Caydince Kabatoff was surprised as anyone to hear she was named to team Alberta for the Western Canadian Tri-Prov Championships next month.
The Red Deer Titans track and field athlete almost didn’t believe it when her mom told her. The 14-year-old will compete at the Winnipeg meet from July 14-16 in the 100 and 200 metre races.
“I thought I had like a three percent chance, because this is my first year. That night (my mom) told me, I was really excited,” Kabatoff recalled.
She’ll join Titans’ teammates Jeremiah Lauzon and Jared Howse at the event.
Kabatoff didn’t have the fastest times at the CALTAF Calgary Track Classic two weeks ago which typically serves as a qualifying meet for Team Alberta.
Her 100m time was 13.21, which was 13th at the meet in Calgary and in the 200m, she ran 28.32.
For a first-year track athlete what those times signal is there is plenty of room to grow. She’s really only been focusing on those races since she started pursuing track this season in high school and is happy with the improvement she’s seen so far.
“At school track I was just fast. Thinking I was fast in lacrosse and I thought I might try track and I’m here now,” she said. “I’ve learned to push myself harder and learned to get more into it.”
What she likes about track compared to other sports is the individual battle you have to fight each race.
“I like the independence and getting into the game,” she said.
As for her expectations in Winnipeg, she’s just hoping to embrace the journey.
“it’s going to be a very good experience, something I’ll never experience again. It’s going to be really awesome to meet new people,” she said.