The future looks bright with these talented Victorian junior athletes aiming for golden glory
Are these our Commonwealth Games stars of the future? Meet the young Victorians who dream of gold medals in track and field events.
Local Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Sport . Followed categories will be added to My News.
A bright future looms for Australian athletics with these talented Victorians aiming to be the next generation of Commonwealth and Olympic stars.
The next Craig Mottram, Jared Tallent, John Steffensen or even Cathy Freeman could be on this list of the best next generation of athletics stars.
We’ve compiled a list of more than 25 athletes who are on the radar for future success with some making major impressions at international level.
They hail from all disciplines including middle distance runners, sprinters, throwers and jumpers.
See the talented athletes below.
Ryan Tarrant
Discipline: 100m and 200m
Age group: under-20 and under-19
The Athletics Essendon Club member is the fastest ever Victorian junior in under-19 and under-18 in the 200m after setting his personal best times in both age groups earlier this year.
He posted a time 22.11 seconds, joining another athlete on this list with the record.
The 17-year-old is about to compete in the 4x100m in the World Athletics Under-20 Championships and is one of the hottest prospects in the 100m and 200m.
Tarrant finished third in the nationals this year and was beaten by Caleb Law (18) and Connor Bond (19) who are older than him.
Jessica Milat
Discipline: 100m, 200m
Age group: under-18
The Sandringham Athletics Club teenager didn’t compete at this year’s nationals but she was the best Victorian in under-18 in the 100m and 200m.
She won the 200m title by more than a second.
Milat, for Sandringham, is part of the state record for clubs in the 4x100 in the under-14 and under-17 category.
Cooper Sherman
Discipline: 100, 200m, 400m
Age group: under-20 and under-19
The Ballarat sprinter has excelled in the 100m, 200m and 400m in the past 12 months despite a focus recently on the longer sprinting distance.
The St Patrick’s College student earlier this year became the co-fastest Victorian junior ever, alongside Tarrent, in the 200m in under-19 and under-18.
His immediate focus is on the 400m, competing for Australia in the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Cali, Colombia in August.
Sherman’s club is Ballarat Harriers and he is coached by Neville Down.
Natasha Jonus
Discipline: High Jump
Age group: under-16
Jonus finished fourth at the state titles in high jump earlier this year and is a Victorian record holder in under-13 in the same discipline.
She is from the Wyndham Track and Field Club.
Caleb Kilpatrick
Discipline: 400m
Age group: under-16
The Geelong athlete is the best 400m under-16 runner in the country after winning the national title this year with a time of 49.16 seconds.
Kilpatrick is the fastest Victorian ever in the 400m in under-14 and also holds the record in the same distance in under-13 and under-15 in Victoria country.
The Athletics Chiswell product recently finished second in the 400m at the under-18 Oceania Championships in Mackay.
Claudia Hollingsworth
Discipline: 800m, 1500m
Age group: under-18
Hollingsworth is a star of the future who has already shown her talent on the world stage.
The Mentone Grammar student recently competed at the World Championships in the 800m and is about to compete in the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in the 1500m in Colombia.
Trained by former Olympian Craig Mottram, the 2024 Olympics is in her sights.
Her success has seen Hollingsworth break eight Victorian records in multiple age groups in both the 800m and 1000m.
The 17-year-old is an athlete at the Mentone Athletics Club.
Thomas Diamond
Discipline: 1500m and 3000m
Age group: under-20
The Box Hill Athletics runner will compete for Australia at the upcoming World Athletics U20 Championships in the 3000m.
Diamond qualified for the event after finishing third in the 3000m at the nationals in under-20.
His time in the event, 8:11.63, was also under the meet record.
Diamond’s personal best, which is 7:57.13, is also a Victorian record in 3000m in under-20 and under-19.
Molly Colgan
Discipline: Triple Jump
Age group: under-15
The Frankston Athletics Club teenager is among a few in Victoria doing well in the triple jump.
Colgan finished fourth earlier this year in the nationals in under-15 and was 38cm behind the winner.
She also finished 12th in the long jump in the same age group.
