29 rising stars named finalists for the 2024 South Australian School Sports Awards
The countdown is on for the annual celebration of South Australia’s student sport talents. Here are the young guns who have made the final cut.
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It’s time to reveal the finalists for The Advertiser, Sunday Mail and Department for Education School Sports Awards 2024.
All 28 talented athletes in individual primary, secondary, officials and teams sections are listed below.
Winners and runners-up will be announced at an awards function on Wednesday, November 20 at Keith Murdoch House.
You can watch the awards night, in its entirety, live and exclusive on The Advertiser website thanks to KommunityTV.
INDIVIDUAL PRIMARY SECTION
Charlie Camilleri
Prince Alfred College, cross country, track and field, touch football
A running champion, Camilleri has collected a myriad of accolades over the last two years.
The Year 6 student has represented South Australia on multiple occasions, taking home a hoard of gold and silver medals.
Outside of his running success, Camilleri has also represented the state as a member of the SSSA Touch Football team at the 2024 national competition.
Harvey Clark
Trinity College
Australian football, Basketball
Clark was chosen ahead of 200 other students for the Under 12 State Football Team which came second in the State Carnival held in Geelong.
Clark is also a superstar on the court, and was the only first year player chosen to be on the Central Districts Lions Division 1 team.
Orlando Eitel
St Martin de Porres School
Diving, gymnastic, swimming
Year 6 student Eitel is already springing to success both in and out of the pool.
He finished fourth in the Under 11 1m Springboard at the 2024 Diving Age National Championships and cleaned up at the State Gymnastics Championships coming first overall in Level 3 Open and first on floor plus second on pommel, rings and parallel bar.
In September, Eitel was invited to join the Diving Australia Pathway Development Squad, an exciting step in his already golden career.
Isabelle Goddard
St Johns Grammar School,
Swimming, diving
Year 4 student, Goddard was selected to represent South Australia in both the swimming and diving state teams at the National School Sports Championships.
In July, she competed in seven different swimming events, achieving personal bests in all races and securing herself a top ten national spot.
Swimming has been a big part of Goddard’s life after she first jumped into the pool at three years old but was talent scouted to join Diving SA at the start of this year making her achievements even more impressive.
Paige Gray
Portside Christian College
Soccer, athletics, cross country
A rising star in SA’s soccer scene, Gray was selected to represent the state in the Under 12s National Football (Soccer) Championships held in October.
Off the pitch she is also a talented runner winning the 1500m and 800m races at the SAPSASA Port Districts.
Gray’s success has been on the rise since 2022 when she was selected to fill a Shadow Position for the School Sports SA Under 12s Girls State Soccer Team at only ten-years-old.
Sofia Haddock
Burnside Primary School
Tennis
Haddock is currently ranked in the national number one position for her age based on singles and doubles rankings combined.
She has demonstrated her sporting prowess while representing the state at national team events, achieving great results at all competitions.
Recently Haddock was selected to represent Australia at the Asia Intercontinental Under 12 Teams event.
Rose Kishinets
St Peters Woodlands Grammar School
Swimming
Kishinets defended her backstroke title at the Gold Coast Games in July while upholding her state record in the pool.
The Year 5 young gun also claimed the bronze medal in the 50 freestyle event.
She also received the only South Australian gold medal in this competition.
Matilda White
Rosary School
Soccer
White is living up to her first name, kicking goals as a talented young soccer player.
Last year she was selected for the West Ham Academy in the UK.
She was also chosen as a member of the SA State Schools Team and will play at nationals.
Nate Wenske
Trinity College
BMX
Year 5 student Wenske is already competing at world level, travelling to Rockhill in the US where he claimed third place at the BMX World Championships.
Wenske has also achieved back on home soil coming first in the South Australian Championships and second in the Australian National Series.
Sia Iyengar
Henley Beach Primary School
Cricket
Iyengar made history as the youngest player in 11 years to be named in the Under-14 Indoor National Cricket Competition.
She has demonstrated remarkable talent and growth and is paving herself a way for an exciting future in the sport.
INDIVIDUAL SECONDARY SECTION
James Azli
Concordia College
Archery
Azli is shooting for the stars having represented Australia at the Oceania and Trans Tasman Archer Competition and coming away with one gold medal, two silver medals and five bronze medals.
This year he was also crowned the Australian Overall Champion in the junior category for Olympic recurve archer at the 2024 Junior National Competition in Canberra.
Azli shot a national record at two of the events he competed in.
Finley Bennett
Brighton Secondary School
Volleyball
Bennett has been a member of Brighton Secondary School’s Special Interest Volleyball Program for five years and is the captain of the Brighton Open Honour Boys Team.
After success at both a state and national level, Bennett has accepted a Developing Volleyroos Beach Volleyball contract for 2025 and will train at the Men’s Volleyroos facility in Adelaide.
Despite all his achievements, Bennet remains a humble competitor who is a “fantastic role model” to his peers.
Douglas Cochrane
Henley High School
Football
While coming back from an injury, Cochrane ran water and was a runner for the Under-16 and Under-18 Central Districts team.
His determination to get back onto the field paid off with the young gun being selected as a 2025 SANFL U18 State Academy Squad member.
He also placed in third for the Central District’s Best and Fairest Award after playing under 16s and 18s, including a grand final appearance.
Raegan Denton
Henley High School
Golf
Year 11 student, Denton captained the Australian Junior Interstate Teams matches and remained undefeated.
She has also been selected for the Australian Junior National Team and competed against the US team.
Mitch Evans
Brighton Secondary School
Baseball
Highlights on the long list of Evans’ achievements include his selection to represent Australia and compete internationally on the Under 16 Charter Team.
