Will Cooley is Southern Courier’s Junior Sports Star, Sophie Ferenczi Inspiration Award winner
The Southern Courier’s 2019 Junior Sports Star and Inspiration Award winner have been revealed at a gala dinner in Sydney.
Local Sports Stars
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Sports Stars. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Schoolboy sailor Will Cooley has a dream of racing off with a medal for the Australia sailing team at a future Olympic Games.
The Sydney teenager has already shown he knows what it takes to perform at the highest level on the international stage and that has seen him crowned the Southern Courier’s Junior Sport Star.
PHOTO GALLERY: LOCAL SPORTS STAR WINNERS
The awards, sponsored by Featherdale Wildlife Park and Bankstown Sports Club, were held on Wednesday night with the rising stars of NSW sport mingling with big names, including rugby league’s Jamie Soward and netball gun Tayla Fraser.
Will was honoured along with Southern Courier Inspiration Award winner Sophie Ferenczi.
The 17-year-old schoolboy combined with crewmate Rebecca Hancock to win the Nacra 15 world title in Poland in July.
The pair were so dominant at the regatta they had the world title sewn up with a race in hand and were last week named the Australian Sailing youth award winners.
“It’s a wonderful honour winning it two years in a row,’’ Will said.
Will beat fellow finalists, table tennis player Alice Lee and beach volleyballer Benjamin Schickinger for the award.
We’ve all heard about backbreaking work but for 15-year-old Maroubra athlete Sophie Ferenczi this was a harsh reality.
The middle distance track and cross country runner with Randwick Botany Little Athletics fractured a bone in her lower back last year and at first wasn’t able to walk, let alone run.
But after a six-month-recovery period involving a change of diet to combat her low bone density and hard work on rehab and physio, Sophie bounced back.
She won gold in the 3000m at the 2019 NSW Little Athletics state titles as well as gold in the same event at regionals this year.
She also won medals at the surf lifesaving national titles and made state level for swimming.
Tennis player Finn Dyer and Audrey Khamphet Pearse were Inspiration Award finalists.
“I was really surprised. This is such a great honour,’’ Sophie said.
“This is such a big thing. I didn’t think I would be so exited.’’
Each of our Junior Sport publication winners and Inspiration Award winners received $300 and a medal.
MORE SPORT
Joshua O’Connell (Inner West Courier) was crowned overall Junior Sports Star winner on the night after breaking the world 800m record for 11-year-old’s in April.
Swimmer John Dimech-O’Connell (Macarthur Chronicle) won the overall Inspiration Award and the under 14s Gosford City Rebels girls basketball team (Central Coast Express Advocate) the overall team award.
The overall Service to Sport winner was Chung Dang (Canterbury-Bankstown Express).