Sports Darling Downs honours region's best

Awards night a special tribute to region's best athletes

SPORT STARS: Coach Graham Pitt (centre) congratulates his athletes Ellie Bowyer (left) and Lara Nielsen on their award wins last year. Picture: Nev Madsen

THE Darling Downs' best athletes, sports officials, volunteers, teams and clubs will be honoured tonight.

Taking place at Rumours International, the annual Sports Darling Downs award dinner showcases the best sporting talent the region has to offer.

With numerous past winners, Olympians, Commonwealth Games athletes and world champions, tonight's 20th anniversay dinner will be a special one for SDD president Mick Smith.

"We started Sports Darling Downs off with the intention to help regional athletes,” Smith said.

"That changed pretty quickly when we discovered just how many talented athletes there were in the region.

"We still help them (the regional athletes) but we're proud to say we've also helped plenty of Olympians, Commonwealth Games athletes and world champions on their journey to success.”

During its 20-years, SDD has supported all manner of athletes from shooters and archers to hockey players and weightlifters.

"I'm not surprised by the type of athletes we've helped,” Smith said.

"The Darling Downs has always had a rich sporting history.

"But I have been surprised by the actions of the athletes from time-to-time.

"Jared Graves is one that springs to mind.

"I remember when he was in line to win a third award with us - he refused to accept it because he thought there were other athletes more deserving of the support.

"He then donated his prizemoney to charity.

"All of the athletes we've supported our so humble and gracious, which I think counts for a lot.”

The K&R Plumbing Supplies & Toowoomba Tile Warehouse Senior Sports Star of the Year and Wippells Autos Junior Sports Star of the Year winners will be crowned tonight.

The following is a list of the award nominees.

Juniors

January: Mason Hughes (athletics)

At the Australian Junior Athletics Championships Hughes won under-17 discus gold with a throw of 52.58m and gold in the U17 shot put with a throw of 16.63m. At the same championships he competed up in the U20 discus and finished sixth. Throughout 2018 he improved his personal best in shot put by 1.45m and his discus by 6.12m.

February: Georgia Voll (athletics, rugby league and cricket)

At the Australian Junior Athletics Championships Voll placed sixth in the U15 discus and javelin. A multi-talented athlete, Voll was also named in the U18 Emerging Origin Squad by Queensland Rugby League and in the U16s Cricket Australia XI team. Voll is also one of 24 girls selected to play in the U18 Women's Big Bash League Exhibition Match.

March: Jessica Rowe - athletics

Jessica won gold in the U13 hammer, silver in discus and bronze in shot put at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships.

April: Evan McLean (water polo)

McLean captained the Queensland Schools Water Polo Team at the National Championships where they won silver. His performance at the championships earned him selection in the Australian Schools Water Polo team which travelled to the United Kingdom and New Zealand. The Australian team competed against England, Romania and New Zealand and following a very impressive individual performance, including a hat trick against New Zealand, he was named Australia's MVP.

Last year's Wippells Autos Junior Sports Star runner-up Amber Reinbott. Picture: Nev Madsen

May: Tori Gallegos (CrossFit and weightlifting)

Competing in the world-wide CrossFit Open, Gallegos finished first in Australasia in the 14-15 years age category. Based on these results, Tori was selected to attend the CrossFit Games in Wisconsin, USA. At the Queensland Weightlifting Association Championships, she won the 15-17 years state title. Competing in the 63kg division, she secured an 81kg clean and jerk and 64kg snatch giving her a total of 145kg. She was then selected in the Australian team to compete at the Oceanic Games in New Caledonia.

June: Isabelle Mason (swimming)

At the beginning of 2018 Mason was selected in the Qld Talent Identification Squad. In February she competed in five events at the Commonwealth Games Trials. At the Qld Schools Swimming Championships, she won six individual medals including two gold, one silver and three bronze. At the National Schools Swimming Championships, she won gold in the 200m butterfly, bronze in the 400m freestyle and silver in the relay. At the Australian National age Championships in Sydney, Mason won bronze in the 200m butterfly. At the Qld Long Course Championships, she won gold in the 200m butterfly, silver in the 200m backstroke and bronze in the 400m freestyle.

July: Emily Ward and Zoe Webster (touch football)

The talented duo featured in Australia's U18 women's team at the Youth World Cup held in Malaysia. The team won the final against New Zealand 11-3. Both players were also members of the Qld U18 State Secondary School team that were undefeated in the National Youth Championships at Kawana Waters in October 2018.

August: Tatum Stewart and Briana Suey (hockey)

The pair was selected in the Australian U16 schoolgirls team which will tour Europe in 2019. This is the second year in a row that Tatum has been selected in the Australian schoolgirls team after also touring South Africa in 2018. Following the South Africa tour, Stewart was named Australia's MVP. The pair also played key roles in the Queensland schoolgirls team which secured silver at the National Championships.

