So much to unpack from last week’s action.
Let’s start with Nov. 6 in St. Joseph. In a match that spilled over into Nov. 7, the St. Pius X High School volleyball team played in the Class 4 state championship match past midnight because a backlog of matches before theirs went to five sets. Maybe the rulers at the Missouri State High School Activities Association should have considered a venue like the Civic Arena that has just one court wasn’t the best idea to cram the entire state volleyball schedule into.
At the Rockwood Invitational in September, St. Pius beat St. Michael the Archangel in two sets and the Lancers beat the Guardians in the first set of the state final, but St. Michael won the last three sets, its final 12 matches of 2025 and its first state championship.
The Lancers didn’t exactly limp back home with a second-place trophy. Three different coaches in nine years have led them to the state final. The talent turns over every four years and is replaced with the next crop of players who maintain the level of excellence that has produced four state championships (2011, 2016-2017, 2024). It doesn’t matter what playoff formula MSHSAA chooses for private schools, St. Pius can compete in any class.
With one state trophy in the bag, I headed to Columbia at 0630 on Nov. 7 with the expectations there could be as many as five more by the end of the day. I was covering the Jefferson County boys and girls in the Class 3-5 cross country championships at Gans Creek and both Festus High and Herculaneum High programs were in position to add to their impressive trophy cases. I was also there to cover the Eureka High boys and girls for our newspaper there. The Eureka and Festus girls teams were defending their state titles.
Since I live in St. Charles, I-70 is the quickest route to Columbia. Commuters in Jefferson County who use I-55 between Pevely to south of Festus understand what a massive undertaking adding an extra lane in each direction to that road is. On a much larger scale, the same thing is happening on I-70 between Wentzville and Blue Springs. Obviously, this construction project is hundreds of miles and much longer than what’s happening on I-55. There have been terrible accidents in the construction zones for both projects. The I-70 stretch east and west between Foristell and Warrenton is especially hazardous. As you can see on I-55, restricted, narrow lanes and semis can be a tight fit.
Just past Kingdom City the I-70 part of the project to Columbia has all been paved. I cruised through with no problems as I neared the Hwy. 63 exit. The rising sun was at my back guiding me right to Gans Creek. Last year, rain, cold and sloppy course conditions greeted runners. I checked in and wandered to tent city where all of the teams gathered before their races. The pecking order was Herculaneum’s boys and girls in Class 3, then the Class 4 races with the larger schools from the JCAA.
Gans Creek is an excellent venue for state cross country. It’s also used for NCAA Division I races, so it’s replete with video boards along the rolling manicured course that ends with runners coming down the stretch that’s packed with fans along a long wooden fence.
By lunchtime, the county had collected four state trophies. Both Blackcat teams were third, the Festus boys finished second to their big rivals from West Plains for the second year in a row and the Tiger girls repeated as Class 4 state champions. (See related stories)
If Wes Armbruster was the head coach of a Division I college or pro team (in any sport), his agent would be on the phone demanding a large pay increase. High school coaches are paid stipends on top of their teaching salaries. The amount of these stipends vary for each school district and sport. I’ve seen some as much as $5,800, but the average is probably closer to $4,000. Armbruster has guided three Festus girls teams – cross country 2024-2025, track and field 2025 – to state titles in the last year. I don’t have the research time to find out if that’s ever been done in Missouri (for any sport) but I’d say it’s rare. And the Tigers are poised to defend their track and field title next spring.
“I’m surrounded by great people,” Armbruster said. “We’ve got a great staff in the fall, we have an elite staff in the spring. We’re supported by our administration. We’re supported by an outstanding strength and conditioning coach (AJ Ofodile, Festus head football coach). When things get going, the momentum spills across the board. Our softball and volleyball teams had great seasons. It’s a great place to be because there’s great people.”
Then, there’s Bryant Wright. One of the architects of the success cross country has enjoyed throughout the generations, Wright coached the Festus girls cross country team to its first two state titles and has won 11 with the boys. His Tigers have finished second at state the last two years to West Plains as the Zizzers continue to pile up state championships. Armbruster took the reins from Wright to coach the girls, and Wright, who retired as a teacher, has let it be known that his time with the boys is coming to an end.
When someone of Wright’s stature eventually retires as the most successful coach the school has ever had, it’s my job to let you know. I interviewed Wright at the Festus tent after they finished second, but didn’t ask him if this was it. I thought had the Tigers won, he’d make the announcement he wasn’t returning. His best runner ever when it comes to postseason success, Carson Driemeier, is graduating next spring. It would have been perfect timing.
But if I know anything about Wright, who I’ve covered for 10 years, it’s how competitive he is. As close as he is with the coaches – past and present – at West Plains, stepping down now doesn’t seem fitting. Of course, there are no guarantees Festus will win next year, but I think (hope) Wright returns.
By the time the Class 1-2 state races concluded Nov. 8, Jefferson County teams had won four team trophies with the De Soto High and Jefferson High boys tantalizingly close. Dreiemeier not only repeated as the Class 4 champion, but he set an all-class course record in 14:49.20. Seventeen county runners finished all-state (top 30).
“It’s truly amazing,” Wright said of the success teams in the county continue to enjoy. “You’ve got coaches who are dedicated to the craft. And you have people who do what you say and see the value of what you’re doing. At the end, they know how much these coaches care for them and that speaks louder than words. When people know the truth about how they care about each other, those emotions are real. They love me and I love them. I’ve often said that during the season, I see these young men more than their parents do and I don’t take that lightly. I need to teach them lessons about life.”