“She will run until she falls over”
Cassie Kemp has been a natural since she stepped on the track two years ago.
The 16-year-old, Grade 11 student at St. Catharines Collegiate easily took home top spot Friday in the junior girls 800-metre intellectual race at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) South Regional track and field meet at the Niagara Olympic Club.
“We thought we would give her a chance to run and she blew us away with how fast she could run, so we told her to keep running,” Collegiate track coach Dave Poirier said. “She just loves being part of the track and field team. She loves being here and with everyone else.
“She will run until she falls over.”
Kemp, who also participates in cross-country, placed second Thursday in the 100-metre race and last year ran a 3:13.66 to win the intellectual disability 800 metres, setting a Zone 4 record in the process. At the Southern Ontario Secondary Schools Association meet last year, Kemp won the intellectual disability 100 metres and broke another record with a time of 15.66 seconds.
“She’s just a racer. She just wants to run, and run fast,” Poirier added.
Poirier, who teaches special education at Collegiate, has high aspirations for Kemp at OFSAA.
“She came in second in the 800 last year and I think we have a vision of gold this year,” he said.
Kemp loves being on the track.
“(It’s a) lot of fun, but it’s tiring,” she smiled.
Kemp had a huge lead over the field Friday, something she was well aware of.
“When I’m running I look behind me really quickly to see who is behind and then I just keep going,” she said.
Kemp gave credit to her mother, Lisa Vanpagee, for her prowess on the track.
“My mom was a good runner when she was in track and field before so she said I’m the same as her. I’m good at track.”
Poirier said coaching intellectually impaired athletes is rewarding.
“I love it. It’s so much fun. It’s incredible,” he said.
He did admit it comes with specific challenges.
“Some of the things we got so used with coaching that are natural, are just not natural,” he said. “The idea of pacing or race strategy is difficult at times. When she gets on the track and gets running, it usually doesn’t matter what we did before.”
Poirier said his time with the intellectually impaired students in the classroom gave him the impetus to see how they would respond to sport.
“It turns out we have a pretty strong group of impaired athletes,” he said. “I saw the opportunity.
“I’m hanging out with these kids all day and I saw the opportunity for them to really excel at something and they definitely do that.”
Kemp can’t wait for OFSAA.
“I’m really excited,” she said.
And what about coming home with a gold?
“I think it would be amazing,” she smiled.
In addition to primary high school sponsors. Johnny Rocco’s and Mick and Angelo’s, BPSN’s coverage of the track and field season is made possible with the support of the Niagara Olympic Club (https://nocrunners.com).
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