The 19-year-old won the 100m sprint at the Katherine Gift on Friday night, as Olympian and Commonwealth Games competitor Kyle Vander-Kuyp watched on.

At the finish line he was handed $500 cash, and is on his way to compete at the more famous Stawell Gift, Australia's premiere athletics carnival held in Melbourne.

The Stawell Gift, considered Australia's oldest and richest short distance running race, has seen a multitude of famous runners grace the track, including Cathy Freeman, Dean Capobianco and Joshua Ross.

Campbell-Kossack, an avid footy player who plays for Katherine East, said he fell away from athletics when he was younger as team sports took precedence.

"I am really keen on running, I always have been," he said, "I am hoping this will be a good step to take it further."

When asked if the Olympics was a goal, he said he was "unsure if I would want to shoot that high, but anything is possible."

The gift is part of an athletics program geared towards Indigenous and Torres Strait Islanders.

It has been opened to communities of the Territory with the winners of the Indigenous races for both the male and female races winning two trips to Victoria for both the Parkdale and Stawell Gifts.

Only in its infancy in Katherine, numbers were low, with just enough racers for two sprints.

Sixteen-year-old Elyssia Tallon Rosas was the other winner of the gift, but said she was unsure about taking her running to the next level in Melbourne.

Tarkyn Tallon Rosas, a year nine student from Trinity Grammar School in Victoria, won the All Comers race, and was also handed $500 cash.

Olympian, Kyle Vander-Kuyp, who still holds the Australian record for the 110 metre hurdle, despite 11 years off the track, said the gift is helping fill the gap in Indigenous talent scouting.

"We need more opportunities and events where you can give young people a run and a taste of what is out there, while also helping them get to the next level," he said.

"You see Indigenous talent in the big sports like NRL and AFL, but it is hidden in other sports."

He said he was hoping the gift would inspire young people to think outside the box when it comes to sport and athletics.

"It shouldn't all be about footy, we have young kids who love to run."

Kyle Vander-Kuyp, an Indigenous athlete of the Worimi and Yuin tribe of New South Wales said he grew up in Melbourne where opportunities were unlimited, a stark contrast to the remote towns of the Northern Territory.

"I was lucky, I always had access to really good coaches, and good facilities," he said.

"I discovered little athletics when I was young, and mum and dad would drop me off.

"Then I went to a high school that was heavily involved in track and field.

"I just landed in a good space."

He said the lack of opportunities and facilities - especially in the remote towns surrounding Katherine - made it difficult for budding athletes to "catch a break".

"It is very different for kids out here. If someone does have an interest, who do they team up with? Who supports them?

The Stawell Gift takes place on Saturday April 20 to Monday April 22 over the Easter long weekend.

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