place finishes in the long-distance events, with Carroll’s 10:02.43 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and senior Dave Spandorfer’s 4:03.07 in the 1,500-meter run.

“I took it out the first couple of laps pretty easy and then tried to fall into a good rhythm and picked up the pace a little bit,” Carroll said of his win. “I ended up with a time only a couple of seconds off of my [personal record] from last year.…It was a good opener.”

Other notable performances for the men included senior Tom Gulyas, who finished second in the 200-meter dash, sophomore Tom Arnold, who took second in the shot put, and senior Alden black and junior Tucker Hartley, who took third and fourth behind Spandorfer in the 1,500-meter run.

On the women’s side, junior Liz Phillips’ 18:28.11 in the 5,000-meter run was one of the team’s four first-place finishes on the day. Junior Erica Jackey followed suit with a winning time of 4:48.02 in the 1,500-meter run. Meanwhile, a pair of freshmen took two more first-place finishes—Jasmine Williams in the high jump (1.62 meters) and Anna Etherington in the pole vault (3.35 meters).

“It was a good first race of the season for me,” Jackey said. “One other girl in the race took it out in a pretty fast pace.…She started to fall off on the last lap, so I just kind of took off on my own.”

The team also took nine second-place finishes. Freshman Liz Godar finished second in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, and freshman Shannon Howell came in second in the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles.

“Our freshman class is really strong,” Jackey said. “They bring a lot to the team culture, athletically and socially. They’re a really great, enthusiastic bunch, and it’s nice to see them doing so well.”

The meet was the first of three straight meets for the Bears that will be held at Wash. U. The outdoor season continues with the Washington University Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

“It makes a huge difference,” Carroll said of home meets. “Being at home—you’re in better control of what you eat; you’re in better control of sleep, and we train on that track every day.”

The Invitational will begin Friday at 5 p.m.

The Bears set three new school records and two automatic qualifying times at the North Central College Last Chance Qualifier on Friday in Naperville, Ill.

The team competed at North Central with the intention of securing NCAA qualifying times for those athletes who were close in previous attempts but had fallen short.

“This was a last chance meet, so we only took the athletes that we thought had a good chance of qualifying,” junior Liz Phillips said. “The ultimate goal was to qualify as many athletes as possible for the national meet this coming weekend.”

The distance-medley relay was a strong event for both men and women. The women’s team of senior Jessica Londeree, freshman Shannon Howell and juniors Erica Jackey and Liz Phillips posted a time of 11:48.98, the fastest in Division III this season and the new school record by 2.33 seconds.

“We had some really good competition in this race, and many of the teams we raced against this week will be our competition next week at nationals,” Phillips said. “I ran the 1,600-meter leg [of the DMR], and we ended up finishing right ahead of some of the best teams in the nation. It was a great race, and everyone ran the times they needed to in order to run the race we wanted.”

The men’s team of junior Paul Garcia and seniors Dave Spandorfer, Chris Malaya and Chris Brennan finished first with a time of 10:05.34, which ranks as the No. 15 time in Division III this season.

“We all ran great races—the atmosphere was electric, so it was hard not to be excited—and when it came down to it, everybody on the relay ran with heart,” Malaya said. “I think we all knew that whatever our time ended up being and wherever it left us, we were proud of the effort and the sweat we had put into it. When you have three other guys running with you, guys who are just as serious and are running as much for you as you are for them, it’s hard not to run well.”

Malaya also had a strong performance in the 400-meter dash, setting a new school record with a time of 48.68 seconds. His time was also the fifth best in Division III this season and automatically qualified him for NCAAs.

“Everything just really came together,” Malaya said. “I ran my own race, rather than letting someone else dictate the pace, and I ran as hard as I could. It paid off in the end, and I walked away with a time I’m incredibly proud of.”

Junior Dan Davis continued his fantastic season by setting yet another school record. His time of 8.20 took 0.08 seconds off his record time in the 60-meter hurdles from the Engineer Invitational on Jan. 29.

Other noteworthy performances for the Bears included freshman Anna Etherington finishing second in the pole vault, freshman Jasmine Williams finishing fourth in the high jump and Spandorfer finishing fifth in the mile run.

The indoor track and field championships will be hosted by Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday and Saturday. Because of the quick turnaround, there will be minimal time for training and adjustments.

