Here is his Cross Country Coach John Van Kempen on Jacob’s contributions to the program, “Jacob Bright has been on the cross country team for six years.  His credential list in cross country is long and impressive.  He has ran in five state cross country meets finishing in the top 10 three consecutive years, this year taking 3rd place.  The five state teams Jacob was on finished 4th, 5th, 8th and two years in a row in 2nd place.  Jacob's running ability, work ethic and leadership qualities have been instrumental to our team's successes.  If you were to have a discussion with Jacob, you would never guess he is a fierce competitor, he is soft spoken and we've never ever had to question his effort in practice or competitions.  When coaches say they have a student athlete who leads by example, Jacob would be the poster child for that saying.  He treats everyone with respect from young to old, encourages his teammates and has high expectations for the effort of his teammates.   I've always said our team success has come from their accountability to each other.  Jacob has the uncanny ability to draw people to himself and make sure they have given their best effort, not by what he is saying, but by his example.”

“Being involved in sports has helped my work ethic get better each day,” said Bright.  “It gave me something to look forward to every day because I loved spending the time with my friends.  I was pretty sad when I heard the news that the spring season was cancelled this year, but I have been running at home still.”

“Jacob Bright was one of the main leaders on our conference and sub-section championship team,” noted WCA Head Boys Basketball Coach Kraig Hunter. “He really blossomed as a leader over the years both on and off the court. His preparation for opponents was meticulous and he put in numerous hours every off-season shooting and ball handling which became his two main roles in our offense.  Jacob has been one of our 3-point shooters for four varsity seasons and he shot an incredible 49% from 3-point line in his senior season.  As anyone knows, having someone that is that kind of threat really stretches the opponents' defense and opens things up for everyone else.  His ball handling is another stat that puts you in awe. He had 112 assists to only 17 turnovers on the year.  That makes a team pretty confident when he is handling the ball.  Defensively, Jacob led our team in steals this year with a combination of his quickness and instincts in reading what the offense was trying to do.  He is the ultimate role model for younger athletes and an absolutely outstanding person.”

Jacob has a favorite quote, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”