Cross-Country: Clintonville's Wilson, Shawano's Kaquatosh finish in top 30 at state

Updated: 9:45 p.m., 11/2

WISCONSIN RAPIDS — Clintonville’s Jesse Wilson and Shawano’s Demetrius Kaquatosh each turned in top-30 individual finishes in the Division 2 boys race at the WIAA Cross Country State Championships at the Ridges Golf Course on Saturday.

Wilson, a sophomore, took 18th after completing the course in 16 minutes, 56.3 seconds. Kaquatosh placed 26th with a time of 17:01.3 to cap his high school career.

Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s Wyatt Dickman also competed in the D2 boys race, finishing 99th in 17:50.7.

Bonduel had a girls and boys team compete in Division 3, with the girls taking 12th place and the boys finishing 15th. The girls earned a score of 288, while the boys posted a 327.

Wilson came into the state meet hoping to improve upon his 121st place finish in 18:18.3 as a freshman. The sophomore left little doubt in accomplishing that, running in the top 20 for most of the race.

“Getting used to the course, it’s a tricky course with some tight turns and hills that you need to play right and I think I handled it a lot better,” said Wilson on his big improvement from 2018. “Emotionally, last year I was a little too hyped up, too excited and this year I was able to calm down a lot.”

Kaquatosh also spent much of the race in the top 20.

The Shawano senior said the course was a challenging one to conquer.

“State was physically very hard, and I wasn’t used to it so it was a little hard for me,” said Kaquatosh. “Competing there was just kind of crazy for me because I wasn’t used to how big and fast it was.

“I would say that my finish was very strong for the way I had to adjust with the speed of the course.”

Also competing at state for the first time, Dickman admitted the course was challenging but thanked a big support group that came to cheer him on and helped him through it.

Dickman had a strong final sprint to the finish line to land inside the top 100.

“I thought it went good,” Dickman said of his first state run. “I wasn’t expecting too much and I was just expecting to finish. Finishing is a win.”

In Division 3 action, junior Kara Troxel led the Bonduel girls, placing 26th in 20:38.4.

While snowflakes fell throughout all six state races on an already cold and breezy day, the Division 3 girls field had to deal with extremely tough conditions.

During the race, it turned into a near white-out, with snow pelting competitors as they navigated the course.

“It (the snow) didn’t affect me too much in the beginning, but once it started coming down harder, it got harder to see. My eyes started watering,” said Troxel. “But I just had to keep pushing through it so I could finish good for the team.”

Junior Kalleigh Schroeder (21:52.5) took 85th, while junior Madison Kurey (22:14.4) came in 97th.

“I would say that going into the race I didn’t think I was going to do very good, but as I was racing I felt good and didn’t feel much pain,” said Kurey. “After the race when I heard my time, I was surprised because I ran really good and had a good time.”

Freshman Kendra Troxel (23:04.1) took 119th, while junior Breanna Schnell (23:19.7) was 128th to round out the team score.

Sophomore Jessica Ewing (23:33.8) and senior Alexia Folkman (25:10.9) filled out the girls seven-runner team.

Leading the Bonduel boys team was senior Carter Kurey, who placed 57th with a time of 17:46.2.

“It was a lot of fun, I’m glad we made it back down,” said Kurey on finishing his high school career at state.

“I think that our team ran good today. I got a strong feeling that there were a lot of PRs (personal records).”

Karter Schroeder posted a strong time of 18:38.6 to cap his freshman season and place 103rd.

“I think I did good because I knew it was my last meet of the season and I had to leave it all out there,” said Schroeder.

“My first experience at state was a blast and all the upperclassmen made sure I was having fun.”

Sophomore Cooper Uelmen (18:58), junior Jack Johnson (19:07.9) and freshman Ayden Dunst (19:25) placed 113th, 120th and 126th, respectively, to cap the team score.

Seniors William Beaumier (20:22.3) placed 137th, while senior Colen Klosterman (20:48.2) came in 140th to cap the seven-runner team.

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