DeMari Thompson has always been a now-person. The present is where he wants to hover. It’s where he’s at his most comfortable.
It’s partly why you won’t hear him talk openly about his college goals or the next personal record he’s got in his sights. He does, of course, have aspirations in both of those facets. But the North Salem junior doesn’t want to entangle himself in the pitfalls of predictions.
“I think he worries that, if he comes close then it still looks like failure,” North Salem sprints coach Don Berger said.
Could be. Thompson even admits there’s a tinge of superstition. But then again, the self-described lifetime go-getter doesn’t particularly need to worry about the future yet. Especially here on the verge of the state championships, where he and the word failure couldn’t be more antonymous.
Thompson is the state’s fastest sprinter. At the Nike/Jesuit Twilight Relays he jumped from third to first in the state in the 100-meter dash (10.59 seconds). He’s seventh in the 200 and his Vikings are second in the 4x100 — a relay team comprised entirely of North Salem football players whom Thompson, a running back, soon-to-be receiver, helped recruit.
Last year, he set the state meet record at the 5A level in the 100. This season, he became the 11th fastest to ever run at the Class 6A level and is set for a showdown with South Medford’s Andrew Walker, who, while he has yet to face off against this season, may provide the best shot at taking him down (Walker is second in the state with a 10.64 in the 100).
It’s been a delicate balancing act for Thompson this spring — the biggest season of a high school career that has an increasing likelihood of morphing into a collegiate one.
Thompson is a brother to six. His two sisters, Nerissa (19-years-old, Cal State Bakersfield) and Maliyah (20, Western Oregon), were standouts for the Vikings themselves before recently beginning their own collegiate track and field careers. They were members of the 2018 Class 6A state champion 4x100 relay team, as well as the 2019 Class 5A state champs and won their fair share of individual events.
Their little brother is a devoted student who’s taken to economics, of late. He’s infatuated with the intricacies of how the world works, how he can be a functioning, positive member of society, and all that other “adult stuff,” like paying taxes.
He’s a vastly skilled saxophonist and member of the school’s wind ensemble jazz band. He’s a talented, speedy, skill position player for the Vikings’ football program, who even here, deep in the offseason, works frequently with quarterback T.C. Manumaleuna. He’s even a part time McDonalds employee, and a young man with such an aptitude for leadership, that Berger went as far as to boldly proclaim that, “after 45 years of coaching, this is the best leader I’ve ever had.”
Added North Salem head coach Beth Dougherty: “DeMari is the complete package.”
And yet, even the state’s fastest needs to catch his breath at times.
“Everyone tells me to be nice to myself,” Thompson said. “And that’s something that I’m really trying to figure out what it is. Be nice to myself, how do I do that? I know my limits. Nobody else knows me as well as me. I know my breaking point. And I know when I’m not putting in enough effort.”
Thompson’s quick-twitch athleticism made him an obvious fit for the sprinting world. In that regard, his genes haven’t hurt, either. But there’s a curious mind behind that blinding speed. For Thompson, the most rewarding aspect lies in the sport’s progression — its linear, get-out-what-you-put-in nature.
There’s no glancing back over your shoulder, relying on the prowess of a quarterback who may, or may not, see you darting through open swaths of turf. It’s just him, in a “constant battle” with himself. And it’s addicting.
He sounds a lot more hardened than his genial personality would let on. He takes his endeavors seriously, be sure, but even his leadership style — which he described as “loosely stern” — relies on the reminder to his team that they can’t forget to have fun.
If they’re there only for the pure competitive side of things, they’re doing it wrong, he’ll tell them.
Still only a junior, Thompson has been integral in pointing a young Vikings team in the right direction. After an abundance of success, highlighted by those recent state championships on the girl’s side, North Salem is looking to re-establish its culture with that champion roster now completely turned over.
The next big checkmark in that vision comes this weekend in Eugene. On an individual level, Dougherty doesn’t think Thompson has hit his ceiling yet. She said the 10.4s are in reach, if not this spring/summer, then next season.
There’s a similar feeling surrounding the Vikings program as a whole. Powered by Thompson, they’ll be in the fold for medals in several events, ones in which the performances of underclassmen could point to an even more fruitful 2024 season.
But don’t ask Thompson about the future. It’s here, right now, where he’s at his most comfortable.
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