Who made The Chronicle's inaugural 21 Rising Stars list?

The Toowoomba Chronicle names its inaugural 21 rising sports stars.

Toowoomba's Cameron Shields has set his sights on IndyCar racing after testing for Juncos Racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Picture: Contributed

1. Cameron Shields

Teen Cameron Shields has been racing since the age of four. Shields cut his teeth in motocross before moving into karts at 9 and cars at 14 years of age. In 2016 he became the youngest Australian at 15-years-old to compete in and win a national Formula 3 Championship.

The 17-year-old now competes in Formula 3, Formula 4 and Formula Ford and is constantly balancing the demands of school and a very busy race schedule. Over the past four seasons Shields has earned 99 podiums, 13 poles, and 46 wins throughout various formula series.

A strong work ethic and willingness to work with and learn from his team members and more experienced racing industry figures have been the key to Shields ongoing success.

Most recently the Toowoomba teen returned from the United States where he drove with pro team Juncos Racing. Shields drove one of the team's Pro Mazda cars at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Having returned home, Shields said he hoped to follow in the footsteps of Toowoomba's own IndyCar series champion Will Power by securing more drives and testing opportunities in the USA.

Shields was named 2017 CAMS Young Driver of the Year.

2. Connor McLoughlin

Toowoomba discus thrower Conor McLoughlin emerged from the training team of international competitors Matthew Denny and Lara Nielsen to make his own appearance on the world stage this year.

McLoughlin's international breakthrough came in Finland at the 2018 IAAF World Under 20 Championships in July where he fought back from an injury-marred preparation to finish 13th against the world's best.

The 19-year-old has consistently performed strongly under coach Grahame Pitt at state and national level throughout his junior career.

McLoughlin's career highlight on home soil arrived in March this year with a personal-best effort to win the men's under-20 discus final at the 2018 Australian National Athletics Championship at Sydney Olympics Park Athletics Centre.

That performance virtually sealed his place on the Australian team for Finland.

He also won an U20 men's discus gold medal at the 2017 Australian Athletics Championships.

McLoughlin also competed successfully in shot put at junior level with his highlights including a Queensland state title win in 2017

McLoughlin was named 2015 Sports Darling Downs Junior Sport Star of the Year.

Touch football player Emily Ward has represented Queensland and Australia. Picture: Nev Madsen

3. Emily Ward

St Ursula's College student Emily Ward looks set to be Toowoomba's next touch football star.

The 16-year-old is a Toowoomba, Darling Downs, Queensland and Australian representative level player who often competes against older and more experienced players.

Earlier this year Ward was one of only 32 players selected for the under-18 Australian touch titles.

Her performances at the trials earned her a spot in the Australian U18 team which competed at and won the Youth World Cup in Malaysia.

As well as playing National Touch League Elite 8 in Coffs Harbour earlier this year, Ward was also in Queensland's U19 for the National Youth Championships.

She was also selected in the Titans NRL touch premiership team.

4. Tara Wilkinson

When it comes to experience around horses few young riders can match that of Clifton's Tara Wilkinson.

The 16-year-old TACAPS student has been riding since the age of three and is a regular member of the Queensland schools equestrian team.

Wilkinson, who will once again represent her state this year at the Australian Interschool Championships in the 120cm show-jumping category. has featured at the championships every year since she was in Year 6.

5. Brodie Croft

The Highfields junior has a resume any 21-year-old would be proud of.

After making his Queensland U20s debut in 2016 in the same year he made his NRL debut for the Melbourne Storm, Croft went on to captain the side the next year. It turned out to be a big 2017 for the halfback, who routinely made the most of his opportunities behind Cooper Cronk.

Named in the Auckland Nines team of the tournament, Croft went on to kick a golden-point field goal to down the Cowboys and scored a hat-trick against Newcastle amongst his four games for the year, captaining the Junior Kangaroos along the way. After leading the Storm to a World Club Challenge victory in February, Croft has worked his way back into the side and will start in their grand final against the Roosters.

The battle for the halfback spot alongside Cameron Munster has been hotly contested throughout the year, but the Toowoomba junior edged out Jahrome Hughes at the right part of the season.

With a year still to run on his current contract, Croft has the potential to be the long-term replacement for the champion Cronk as the Storm look for the right man to keep their aura in the NRL.

6. Mason Hughes

Harristown State High School student Mason Hughes is one of Australia's rising junior throwers.

Hughes has performed strongly at elite level in both shot and discus under the coaching of Toowoomba's triple shot-put Olympian Justin Anlezark.

In March this year, Hughes continued on his winning way at the 2018 Australian Junior Athletics Championships in Sydney where he added to his growing list of discus and shot put gold medal victories.

Hughes took out the under-17 discus event before throwing a personal best to also claim an Australian victory in the under-17 shot put behind the Kiwi overall winner.

Hughes' 2018 success followed his gold medal in the under-16 shot put and discus at the Australian All Schools Athletics Championships as well as the gold medal in the under-16 shot put and discus at the Australian Athletics Championships.

At the 2017 Downunder Championships, Hughes won gold in the under-16 shot put, javelin and discus.

