Chris Auckley

Nov 23, 2024

A few athletes, coaches, and administrators involved in cross country and track were inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame last month at a ceremony in Columbia. A handful more the month before at an induction in Cape Girardeau. Sunday in St. Louis, the Hall of Fame will add three more.

Sunday at 12:00 p.m., a reception will be held at the Chase Park Plaza, just east of Forest Park, followed by a 1:00 p.m. ceremony.

November 24, 2024 MO Sports HOF Enshrinement Info and other inductee MO Sports HallofGame.com

Tickets are still available. Individual tickets are $150 you may still be able to get and Hall of Fame offers sponsorship tables of 10, which you may still be able to get. You can purchase tickets or inquire about tables by calling or texting Missouri Sports Hall of Fame's Mr. Kary Booher at 417-241-1551. The event will support two charities, STL Youth Sports Outreach and Special Olympics Missouri.

Bryant Wright

Bryant Wright, who was a distance running standout at Festus and Southeast Missouri State, coached his alma mater to one of the best stretches of any coach in any event. He led the Festus boys to a record 8 straight boys state cross country titles, from 2013 to 2021. His boys ' and girls' teams were regulars on the state podiums and wracked up tons of points that broke Herculaneum's mark of 7 straight.

Wright is a retired teacher and in his 23rd year as head coach in cross country - and 19^th as an assistant track coach - at Festus High School. He has coached 15 district championship teams and 27 state qualifying teams. His Festus cross country teams have won 13 state titles, including 11 by the boys. Those years cover 2009, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023. They had state runner-up finishes in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2022.

The girls won it all in 2014 and 2017. A total of 85 Festus runners have earned All-State honors (60 boys and 25 girls), with 21 teams finishing among the top four. That includes five individual state champions. In track, he coached more than 90 All-State boys and 25 All-State girls. Those numbers include 16 state champions. He also has coached Nike All-American Jamie Kempfer. Wright has been honored as a Coach of the Year by USTFCCCA twice, the Missouri Track and Cross Country Coaches Association (MTCCCA) 15 times, and MSHSAA three times. He was inducted into the MTCCCA Hall of Fame in 2019.

Wright was inducted into the Missouri Track and Cross Country Coaches Association (MTCCCA) Hall of Fame in 2019.

Lavar Miller

Former Berkeley High School jumps star Lavar Miller will also be inducted. The St. Louis area native was a threat in all three jumps for legendary Berkeley head coach Rod Staggs, winning many state titles and leading the Bulldogs to several state team titles. He was a 7-0 high jumper in high school before going on to the University of Arkansas, where he became a 7-3.5 high jumper for the Hogs and jumps coach Dick Booth.

Miller excelled in basketball and track & field at Berkeley High School from 1993 to 1996. In track & field, he helped the men's team win four consecutive state championships, and he earned All-American honors as a junior and senior. He ranked as the No. 1 combination jumper those two seasons, excelling in the high jump, triple jump and long jump. Miller won eight state championships (three in both the high jump and triple jump, two in the long jump) and also won two silvers in 1994 and two golds in 1995 in the Junior Olympics.

In basketball, he led Berkeley to three state quarterfinal berths and was the Player of the Year for the Suburban East Conference as he led Berkeley in scoring. He was the St. Louis American's Athlete of the Year in 1996.

He then helped Barton County (Kan.) Community College win the 1998 national title. At the University of Arkansas, he contributed to three NCAA Division I national titles. He earned All-American and Southeastern Conference honors in both the high jump and triple jump. In 2000, he qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in both events. Today, he is a business leader and entrepreneur.

Miller was inducted into the MTCCCA Hall of Fame in 2022 (pictured above).

Earl Austin Jr.

Also being inducted is Sportswriter Earl Austin Jr. Austin Jr. was a standout basketball player at McCluer High School and Lindenwood University, where he finished as the program's all-time leading scorer and rebounder. He has worked for the Suburban Journals, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and St. Charles Journal, and since 1995, has been the sports editor for the St. Louis American, where he has covered many of St. Louis' top track and field teams and athletes and many track and field state championship meets.

He has covered some of the legends of Missouri track and field, including the Hazelwood East super teams and Berkeley (STEAM Academy McCluer South Berkeley) dynasty and the Bulldogs greats like Alicia Usery, Mike Rodgers, and fellow-inductee Lavar Miller.

Austin Jr. has been the radio color analyst for the St. Louis University Billikens Men's Basketball program for decades. One of the preeminent voices on basketball in St. Louis, Austin Jr., has written at least three books. One about St. Louis' Public High League, and two volumns filled with stories about wacky sports parents.

And more...

Vashon, St. Louis University, and NBA Basketball player Anthony Bonner and SLUH, U.S., International, and MLS Soccer star and broadcaster Taylor Twellman, and Lindenwood Shotgun Shooting Sports Program are among the full list, which is below:

Earl Austin, Jr. -- Sportswriter
Anthony Bonner -- Basketball star at Vashon High School, Saint Louis University & the NBA
Vince Drake -- St. Thomas Aquinas-Mercy & Trinity Catholic High School soccer coach

Lori Flanagan -- University of Missouri-St. Louis athletic director

Rick Gorzynski -- Hazelwood East High School football coach

Jim Jackson -- St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster

Dave Lange -- Soccer Media

Lavar Miller--Berkeley High School and University of Arkansas track & field standout

Thad Strobach -- Visitation Academy & Kirkwood High School basketball coach

Taylor Twellman -- St. Louis soccer star

Mary Helen Walker -- Basketball standout

Bryant Wright -- Festus High School cross country and track & field coach

Larry Ziegler -- St. Louis golfer 1970

Hermann High School Boys Basketball Undefeated State Championship Team 1977-1979

St. Louis Hummers Softball Era 1990-2000