The teenager is the Victorian record holder in the triple jump in under-13.
Archie Caldow
Discipline: 1500m, 3000m
Age group: under-17
The Ballarat teenager is talented in not only athletics but football as well and may have a tough decision to make in the future.
Caldow recently played for Victoria Country in the under-16 national championships and is part of the Greater Western Victoria Rebels.
He is also a national champion as an athlete.
Caldow won the 3000m national title last year in under-16 and almost won the 1500m national title in under-17 this year.
He lost by 0.05 seconds to New South Wales runner Jade Kitching.
The Wendouree Athletics Club member is the record holder for the best time by an under-16 runner in Victoria country.
Amy Fitzgerald
Discipline: triple jump, long jump
Age group: under-15
The Sandringham Athletics Club member won the national under-15 triple jump earlier this year before finishing second in the long jump in the same age group.
Her triple jump success came with the last attempt, jumping 11.61m.
The 14-year-old achieved the same distance, 11.61m, in her state championship win in triple jump a few months prior.
Archie Noakes
Discipline: 3000m, 5000m, 3000m steeplechase
Age group: under-20
The Athletics Essendon long distance runner dominated at the recent nationals, claiming two titles in the under-20 5000m and the under-20 3000m steeplechase.
The Brunswick teenager is the state record holder in the 2000m steeplechase in the under-17 and under-18 age groups and recently added the under-19 record in the 3000m steeplechase.
He is heading to Colombia for the upcoming World Athletics Under-20 Championships.
Daisy Nousis
Discipline: 200m, 400m
Age group: under-15
The talented athletics runner is not only good at the 200m and 400m but she is also a talented basketballer.
Nousis was selected for the Victoria under-16 metro team as an emergency earlier this year.
In athletics, the Sandringham Athletics Club athlete claimed the national title in under-15 in the 400m this year.
She also finished 3rd in the 200m in the same age group.
Lachlan O‘Keefe
Discipline: High Jump
Age group: Under-18
The Ballarat athlete could be in contention for the Olympic Games in two years time even though he is just 17-years-old.
The St Patrick’s College student currently has the sixth best height in high jump this season, at 2.15m, and is the current national champion in under-18.
In fact, his height would have won him the under-20 national title and put him second in the open competition.
The Wendouree Athletics Club athlete is about to compete in the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Colombia and is a chance of making the final in the event.
Mia Scerri
Discipline: Heptathlon
Age group: under-20
Mia Scerri could be about to dominate the heptathlon for the next few years at under-20 level.
She won the national title in the age group earlier this year at 17 and has at least two more attempts to win the event again.
Scerri is from the Sandringham Athletics Club.
Jack Boulton
Discipline: 100m, 200m and 400m
Age group: under-20
The Albury Athletics Club teenager is one to look out for in the Stawell Gift in future years.
The 18-year-old has already competed at Stawell, making the semi finalss earlier this year.
He’s already been successful at Gift events, taking out the Parkdale event over 120m two years in a row in 2020 and 2021.
Boulton is also a Victorian record holder in under-16 and under-17 in the 400m and under-14 in the 200m.
Alanna Peart
Discipline: 10km walk
Age group: under-20
The Ballarat teenager will represent Australia at the upcoming World Athletics Under-20 Championships in the 10km racing walk after impressive performances this year.
She finished 2nd in the nationals in the 10km racing walk before winning silver with Australia in the teams walking event in Oman.
She is also hoping to represent Australia at the Commonwealth Games at home, in Ballarat, in 2026.
Bart Leeton
Discipline: 1500m
Age group: under-15
The Old Scotch Collegians Athletics athlete may not have competed at this year’s nationals but his performances last year had everyone talking.
The Scotch College student won the under-14 national title in the 1500m and also broke the national meet record for his age group.
He also holds the under-14 Victorian record, setting a time of 4:06.60 earlier this year.
Tiana Boras
Discipline: Triple Jump
Age group: under-20
Boras has owned the triple jump in the past few years in her age group and is just about to show her talent on the world stage.
The national champion in the under-20 triple jump will compete in the World Athletics Under 20 Championships next month.
