Kaktins dominates sprints at provincials
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WINNIPEG — The fastest race of Soleil Kaktins career wasn’t about how she finished, but how she started.
The Vincent Massey Vikings sophomore star knew she had the speed to track down anyone close in the junior varsity girls’ 100-metre final. Her only worry was if they’d get too far ahead early.
Kaktins put her head down and delivered her best start of the week, and she immediately knew it was all but over.
Vincent Massey's Soleil Kaktins, centre, won the JV girls 100-metre provincial gold medal at track and field provincials in Winnipeg on Saturday. (Thomas Friesen/The Brandon Sun)
“When I looked up after my (acceleration) phase and noticed I didn’t have Utugi (Manchuria), who’s a really good runner and has a really good start, beside me, that was definitely a good feeling,” Kaktins said.
“I knew it was going to be a good race the whole way through, so I had to keep going.”
Kaktins finished in 12.14 seconds, beating Balmoral Hall’s Lucija Rolfe-Maric by .26 to win the provincial title.
“It was awesome. That was the hope all weekend, so crossing the line first felt pretty good,” Kaktins said.
The time to celebrate on Saturday was short-lived, with a 200-metre semifinal to reset for, and a 4×100-metre relay to run right after that.
Kaktins said soccer helped her handle the busy weekend, despite it taking away from her time to train and recover for track. She had to build the endurance to sprint, recover and go ahead throughout 90-minute games, and was able to do just that at a high level.
She took the top seed for the 200m final, then helped her relay team reach the final.
“I usually like to try to run as fast as I can in prelims so I can have a good lane for semis and finals and have good vision of everyone,” Kaktins said.
“Go out really hard at the start … and in the last 50, you’re just emptying the tank.”
Vincent Massey's Soleil Kaktins, centre, won the JV girls 100-metre provincial gold medal at track and field provincials in Winnipeg on Saturday. (Thomas Friesen/The Brandon Sun)
On Sunday, she thoroughly dominated the 200m, running in 25.42 seconds to win by more than a second.
Kaktins had just enough left in the tank to hit the podium one more time, as her relay team of Adriana Ramalho, Angie Cortes and Maci Roberts were .002 behind MacGregor for second place in the 4×100 final, posting 52.69 seconds.
“It’s awesome, it’s so different. You’re not just running for yourself,” Kaktins said.
“It feels really good to be part of a team, work for other people and try to let them reach their goals as much as you want to reach yours.”
Kaktins is planning to try out for Team Manitoba in a few weeks, and hopes to earn a trip to Legion Nationals this summer.
» tfriesen@brandonsun.com