I was hoping the next few months would pass, winter would turn to spring and Bryant Wright would return for a 25th season as the boys cross country coach at Festus High School.
Cross country season is in the fall, but if Wright hadn’t decided to retire by track and field season, that meant he’d be back. Retiring in the spring would be added pressure on Festus activities director Jason Therrell to replace a coach many consider a legend in his sport. Wright’s not that kind of person. In a world with abstract views on morality, Wright is a steadfast example that deeds always trump words.
So when I got a text from him last Friday saying he’d turned in his retirement papers, I wasn’t necessarily surprised, but I was immediately saddened by his departure. He was in the midst of his epic run of eight straight state titles with the boys when I got here in 2016. In the 10 state cross country championships I’ve covered at the Leader, the Tigers have won seven state crowns and finished second the other three times. I had never been in a position where I could count on a team winning it all every year. It was great from my perspective.
Wright has been retired as a teacher for a few years. That was about the time he stepped down as the girls cross country head coach. Long-time assistant Wes Armbruster replaced Wright and all Armbuster has done is lead the Tigers to back-to-back Class 4 state championships.
Wright coached the boys for 24 years and the girls for 21 years. He guided the boys team to 11 state championships, including eight in a row from 2014-2021. Their most recent state crown was in 2023. Wright won two state titles (2014, 2017) coaching the girls. Wright’s 11 state titles with the boys is second all-time in the state behind Joe Bill Dixon (13) of West Plains.
The Zizzers have won the last two Class 4 boys titles, upping their state-record to 15. Senior Carson Driemeier won the individual state title, becoming the first Tiger to win it twice. Despite losing Driemeier to graduation, the Festus pipeline is always fluid because it’s become self-sustaining after decades of success.
For the last couple of years, Wright had hinted at retirement. I thought he’d take the challenge of a young team and another crack at the Zizzers would lead him to stay.
“I felt like God was leading me in a different direction,” Wright said Friday. “I feel like the boys have a shot at winning state next year. I have at least three sophomores who are really good. I thought it would be awesome to see those boys go 1-2-3 but I think it’s time for somebody else to take on those challenges.”
Festus activities director Jason Therrell said the school would start taking applications in January to hire the next boys coach and the new coach should be hired by next spring. Therrell said efforts are underway to honor Wright at a boys basketball game this season.
“I don’t think you can put it all into perspective or sum up his accomplishments in a press release,” Therrell said. “We still hope that Coach will be part of the community, come to events and watch our kids.”
After coaching generations of athletes, Wright said he’s leaving the sport in a good place.
“I don’t have any bad things to say about leaving now like the kids have changed,” he said. “All of that is still where it should be. I still enjoyed the kids and we had support.”
Before the season, Wright had told his runners that there was an 85 percent chance this would be his last season. At the school’s cross country banquet last month, he made it 100 percent, like the effort he always got from his runners when the stakes were their highest.
“It was pretty emotional,” Wright said. “Seeing a few of the guys I knew if we didn’t get to be part of their lives they’d go the wrong way. We reached them just in time to prevent them from doing bad things. Seeing the accomplishments of these young men and women, many continue to keep in touch. The idea of the love we’ve all shared and the pursuit of excellence, it was such a joy to work with them. There were times of struggle, I remember those too, but I think of the fun and the great times we had. We give everything we can. We make each other better. The awards are a manifestation of the work we’ve done all season.”
Beyond the state titles and being inducted into the sport’s hall of fame in Missouri, Wright said being successful and winning are two different stories.
“I’ve experienced seconds and thirds, but there’s nothing like a win.”
State-winning times continue to get faster. Driemeier won state at Gans Creek in Columbia in 2024 in 15:59.5 and returned last month to win in 14:49.2. That’s partially because of sheer talent, and partially because Gans Creek doesn’t present the hilly challenges as the former state site at Oak Hills Golf Course in Jefferson City. The last time state was held at Oak Hills was 2018, and Max McDaniel won state for Festus with a time of 16:12.10.
“When I started people liked the hilly courses and you don’t see those a lot anymore,” Wright said. “They talked about how bad some parks were because they were so hilly. You see so many faster times and it seems like the courses are flatter and faster. At one point, (Larry G. Crites Memorial Park) was considered medium hard and now it’s considered hard. People are wanting to go flat and fast. I would have to say the kids have gotten a little faster.”
Replacing Wright is the tough part. I won’t speculate about who that might be. There are a lot of qualified candidates in the county. I’d imagine any one of them would love the chance to assume the reins of the dynasty Wright built. Yeah, it’s a lot of pressure. But the groundwork has been laid. Wright’s imprint on the returning runners is still fresh.
“We’re happy for him. He’s had an outstanding career at Festus and we thank him for all he’s done for our athletes and school,” Therrell said. “We hope he enjoys everything in retirement.”