by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
Demetrius Kaquatosh, senior, Shawano Community High School, won the Bay Conference Cross Country Meet on October 17, 2019 at Menasha, Wisconsin. His winning time was 16:15.
Demetrius is from the Menominee Nation and his parents are Mario Kaquatosh and Sheena Dixon (also Menominee) of Keshena, Wisconsin.
Teammate Alec White placed fifth in a personal best 16:34. With this time Alec has the fastest freshman time in the state of Wisconsin. Alec was featured in a recent ndnsports.com article.
Odessa Acre, sophomore at Shawano Community HS and a member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican, placed fifth in the girls varsity division of the Bay Conference Meet in a time of 19:59.
In a pre-conference meet conversation, Demetrius talked about his strengths to the team.
“I bring to my team my positivity that I bring everyday at practice as well as on the course hoping that it rubs off on my teammates,” said Demetrius.
“My tribal core values help define me as a student athlete because I can look back at my tribe and hope that I’m being a role model for the younger kids in my community,” added Demetrius.
Elite runners have elite goals and will continue to strive toward them. “I hope to continue running and training for the Olympics in 2024 and athletics help me by training to be at the best level I could possibly be,” said Demetrius.
Robert White is an active mentor to runners at Shawano Community High School. Robert said: “As a ninth grader, Demetrius did not come out for CC until the season had already begun and he only ran in four meets. His best time at the Pulaski Invite was 20:34. As a sophomore, he made the varsity boy’s team and by the end of the season was the third runner with a time of 18:56. He dropped his time to 18:13 as a junior and was again third runner on the varsity. Demetrius ran a lot and was a regular for much of the Summer Run Club Program this past summer. As a senior, he currently has the third fastest time in the Bay Conference at 17:01 behind two runners from New London. He has a tremendous amount of ability, which is finally starting to surface and he will be one of the top contenders for the individual conference championship. The last individual conference boy’s champion from Shawano was in 2014 when senior Jake Klister beat out Mike Friedman from Oconto Falls with a time of 16:51.”
“Demetrius never ran track while in high school, a mistake which he now regrets. His uncle, Jim Kaquatosh, was among the greatest boy’s distance runners in Shawano school history and is a member of the Shawano Sports Hall of Fame. Jim placed second in the state CC championships back in the early 1960’s and twice won the famed Smiley Cross Country Invitational, one of the biggest high school meets in the state. Jim is a good friend of mine,” added Robert.
Mario Kaquatosh talked about his son: “Demetrius started his Cross Country career as a freshman. I talked him into joining so he could get into shape for basketball. He fell in love with running and discovered he was a good runner. Sophomore year he won JV Conference. He gained confidence in his junior year and finished third in his team sectionals. Senior year he was hurting due to injuries and other things. His hard work and dedication has helped him become one of top runners and boosted his confidence as team captain. His leadership on off the field helps his younger teammates excel and what to do to become better runners. In this final Cross Country season he ran couple meets with a best time near 17:00.”
The final race before the 2019 Wisconsin State Cross Country Meet is a week away. Sectionals are on Saturday, October 26, 2019.
Bay Conference Varsity Boys Results: http://www.racetecresults.com/results.aspx?CId=16541&RId=451&EId=3&dt=0
Bay Conference Varsity Girls Results: http://www.racetecresults.com/results.aspx?CId=16541&RId=451&EId=2
Photographs provided by Mario Kaquatosh.