September: Joshua Ridley (gymnastics)

Ridley was selected in the Australian Gymnastics squad to travel to New Zealand to compete at the New Zealand Gymnastics Championships.

October: Amilia Schooley (equestrian)

At the Australian Interschools Equestrian Championships, Schooley won two National Championships. She finished first in the EVA 80 eventing championships then followed this up with a first in the EVA 1 Star championship.

November: Wihan Kruger (athletics, rugby union)

Representing Queensland at the Australian Schools Athletics Championships, Kruger won gold in the boys U14 javelin and came fourth overall in shot put. In rugby union, Kruger captained the Downs rugby team at the Queensland Titles and was selected in the Queensland Country team.

December: Carter Blades (athletics)

Blades won gold U14 boys 400m at the Queensland All Schools Athletics Championships and in doing so broke the 20-year old record. He followed this up by winning gold in the U14 boys 400m at the National All Schools Athletics Championships.

Seniors

January: Conor McLoughlin (athletics)

At the Australian Junior Athletics Championships, McLoughlin won gold in U20 discus. His throw of 57.75m earned him automatic selection in the Australian Junior Athletics team to compete at the World Junior Championships. At the World Junior Championships in Finland, he placed 13th in the U20 discus. McLoughlin has been selected in the Australian Athletics Emerging Squad and he will travel to New Zealand this year for a training camp.

February: Brielle Erbacher (athletics)

Erbacher won silver in the U20 3000m steeple chase at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships. Following this result, she was selected in the Australian Junior Athletics team. In Finland, at the World Junior Athletics Championships, she qualified for the final and finished 15th. Throughout 2018 Erbacher was ranked number one in the U20, 2000m steeple chase and she is currently ranked fifth in the world.

March: Cameron Shields (motorsport)

Shield finished 2018 as the Australian Formula 3 Series runner-up. He holds the outright lap record at Morgan Park Raceway along with the lap record at The Bends Motorsport Park which was previously held by V8 Supercar driver David Reynolds. In 2018 Shields earned a 2019 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship. Shield's year in summary was 60 races - 15 wins, 45 podium finishes, seven pole positions and 18 fastest race laps.

April: Matthew Denny (athletics)

Denny was selected as a member of the Australian team competing at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games where he won silver in the hammer with a personal best throw of 74.88m and set a Queensland record. He finished fourth in the discus with a season-best throw at the same games.

Last year's K&R Plumbing Supplies & Toowoomba Tile Warehouse Senior Sports Star runner-up Lyle Teske. Picture: Nev Madsen

May: Lara Nielsen (athletics)

Nielsen won silver in the hammer throw at the Australian Open Track & Field Championships earning her selection in the Commonwealth Games team. She backed the performance up with bronze in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

June: Corey Anderson (para athletics)

Anderson won silver in the open men's javelin ambulant at the Australian Open Athletics Championships. At the Australian Junior Athletics Championships, he won gold medals in javelin, shot put and U20 discus ambulant men's. He has been selected in the Australian Junior Para Athletics Development Squad and QAS P4G program.

July: Hayden Siebuhr (wheelchair basketball)

Siebuhr was selected in the Australian U23 wheelchair basketball team to compete in Turkey during 2018. However, due to unrest in Turkey, the tour was placed on hold. Despite the disappointment of this tour being postponed, he continued to work on his basketball by playing with the Queensland Spinning Bullets and attending the fifth Bali Cup with the Indonesian All Star team. Late in 2018 he played at the Frank Ponta Cup Tournament at the AIS in Canberra where he was presented with the Rising Star award.

August: Lyle Teske (indoor cricket)

Teske captained the Australian open men's indoor cricket team which travelled to Sri Lanka for the Australasia Cup. The team played against Sri Lanka, Singapore and India winning gold in the process.

September: Angus Young (indoor bowls)

Young captained the Queensland men's pairs team to gold at the Australian Indoor Bowls Championships held in Caloundra. From his performance at these championships, he was selected in the Australian squad.

October: Tara Reinke (powerlifting)

In only her second year in powerlifting, Reinke competed at the Australian Open powerlifting Championships in the Under 64kg category. She bench-pressed 80kg, deadlifted 170kg and squat 142.4kg at the championships and in doing so placed sixth in the Under 64kg category. From this performance, Reinke was ranked second, regardless of body weight, in the Australian U23 division.

November: Jack McArthur (bull riding)

In 2018 McArthur became the first bull rider to win five consecutive National Rodeo Association Open Bull Riding Championships. He has also won the most bull riding titles in the association's history. McArthur broke his own record for the most points won in a season.

December: John Patzwald (shooting)

At the Australian Bench Rest Championships, Patzwald won gold in the two gun rimfire event and silver in the heavy varmint air rifle competition. His performances during the year, shooting in five different categories, made him eligible for the National Air Rifle and Rim Fire Shooting team to compete in South Africa in August this year. He is the first person to represent Australia in the five categories of rifle shooting.

Originally published as Sports Darling Downs honours region's best