“Training will be a little easier this week as we prepare for the nationals meet on Friday and Saturday,” Philips said. “We are all really excited to run a great race and see how much time we can drop.”

The official selections for nationals were posted late Sunday night on the NCAA website.

Matt Lanter | Student Life

Senior Dave Spandorfer runs alongside junior Will Forrester at the 2010 Washington University Invitational.

Phillips ran the mile in 5:00.01 to finish in first place, one of two victories for the women’s team at the meet. Her time is the seventh best in Division III this season, which currently qualifies her for the 2011 Division III Indoor Championships in March.

“It was definitely a good race,” Phillips said. “It wasn’t a ton of very intense competition, but I got to hit a provisional qualifying time, and that was a confidence boost.”

Freshman Gabby Reuveni, running in the 5,000-meter race, picked up the other victory for the women with a time of 19:25.56. Two other freshmen grabbed second-place finishes, Jasmine Williams in the high jump (1.58 meters) and Anna Etherington in the pole vault (3.45 meters).

“We had some great things from freshmen,” Phillips said. “A lot of the girls on the sprinting side hit some personal records and had some fast splits in the 400[-meter run], so we’re definitely seeing a lot of improvement.”

The men’s side picked up three first-place finishes. Junior Dan Davis ran a 7.51 in the 55-meter hurdles, missing his record-setting time, by just 0.01 seconds that he set on Jan. 29. Teammate Tyler Jackson finished in third place in the same race (7.92).

“I didn’t hit the time that I wanted to hit, but…it was nice to validate [my qualifying time] and to be able to say that I can run that when I need to, and so when it comes down to important meets, I’ll be able to turn up the throttle a little bit,” Davis said.

Senior Alden Black and junior Michael Burnstein took first and second in the 3,000-meter run, respectively. Black finished in 8.47:00, while Burnstein came in right behind him (8:48.20). Junior Paul Garcia, recording the other victory for the Bears, finished with a time of 15:06.25 in the 5,000-meter run.

Elsewhere for the Bears, senior co-captain Chris Malaya picked up second-place finishes in the 400-meter dash (50.78) and the 200-meter dash (23.04). Fellow captain and senior Ben Harmon cleared a season-best 4.65 meters in the pole vault, good for third place, and senior Chris Brennan took second in the 800-meter run (1:57.07).

“Overall, it was just a very good meet for moving in the right direction,” Malaya said. “A lot of people tweaked their races and came out of it thinking that they had done better, knowing they had done better, and knowing that they could, by conferences, be really peaking their times.”

The Bears have just one more meet to prepare for the University Athletic Association Indoor Championships. With the temperature rising, the team is looking forward to being able to practice outside.

“Every opportunity to use the [outdoor] track is really a great opportunity for us,” Phillips said.

“Obviously, there won’t be an instant drop in times, or something, but it’s all part of the process, and I definitely think there will be a lot of improvements.”

The team’s next competition, the North Central Cardinal Classic in Naperville, Ill., begins at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

“The meet before UAAs is always kind of a funny one, just because we’re not going to be killing ourselves,” Malaya said. “We’ll still be training through the meet, and we’ll be getting a big workload, but knowing that UAAs are coming up, that week coming afterwards is going to be very much dedicated to tapering down and being ready to perform at our best.”

Matt Lanter | Student Life

The women’s track team took third place in the four team field at the Washington University Select meet.

Be it individual or team successes, the Washington University men’s and women’s track & field teams both had their share of victories this past weekend at the Washington University Select Meet at Bushyhead Track.

The men’s team took first place overall out of the four schools that participated. Meanwhile, four members of the women’s team met NCAA provisional qualifying times at the meet. The women’s team finished third out of four.

“It was great,” sophomore Dan Davis said. “Most of the meets we [participate in] aren’t this small, so it was nice to have a meet that keeps on moving through. All the teams we ran against were good teams.”

The men’s side, which defeated Illinois Wesleyan University, Greenville College and Wartburg College, was led by a strong effort from Davis, who won the 110-meter hurdles at a mark of 14.68 and the 400-meter hurdles at 54.78.

“It was good to hit that mark,” said Davis, who just missed his personal best of 14.61 from a week before. “Last week we had a pretty decent tailwind and this week we had a tiny headwind, so it’s nice to know I have that mark and now I can look to improve on it.”

