The sport of cross country tests runners with steep hills and changing topography. Conditions over a 3.1-mile course can change at the mercy of rain, wind or temperature fluctuations.
So it goes every first Saturday of November at the Oak Hills Golf Course in Jefferson City, site of the Missouri State High School Activities Association cross country championships. This year, runners found a soggy course that had been altered slightly and cool and damp conditions by the time the Class 4 girls kicked things off at 9 a.m.
Festus senior Max McDaniel didn’t have to win a state championship for his splendid career to be complete. He wasn’t seeking any sort of redemption, but he did have a hole on his sturdy running resume.
McDaniel has been the Tigers’ top runner for four years and helped them complete their incredible fifth straight Class 3 state title Saturday and their seventh state championship under head coach Bryant Wright.
We’ll get to Wright, and what his program means to the county, later.
Like the cross country runners I’ve met over the years, McDaniel isn’t boastful and doesn’t seek credit for his success, and yes, fame. After coming in fourth his first two years and second last fall, everyone knew this was his race to win – or lose.
McDaniel was squeezed between two seniors when he ran a personal best 15:46.57 at last year’s state final. Sure enough, though, Warrensburg senior Colton Palmer (fourth last year) and Jefferson City Helias junior Jack Crull (fifth in 2017) were pushing McDaniel on Saturday for the first two miles. Cape Girardeau Notre Dame junior Blake Morris (eighth last season) was closest to McDaniel.
Herculaneum junior Jonathon Coffman finished second to McDaniel in this year’s Jefferson County Activities Association championships. Coffman, a three-time state medalist, finished sixth in Class 3 in 16:40.92. There were a lot of people chasing McDaniel with varying reasons for wanting to catch him.
“I tried to get in front and not let anyone pass me,” McDaniel said moments after winning the Tigers’ first boys individual title since Michael Karls in 2014. “Blake Morris, Jack Crull, Carson Sanders and Jonathon are good competition, and I respect them a whole lot and I wouldn’t have been able to run as fast without them with me.”
McDaniel started to separate from the pack at about a mile and a half. Firehouse Hill was looming in the runners’ sights. Time to separate title contenders from pretenders.
When you’ve been the leader of the best cross country program in the state, there’s no hiding from anything, especially Wright.
“I knew the second mile was where I needed to break away,” McDaniel said. “When Blake (Morris) was still with me at a mile, I was like, ‘OK, I kind of expected this.’ At the second mile, I had about 20 meters on them. So I hammered the last downhill and hit Firehouse Hill hard. I was dead after that, but I heard I had an 80-meter lead, so I knew my lead was secured and all I had to do was finish.”
And finish he did. Arms raised above his head, McDaniel looked relieved, but there were no tears of joy. His teammates were still out on the course.
What they did in the next few minutes would cement a Festus dynasty that shows no signs of slowing down under Wright, who relentlessly followed, cheered and chastised his runners during the race.
Even when McDaniel struggled early this season, I knew once the conference race was held, he’d be in top form. He’d already sized up the competition from around the state. When it comes time to run for the top awards, McDaniel has always answered the bell.
“I had a lung infection and I was nervous how it would affect me at the end of the year. But my lungs healed and I’m happy with the day and whole season,” he said.
Asked what has made the Tigers so good for so long, McDaniel didn’t hesitate to supply an answer.
“Our coaching system,” he said. “They’re the best anyone could ask for. And that’s 100 percent true.”
Exactly true. Wright doesn’t receive near enough attention for someone with such established credentials. Maybe not in Jefferson County, but I wonder why the Tigers aren’t being covered more on a regional or even on a national level. That’s how rare this streak of five straight and six of seven state championships is across the board.
I joked with Wright and Gordon Bess on Saturday that if Wright were a football coach, they’d be building a bronze bust of him at the high school.
After the boys and girls cross country teams posed for photos together on the state podium, Wright called for all of the younger runners who want to be part of this dynasty to fill in front of the varsity. Dozens eagerly jumped into the picture.
The past, present and future of Festus cross country were cast together. There appears to be no end in sight for Wright’s vision.
In September, I asked Wright what made the Tigers so successful.
“I think of it as a chain where no one person is more important,” he said. “So if I give 100 percent as a coach, they’ll give the same as athletes.”