NSW Country athletics championship young guns to watch in Maitland
NSW country has a strong history when it comes to producing stars of the track and field and this looks set to continue. Athletes to watch at the 2025 NSW Country titles.
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NSW country has a strong history when it comes to producing stars of the track and field and this looks set to continue at the 2025 NSW Country titles at Maitland later this week.
The NSW country championships from Friday to Sunday will again throw the spotlight on the best talent and merging stars in our regional areas.
Some athletes have already started to make quite a name for themselves but the 2025 championships will also help produce a new legion of young stars.
The championships will be held at Maitland and this year will boast record numbers with the 80th NSW Country Championships being contested by 1077 athletes.
Previously, numbers at the championships have never exceeded 800.
With help from Atheltics NSW media officer David Tarbotton we have collated a list of some of the young athletes to watch at the annual event.
TRENT ALLEY AND ALTON FREEMAN
The U17 1500m and 2000m steeplechase is shaping as a great battle between rising stars Trent Alley (Port Macquarie) and Alton Freeman (Blackheath).
Trent has the faster time in 1500m but Alton leads the steeplechase seed times.
Trent hails from the Run Crew club and Freeman represents Springwood District Little Athletics Club and is coached by Lewis Squadrito
IVY HOADLEY
Taree’s Ivy Hoadley has a big program of events at the NSW Country titles.
She will contest the U16 hurdles, jumps and throws.
Ivy’s best individual event is the javelin with a PB of over 37m
A talented heptathlon prospect, she is coached by Jenny Wylie at the Taree Athletics Club. .
SIDNEY BARTLE
Sidney is favourite to dominate the U15s hammer throw after winning the Australian All Schools U14 hammer crown.
She is coached by her father Keiran Bartle and hails from Mount Warrigal.
The Athletics Wollongong gun will also compete in the discus and 300m hurdles.
KOBE BORGSTAHL
Keep your eye out for the rapidly improving Kobe Borgstahl from Kelso.
The Bathurst club representative has improved from times of 11.61 (100m) and 22.96 (200m) in the heats of the NSW All Schools to slick times of 11.02 and 21.95 late in 2024 in an extraoridinary jump in form.
Kobe is coached by Kate Lynch who is the NSW Litte Athletics Regional Development Officer at Western Ranges and Western Plains,
NATE WARD
Hailing from Kotara South, Nate is a rising star of middle-distance racing.
In December in Brisbane he placed fifth in the Australian All Schools championship U17 1500m race.
Coached by Jay Armstrong, the Eleeban athlete will run the U18 400m, 800m (PB 1:55.61) and 1500m (PB 3:58.95)
COOPER DABIN
Burrangong’s Cooper Dabin is another to watch for after a great performane at the Australian All Schools championships where he won the U16 hammer throw with a brilliant PB of 65.27m.
At the NSW Country championships the Temora Athletics Club star he has graduated to a heavier hammer, moving from 4kg to 5kg to compete in the U17 hammer throw.
His PB is 52.36m but could better that having made leaps and bounds under world class coach Ernie Shankelton.
AVA ROSS
Coach by Dennis Pitt and hailing from Charlestown, Ava Ross already has quite the name and will be competing in the U18 100m and 200m events.
From the Kotara South Athletics Club she is favourite for both events.
She won the NSW U17 100m crown last year with a PB of 12.09.
Soon after she just missed the podium at the national championships with her fourth in the U17 100m. She later collected a silver medal in the NSW 4x100m
KEIRA CARLSON
From the Mingara Athletics Club and tipped to turn heads in the U17 200m and 400 racing.
Keira is coached by Vanessa Price and hails from Wyee Point.
Last year she won bronze in the U16s over 400m at the Australian Junior Championships in April and then the Australian All Schools in December.
KADANCE NAYLOR
From the Nowra Athletics Club, Kadance is expected to make quite an impact at the NSW Country titles.
From Sanctuary Point, she will start favourite in the U17 javelin throw with her PB
of 38.86m.
She will also complete in the U17 100m, Discus and Hammer Throw.
ERIN LANYON
Erin was on of the stars of the show at last year’s NSW Country Championships.
From the Kingscliff Athletic Club, Erin won silver medals in the long jump, triple jump and high jump
This year the Rene Adams-Cook coached athlete could go one step higher on the podium in the triple jump and potentially the long jump.
In the long jump there is a good battle being tipped between Erin and Kyarnah-Jane Nichols and Gabrielle Waerea.
OTHERS TO WATCH
Youngster Lincoln Gorrie from Athletics Wollongong last year won the 800m, the long jump, the shot put 2kg and discus 500g in his debut performance at a NSW Country Championships.
In the same age group Harry Brown from Orange little A’s won both the 100m and 200m races last year.
Scarlett Auvaa from Bathurst made an impressive debut in the U10s a year ago, winning the shot put 2kg and discus 500g
Charlotte James from East Lakes set a blistering time in the 400m in the U13s last year with Savannah Auvaa from Bathurst winning the Javelin 400g in the U13s.
Hamish Mulrooney from the Gosford All-Stars turned plenty of heads in 2024 with his victories in the shot put 2kg and discus 500g.
Callum Martin from Adamstown was impressive in the 1500m walk in the U14s at the last event.
Other notable performances last year included Jarrah Flack (400m in the U11s), Coen Morgan from the Newcastle Flyers runners club (2km steeple U18s), Ky Garrett in the Hammer 5kg, Imogene Anderson from Athletics Wollongong in the Hamer 3kg in the U15s and Skye Dogan from Byron Bay in the U16s 2km Steeple.
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