Joining Davis was graduate student Pierre Hoppenot in the dual-winners category, as Hoppenot won the 100-meter dash at 11.01 seconds and the 200-meter at 22.67 seconds.

Other winners for the Bears on the men’s team included senior Keith England’s 51.78 meters in the javelin, freshman Tom Arnold’s 13.10 meters in the shot put, senior Matt Kruger’s 9:37.98 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and sophomore Matt Rickard’s 1:56.37 in the 800-meter run.

The highlight of the women’s side was in the 1,500-meter run, where three provisional qualifying times were met, including sophomore Liz Phillips’ school record at 4:33.08.

“[Getting the record was] the goal and the expectation, and going into this race, I was hoping that would be the outcome,” Phillips said, adding that the teams agreed beforehand to stack the 1,500 with some of their strongest runners to set up a competitive race.

Senior Molly Schlamb and junior Sangeeta Hardy also met the provisional times at respective marks of 4:35.01 and 4:37.35.

Elsewhere on the women’s team, senior Hana Damore took first in the hammer throw, with her 47.96 meters meeting another provisional mark for the Red and Green last weekend.

Junior Kelli Blake’s 2:18.53 earned first place in the 800-meter run, and senior Allison Lee took the pole vault at 2.74 meters.

Despite the team’s position in the final standings, the women had several top times and scores across the board in the meet. Given that they were facing the defending indoor track champions, Wartburg, and another perennial contender in Illinois Wesleyan, the women were happy with their results for the weekend.

“I think we definitely did very well given the circumstances,” Phillips said. “We had some people going for some national qualifying times and didn’t have our strongest lineup, and the focus was to get the best marks we could in certain areas.”

With this meet behind them, the Bears have one more meet next weekend before University Athletic Association Championships on the weekend of April 24-25. They will travel to Wheaton, Ill., next Saturday, April 17, for the Wheaton Twilight Meet.

“I think we’re in a great place,” Head Coach Jeff Stiles said. “All of the athletes are coming around. We’re doing great, jumping great, throwing great. We want to put our best foot forward.”

Harmon, competing on a tender ankle, set the pace for the Bears by earning points in all six events he raced. Harmon won in the long jump with a leap of 6.94 meters and the pole vault by clearing a height of 4.55 meters. In the high jump, Harmon initially tied Case Western Reserve University’s Obinna Nwanna by clearing 1.96 meters, but finished as runner-up as the result of the tiebreaker. He also took second as a team member in the 4×400 relay alongside senior Chris Malaya, sophomore Dan Davis and graduate student Pierre Hoppenot. Harmon capped off his meet with a fourth-place finish in the triple jump and a fifth-place finish in the 55-meter hurdles.

“We were going in, and everyone was just kind of doing their own thing. . .we knew we could win, and it just panned out nicely for us as a team,” Harmon said. “Everybody just stepped up, and it fell into place with the sprinters, jumpers and athletes, and I just happened to be involved in more than one of those.”

Davis won the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.61 seconds, just 0.01 seconds shy of the 15-year-old meet record set by Brandeis’ Mikhael Edel. By winning the event, Davis finished the season undefeated in the 55-meter hurdles, except for a disqualification at the Cardinal Classic two weeks ago.

Head coach Jeff Stiles was certain to reiterate Harmon’s point that although there was one major contribution, the Bears won because they took points at every men’s event except the mile, which he emphasized was “pretty tough to do.”

In other notable finishes, freshman Kevin Lind earned two points in the pole vault, and Hoppenot won the 200-meter dash (22.51 seconds) and grabbed second in the 55-meter dash. Junior Dave Spandorfer finished second in the 3,000-meter run, freshman Tom Arnold took second in the shot put, and junior Scott Pettit was runner-up to Harmon in the pole vault. Sophomore Michael Burnstein also took third in the 5,000-meter run.

Harmon and Davis will both compete in the 2010 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships at DePauw University on March 12-13. Harmon qualified as the sixth seed in the pentathlon, and Davis qualified as the fourth seed in the 55-meter hurdles.

Women’s team

After only trailing the University of Chicago by 37 points through the first day of the UAA championships, the Lady Bears finished with a total of 76 points for third place behind the Maroons and Emory University.

