Mike Byrnes Coach of the Year - Anthony Bryant
Coach Anthony Bryant has established the DeMatha Catholic High School (Hyattsville, Maryland) track and field program as one of America’s elite programs. One seed of fate that led to Coach Bryant’s (and DeMatha’s) success was a simple request from one of his age-group track club runners 18 years ago.
Anthony Bryant was born and raised in Loudon County, Virginia, and he graduated from Loudon Valley High School in Purcellville. He ran track in high school and was a walk-on at Norfolk State University (Norfolk, Virginia) where he also played football. In 1981, Anthony was an NCAA Division II All-American in the 4x100. In 1982, he was an All-American again – this time as a member of the 4x400 squad – and also was an NCAA Division II qualifier for the 200.
Anthony started coaching age-group track in 1988. In 1993, one of his runners – a member of the Potomac Valley Express Track Club who attended DeMatha – asked Anthony to apply for an open assistant sprint coach position at DeMatha. Anthony applied for the position and got the job, and … the rest is history (and continued hard work)!
Coach Bryant quickly became an essential part of the Stags’ track and field coaching staff, helping to guide the team to the 1995 and 1996 Washington Catholic Athletic Conference Championships. In 1997, DeMatha tapped Anthony as the team’s Head Coach. Since then, his teams have won 8 additional WCAC Outdoor Championships (1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008). He has coached at least 70 Conference Champions, numerous DyeStat Elite performances, over 35 High School All-Americans, and 3 national championship relay teams. Among his many honors, Coach Bryant has been named a Coach of the Year four times.
This is Coach Bryant’s 19th and final season at DeMatha. The NSSF wishes Anthony the best as he moves into a new phase of his life in the service of his church.