The Geelong athlete at Athletics Chiswell Club is the Victorian record holder in the triple jump in under-15, under-16, under-17, under-18 and under-19 country.
Logan Tickell
Discipline: 3000m
Age group: under-17
The South Bendigo Athletics Club athlete is a Victorian record holder in the 3000m in under-15, setting the time last year.
He’s also been a recipient of the Bendigo’s Sports Star of the Year scholarship for 2020 and 2021 for his achievements in athletics.
The 16-year-old finished inside the top 10 in the 1500 and 3000m in under-17 at the national championships this year.
Amy Bunnage
Discipline: 3000m, 1500m
Age group: under-20
The Mentone Athletics Club athlete is joining a few others on this list who will compete at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships.
Bunnage will be competing in the 3000m after winning the national championships earlier this year by more than 23 seconds over her rivals.
The teenager holds the Victorian record in the 3000m in under-16.
Liam Shadbolt
Discipline: High Jump
Age group: under-16
The Swan Hill junior is the current national champion in the under-16 high jump after jumping 1.97m earlier this year.
He currently has a personal best of 2m.
The Bendigo Harriers athlete is also the Victoria record holder in under-14 country in high jump with a height of 1.87m.
Gabrielle Vincent
Discipline: 800m, 1500m
Age group: under-17
The South Melbourne Athletics Club member is a national champion in the 800m in under-17 after the recent event in Sydney.
She won by 0.08 seconds over her rivals.
Vincent finished second behind Sudholz in the 1500m in under-17.
Guy Williams
Discipline: High Jump, Long Jump
Age group: under-15
The Geelong teenager can not only jump high but he can jump long.
The Athletics Chiswell athlete finished fourth in the high jump at the nationals and second in the long jump in under-15.
Williams is the under-13 long jump record holder in Victoria Country.
Alyssa Benbow
Discipline: Shot put, hammer throw, discus
Age group: under-16
The Ballarat-based thrower is another athlete from the region to be one to look out for in future years.
The Eureka Athletic Club athlete is the current state champion in under-16 in both the shot put and hammer throw.
Benbow won the shot put event by more than 8m before winning the hammer throw by more than 3m.
But she didn’t compete at the nationals this year.
Benbow is a Victoria record holder in the discus and shot put in under-13.
She also holds the Victorian country record in the shot put in under-14 and under-15.
Zulqarnain Haider
Discipline: 100m, 200m, 400m
Age group: under-14
For many athletes it is hard enough to win one national title in one year, let alone winning three at the same meet.
Zulqarnian Haider achieved that remarkable feat earlier this year by winning the 100m, 200m and 400m in under-14 at the nationals.
The Keilor Little Athletics Club athlete won by more than a second in the 400m, almost a second in the 200m and 0.3 seconds in the 100m.
Haider is also the state record holder in under-13 in the 400m.
Daisy Sudholz
Discipline: 3000m, 1500m
Age group: under-17
The Horsham middle distance runner is continuing the tradition of Victorians excelling in the 1500m and 3000m.
She won the 1500m and 3000m titles at the nationals this year, in under-17, winning by two seconds in the 1500m and 12 seconds in the 3000m.
Sudholz is now based in Ballarat and is a member of the Eureka Athletic Club.
Joshua Sullivan
Discipline: Long Jump, Triple Jump
Age group: under-17
Sullivan was another of the Victorian athletes who won multiple national titles earlier this year in Sydney.
The Cranbourne teenager won the long jump and triple jump in under-17 before finishing on the podium in 3rd in the 400m.
His four jumps in the final of the long jump would have all been good enough for the win.
The Casey Cardinia Athletics athlete recently finished second in the long jump at the under-18 Oceania championships in Mackay.
The players set to make Australian futsal history
Football Australia has announced its 14-player squad for a historic tournament in Asia next month. See who has been selected and what’s at stake.
Named: The top performers from Cricket Victoria Country Cup
Some of regional Victoria’s best junior cricketers went head-to-head in the Country Cup with one region dominating. We profile the top performers.