Junior Jessica Londeree took home third in the 3,000-meter run, and classmate Sangeeta Hardy won the 800-meter run (2:15.21), followed closely by sophomore Erica Jackey. Additionally, sophomore Katie Hered cleared a height of 3.40 meters to win the pole vault.

Sophomore Liz Phillips continued her dominance in the mile run, and her time of 4:55.32 crushed the meet record set by Case Western Reserve’s Esther Erb’s in 2007 by more than 6 seconds. With the win, Phillips also broke her own school record in the mile, but she unfortunately missed the automatic qualifying mark for nationals by less than a third of a second.

“The mile tends to be an event where people go out slowly and kick it at the end to win, but I really wanted to run a fast time, so I took it out hard,” Phillips said.

The Bears won the distance medley for the second straight meet, with senior Allison Lee replacing Erica Jackey for the 400-meter leg. Stiles said the substitution was made to try to get more athletes to compete in more events and hopefully earn more points. Despite a time 20 seconds behind that of the team that qualified for nationals last week, this team still set a new meet record that had stood since 2002.

Hardy, Jackey, Phillips and senior Molly Schlamb are also headed to the indoor championships after qualifying for the distance medley at the North Central College Meet on Feb. 20.

The outdoor track season begins for both teams on March 20 with the Rhodes Open meet in Memphis, Tenn.

Student Life: Tell me about how the race went.
Molly Schlamb: The plan was for [junior] Kelli Blake to rabbit me through the first 800 [meters] of the 12 leg. She did an absolutely perfect job, and I couldn’t have done it without her. I handed off to Erica [after the 1200 meter leg], who busted out a great 4 leg. Geetz [Hardy] ran a great 8, and then Liz just rolled the mile. It was one of the most exciting races I’ve been a part of. The great thing about relays is that you all need each other, you all have to have a great day, and you all build off of each other’s momentum. Carrying the baton, it just becomes magic.

SL: Which is cooler: setting a school record or earning a trip to nationals?
Sangeeta Hardy: It’s a tough call. My freshman year I ran the DMR [distance medley relay] at indoor nationals, so I am beyond thrilled to be going back, this time a more experienced and hopefully faster runner. However, knowing that we have the school record, and a pretty fast one at that, gives me a sense of pride that will last a lot longer than a few days at nationals. It’s always fun looking back on records and seeing which ones you aspire to break. Now, Molly, Erica, Liz and I get to be that record that future Wash. U. runners will be aspiring to break.

SL: How much is being part of a team, in itself, and knowing you have three other teammates counting on you a motivation factor?
Erica Jackey: I think everyone would agree that the team factor plays a pivotal role in motivation. We help each other adhere to the disciplined lifestyle that is necessary to lead in order to be successful in our sport. Being a part of a team that is extremely close and supportive of each other makes staying disciplined much easier and far more enjoyable. The DMR relay is my favorite part of the indoor track season because it is a team event, not just an individual race.
Liz Phillips: The best thing about being on a relay is that I get to be a part of something more important than myself. There is something very special about getting the baton from a teammate and knowing that I am running for each of the other three girls. Whenever I am tired or in pain, I just remember my three teammates and I push through the pain for them, just like they do for me.

SL: As it stands, your time is second in Division III behind St. Thomas by less than two seconds and ahead of Wartburg by 0.12 seconds. What kind of shot do you give yourselves to take the whole thing?
SH: I have never been more confident in my teammates or proud of them than I was on Saturday. I have seen all of these girls put all of their heart and strength into running and our DMR. I know that come nationals, we will undoubtedly be ready to achieve our greatest. That may mean winning, and it may not. However, I will tell you that I will put all of my money on us being the prettiest, most prepared, most having fun DMR at nationals.

SL: What’s the attitude like in practice with a little more than a week left before conferences and then nationals soon after that?
MS: We are all just so excited. This is not only a talented group, but a group who cares so much about each other. We all are just preparing ourselves to line up at nationals and leave it all out there. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I do know it will be something really special.

SL: Favorite Olympic sport besides track?
MS: Gymnastics.
EJ: Swimming and gymnastics.
LP: Short-track speed skating.
SH: Trampoline! Just kidding. But seriously, it’s pretty sweet to watch—at least for the first couple of minutes.

SL: You need to get fired up. what song are you going to listen to?
MS: If I’m listening by myself, probably something by Kanye West. But if I’m singing with this relay group, definitely something from “Moulin Rouge” soundtrack. That’s our specialty!