Evans attended the Under 16 National Camp in 2023 and participated in the US tour this year where he was selected for the MLB Select Team.
His pitching velocity has increased, reaching a top speed of 89 miles per hour while he has maintained an outstanding batting record for Team Australia.
Lara Gribben
Norwood International High School
Football, basketball
A superstar on the court and field, Gribben was selected in the Under-15 School Sport AFL All Australian Team and to represent SA in basketball at the National Under 16 basketball tournament.
Despite being a bottom aged basketballer, Gribben made the top 20 at the tournament and earning a the Australian Under 15 Basketball squad.
Elana Holub
Thebarton Senior College
Ice hockey
This year Holub represented Australia in Under 18 Women’s Ice Hockey in Jaca, Spain.
The team placed fourth in Division One, Group B with Holub being named most valued player in Australia’s game against Poland.
Back on home soil she is a member of the Ice Factor Thunder team and has taken on a coaching role to mentor other players within the program.
Grace Martin
Henley High School
Football
Martin was a worthy addition to the SA Under 18 state team and was also named the Round 8 SANFLW Powerade break through player.
In her final year of school, Martin also juggled coaching the Airport SAPSASA team which went on to win multiple championships.
Charlotte McAuliffe
St Peter’s Collegiate Girls School
Athletics
There is no denying McAuliffe is a star on the track, winning a truckload of medals in every colour at a national and international level.
The Year 11 student is ranked number one in the Under 18 Female in Australia for the 400m with a season’s best of 53.65 secs.
She has also been selected for Athletics Australia Pathway Transition Program which supports targeted under-20 athletes who are demonstrating potential to achieve Athletics Australia’s High Performance goals and targets at Olympic and Paralympic Games, World Champs and
Commonwealth Games.
Keira Post
St Mary’s College
Athletics
Post received an invitation to run at the Maurie Plant Gold Meet in the Open Para Women’s
100m as one of the top para sprinters in Australia and New Zealand.
Post, who has a classification of T37 (Cerebral Palsy and Acquired Brain Injury
Classification Category) was the youngest participant to be invited and ran a time of 14.18 secs, coming third overall.
Current World Para Open Athletics Rankings T37 position Post as number 10 in
the 100m and number 11 in the 200m.
Amlani Tatu
Underdale High School
Soccer
Year 10 student Tatu represented Australia at the ASEAN Cup as a member of the under 17s team.
At his young age, Tatu has already secured a professional scholarship with Adelaide United and participated in a trial with PSV Eindhoven in Holland.
Emma Vonthethoff
St Aloysius College
Artistic freeskating
Vonthethoff started the year off with a gold medal at the Taipei Open Artistic Rollerskating Championships in the Youth Freeskating category.
In July she received another gold medal at the Skate Australian National Championships and was named as the South Australian nominee for Junior Skater of the year.
STUDENT OFFICIAL SECTION
Dorian Edmonds
Seaton High School
Baseball
Edmonds is the youngest umpire of a Division One state league game behind the plate in Australia.
He has held this record for two years.
A caring mentor, Edmond has also coached primary school SAPSASA softball and has assisted with training of junior club level umpires at the School Sport Australia Baseball Championships in 2024.
Isabella Fisher
Woodcroft College
Swimming
Fisher joined SwimmingSA’s Junior Whistleblowers Program last year and has since gained accreditation as Judge of Stroke and Inspector of Turn.
The Year 10 student travelled to Queensland to officiate events at the School Sport National Championships and is often recognised for her willingness to contribute and great rapport with local and interstate officials.
Lucas Gulin
St Marks College
Netball
Gulin coached St Marks’ first boys netball team and umpired girls and boys teams at SAPSASA competitions.
He is a B badged netball umpire and is on his way to securing his A badge.
Outside of his umpiring and coaching, Gulin has represented SA in men’s netball and assists multiple local clubs with umpiring and mentoring of junior umpires.
Adol Jol
Murray Bridge High School
Volleyball
In her senior year Jol stepped into a leadership role helping to grow and co-ordinate Murray Bridge High School’s volleyball program.
She organised and facilitated a senior school volleyball tournament while working to coach the Year 9 team and captaining her own Year 12 girls volleyball team.
Jol’s work within the volleyball program has enlivened the school’s passion for the sport with teachers saying the program “would not have the same cohesion” without her efforts.
Alexander Scarman
Emmaus Christian College
Football
Scarman has been umpiring Australian rules football for six year, starting as a goal umpire with the Adelaide Footy League and now working with the SANFL as part of the Development Squad.
Despite only being in Year 11, Scarman officiated the 2024 SANFLW finals and the grand final in July.
To top off a successful year, the passionate umpire was the inaugural winner of the Eleni Tee Award for Most Outstanding New Talent at the 2024 SANFLW Golden Whistle Awards.
TEAMS SECTION
South Australian 15 Years and Under Australian football Girls Team
South Australia’s 15 and under girls Australian football Team secured the win at the 2024 National Championships in the Gold Coast.
It was the first time the South Aussie girls had won the competition since its introduction in 2011.
The team maintained composure and overcame challenges both physically and mentally to stay on top of their game with six members being selected in the final all-Australian squad.
Each of the 25 participants in the team are recognised for their individual skills and unique character traits which ultimately contributed to the team’s stellar success.
South Australian Youth Women’s Baseball Team
This group of talented girls aged between 13 and 16 years, has spent most of their summer season competing against boys teams.
For the second consecutive year, the team represented SA at the national competition, winning majority of it games to make it to the grand final where they flattened Queensland with a convincing win.
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