The women’s team of senior Molly Schlamb, sophomores Erica Jackey and Liz Phillips, and junior Sangeeta Hardy ran the event in 11:51.32. The time bested the previous record of 11:55.12 set in 2005 when the Bears beat North Central College’s team by more than 30 seconds. The relay squad automatically qualified for the NCAA Division III indoor championships and had the second best run in all of Division III this season.

“There had been a lot of anticipation going into this race, and it felt so good to finally run it and accomplish our goal of qualifying for Nationals,” said Jackey, who credited team chemistry for their success.

“You can have a lot of talented individuals,” Jackey added, “but to have a great relay team, they have to all be willing to gut it out for each.”

The distance medley relay team now joins sophomore Dan Davis in the 55-meter hurdles and junior Ben Harmon in the pentathlon as Wash. U. athletes who are guaranteed a spot at nationals in Greencastle, Ind., next month.

Jackey also won the 800-meter event with a time of 2:21.24, and the women swept the top six positions in the 3,000-meter dash, with junior Jessica Londeree (10:24.66), sophomore Catie Reynolds (10:48.81), and sophomore Lindsey Vogel (10:49.21) leading the way.

The men’s record-setting 4×400 relay team of senior Chris Malaya, Harmon, Davis and graduate student Pierre Hoppenot fell short of victory to Lewis University, but managed to post a provisional qualifying mark for the national meet.

“We had the mindset that ‘we are going to make nationals,’ and none of the four of us doubted that for a second,” Harmon said.

The men emerged victorious, however, in the 3,000-meter run. Senior Alden Black ran a time of 8:51.56, Hoppenot took first in the 55-meter dash with a 6.64, and junior Dave Spandorfer took first in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:44.96. Spandorfer’s time also was good for provisional qualifying.

Dan Davis’ undefeated streak in the 55-meter hurdles finally came to an end in the form of disqualification. The elimination came after Davis knocked over a hurdle to prevent himself from falling.

“It’s frustrating, but it happens,” Davis said. “I’ve been there before, so I guess I just have to keep moving forward and not really think about it, because it’s not that big of deal.”

In the larger scope, the men and the women posted 15 season-best times between them just two weeks before the University Athletic Association conference meet at Brandeis University.

“We had a lot of great performances,” Jackey said, “This will provide the confidence and the momentum that we need going into the UAA championship.”

With additional reporting by Alex Dropkin

But Davis, who broke his own record set last week, was more excited about the meet’s implications for this season.

“I was ecstatic to hit [the automatic qualifying mark]…I think the whole team, as well as myself, is moving into great position for conference,” Davis said. “All of our indoor training up until this point is directed toward everyone hitting their best marks at conference, and I think that’s what’s going to happen.”

Graduate student Pierre Hoppenot, who has four victories in four appearances this season in the 200-meter dash, also set a new school mark, passing Antone Meaux’s 15-year-old record of 22.54 seconds. He regarded the accomplishment in a forward-thinking manner.

“Breaking the record is obviously a nice reminder that training hard pays off,” Hoppenot said. While Hoppenot acknowledged there isn’t a 200-meter dash event at nationals, he’s excited about the promising prospects of the 4×400 team that he is a part of.

“We have a good team…I am just trying to get faster and help my teammates get faster,” Hoppenot said.

The men’s team also had a strong showing in the 3,000-meter run, where junior Dave Spandorfer (8:32.80), sophomore Michael Burnstein (8:38:40), sophomore Tucker Hartley (8:45.07) and senior Matt Kruger (8:59.38) teamed up to sweep first place through fourth place. While Wash. U. fielded many strong performances, scores were not kept comparing the various competing schools.

The big event on the women’s side was the mile run, in which sophomore Liz Phillips fell 1.40 seconds short of making the provisional qualifying mark for the NCAA national championships in March. Her impressive 5:06.40 was also just 1.48 seconds short of a victory that went to Simpson College’s Catie Ellingson. Fellow sophomore Erica Jackey joined Phillips in the top three with a time of 5:08.05.

Other medalists for the women were graduate student co-captain Caitlin Hartsell, who grabbed third place in the 200-meter dash at 27.66 seconds, and sophomore Katie Hered, whose 3.05-meter pole vault was good for third place. Hartsell’s time was her season best, and Hered’s placed for the fourth time in the 2010 campaign.

For the men, senior Zach Griffen nabbed second in the 5,000-meter run (16:07.04), sophomore Tyler Jackson rounded out the top three in the 55-meter hurdles (7.90), and junior Scott Pettit pole vaulted 4.35 meters for a third-place finish. Davis also had a third-place finish in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.75 seconds.

The Bears will wrap up the regular season next weekend at the North Central College Meet in Naperville, Ill., before heading to Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., for the UAA indoor championship. “Everybody’s a little more focused now and pretty excited for the UAAs,” Hered said. “Individually, we have a lot of strong athletes. Hopefully, we can tie it all together.”

With additional reporting by Johann Qua Hiansen

On Tuesday, about twenty athletes sacrificed a few hours of finals studying to go to the Build-A-Bear Workshop in the Galleria Mall, where they stuffed bears for the St. Louis Children’s Hospital. The event was organized by the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC). . Build-A-Bear Workshop donated the 50 bears athletes created and an additional 50 bears that had already been stuffed.

According to the athletes present, SAAC’s mission is to foster a tighter athletic community within Wash. U by making events for athletes to participate within the university and out. Stacey Niese, a senior co-captain on the women’s basketball team and a member of SAAC, said that one of the most important aspects of SAAC is “promoting sport to sport cohesion”.

As part of the teddy bear drive, SAAC completed an inter-sport competition to see which athletic team could donate the most amount of stuffed animal bears. The softball team succeeded by a large margin, obtaining over 100 bears, and will be receiving some sort of “surprise”, according to sophomore Emma Brown, a member of SAAC and the women’s soccer team.

(L-R) Freshmen Sondra Polonsky, Claire Downs, sophomore Corissa Santos and junior Claire Voris of the Washington University softball team rub hearts on their noses as they created bears for the St. Louis Children's Hospital. Athletes stuffed 50 bears on December 8 at the Build-A-Bear Workshop in the Galleria Mall. (Johann Qua Hiansen | Student Life)

Isaac Stein, a member of the men’s tennis team and the SAAC executive board, was the lone male athlete at the event. “One of the biggest goals of SAAC is to promote interaction between the teams, “ Stein said. “You know your teammates well enough, but one of the goals is to encourage interaction between sports.”

Even though Stein was the only male athlete at the event, Build-A-Bear employee and Fontbonne junior Jessi Rowan said that he “did well” with the heart ceremony, which boys sometimes have trouble with.

The heart ceremony includes rubbing the heart on your forehead so the bear is “super smart like you”,  putting it on your cheek “for lots of smiles” and kissing the heart to “seal in your wish” inside the bear. These hearts are then placed inside the bear before they are stuffed.

(L-R) Sophomore Emma Brown, junior Julie Tembunkiart, freshman Emily Gosché and junior Katy Southworth of the Washington University women's soccer team rub hearts on their ears as they stuff bears bound for the St. Louis Children's Hospital. (Johann Qua Hiansen | Student Life)

The bear drive is a relatively new charity event, as it was just started two years ago. Junior Katy Southworth, who organized Tuesday’s event at Build-A-Bear and is a member of the women’s soccer team, appreciated the brief break from studying for finals. “It’s exciting to do something that’s not sports related with all of us athletes together,” Southworth said. “It’s fun to do it during exam week, cause then we have a de-stress moment that is helpful to everyone else, because all the bears are going to  [the] Children’s Hospital.”

Sophomore Liz Phillips, a member of the track and field and cross country teams, was able to take a break from studying to come down to the store.

“It’s really exciting, and it’s really great that Build-A-Bear has agreed to donate so many bears,” Phillips said. “[It's] a great opportunity for us to help out in the community and help the kids.”

Members from the women’s basketball, women’s tennis and softball teams were represented as well.  At one point during the stuffing, Santa Claus made an appearance making sure everyone there had been nice during the past year.

The drive opens up to the Wash. U. community this Saturday as Red Alert sponsors a half time shooting contest. Fans who bring any type of stuffed teddy bear to the men’s basketball game against No. 15 Augustana at 7 p.m. will be eligible to compete.  The No. 1 Wash. U. Men’s basketball team escaped with a 64-62 win over No. 8 Wheaton on Wednesday evening.