7. Ellie Bowyer

Toowoomba 18-year-old Ellie Bowyer is accomplished in all four throwing disciplines but has excelled in the javelin arena where she has successfully competed at world level.

Bowyer dominated in javelin against Australia's best juniors before her career highlight moment arrived with a women's javelin silver medal win as an Australian Commonwealth Youth Games team member at the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas.

At the 2017 Downunder Championships on the Gold Coast Bowyer won the gold medal in the under-18 women's javelin and at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships she won the gold medal in the under 20 women's javelin.

Bowyer in February was named Sports Darling Downs Junior Sports Star of the Year.

8. Monique Smith

For the past two years Monique Smith has been a standout on the state and national softball scene.

Last year she captained the Queensland under-17 team to victory at the Australian championships. She was named Most Valuable Player and selected in the All-Tournament team. Her performances also earned her a place in the Australian U17 and Australian U17 Schoolgirls teams. She was also a key player in the QLD U19 side which won this year's national championships.

9. Will Brown

There's no telling how far Will Brown can take his career in motor sports. The 20-year-old has already added the Australian Formula 4 and Toyota 86 Racing Series titles to his swag, and has made the rise up to the Dunlop Super2 Series. This year Brown made his V8 Supercars debut during the Enduro Series, finishing 10th as a co-driver. He will tick another milestone off his list when he competes at the Bathurst 1000 next weekend, the pinnacle of Australian racing.

10. Corey Anderson

The Darling Downs has an uncanny ability to produce great throwers and Corey Anderson is another fine example.

The young para-athletics star has enjoyed a stellar 18 months winning several accolades.

At the Australian Athletics Championships Anderson won gold in the under-20 para javelin, silver in discus, bronze in the shot put and bronze in the open men's para javelin. He was also part of the Australian Open Men's Para Athletics team where he won silver in javelin at the INAS World Athletics Championships.

Briana Suey (left) and Tatum Stewart were chosen in the Australian Schoolgirls team after strong performances at the Australian Championships. Picture: Fairholme College

11. Tatum Stewart

Playing above her years has been nothing new for Stewart, who has routinely risen to the challenge of mixing it up with older competitors. After making the Australian Schoolgirls team that travelled to South Africa this year, Stewart was again given the accolade after coming up with the goods for the Queenslanders and will fly out to Germany next year in the 4 Nations Whitsun Tournament. Stewart is a regular within rep teams as she continues her path to further glory.

12. Briana Suey

Alongside Stewart, Suey has been a staple of representative teams throughout her inclining career to date. She was a silver medallist with Queensland at the national championships last year and gold medallist with the U15s team in 2016. Suey will also head to Germany as part of the Australian Schoolgirls team after another strong showing for the Queensland Schoolgirls earlier this year. She has ambitions in the future to represent the Queensland Scorchers and Hockeyroos on the biggest stage of them all.

13. Macauley Adamson

It seemed destiny that Macauley would follow the path towards a successful polo career and follow in his father's footsteps. The 16-year-old has done just that after competing against adults at just 13 and representing Queensland at a young age. The 2015 Downs Shield rookie of the carnival is now heading to compete at the Junior Olympic Polo event in Buenos Aires. One of only three young Australians selected for the honour, Macauley hopes one day it will be included as an Olympic sport.

14. Mia Stower

There is a good chance Mia Stower will be the Darling Downs' next netball star following in the footsteps of greats like Laura Geitz and Clare McMeniman.

From her performance as a member of the Queensland Under-17 netball team at the Australian Netball Championships, Stower was selected in the Australian U17 squad and travelled to Canberra to attend the AIS Netball School of Excellence.

The highly rated teen is also part of the 2018 Queensland Fusion squad. The Fusion participate in the Australian Netball League, a seven round competition through May and June underpinning the Suncorp Super Netball.

15. Emilya Byrne

Emilya Byrne achieved a sporting milestone this year when she became the only female student to be awarded a 2018 Rugby Australia School Referee Scholarship.

Twenty-seven scholarships were awarded nationally with the other 26 going to males.

The Glennie School Year 12 student has been refereeing for four seasons.

She began in teenage games and this season she controlled her first Downs Rugby senior match.

Byrne has also refereed a range of representative school games and this year officiated at state teenage carnivals in Brisbane.

She was assistant referee in the 2017 Toowoomba Grammar and Downlands 1st XV O'Callaghan Cup match.

Byrne is also an active Sevens player for Glennie, USQ Ladies Sevens and is a regional representative Sevens player.

16. Tom Kelk

Alongside fellow Darling Downs Rugby Union referee Emilya Byrne, Kelk was earmarked as a potential front-line national referee earlier this year.

The Toowoomba Grammar School student was one of 27 2018 Rugby Australia School Referee Scholarship recipients - eight of which come from Queensland.

Kelk, who first played rugby when he was five, has now been a referee for five years following in the footsteps of his father.

Toowoomba junior golfers Quinn Croker (left) and Kamryn Dunemann show their medals from the 2018 School Sport Australia under-17 golf championships. Picture: Kevin Farmer

17. Kamryn Dunemann

Multi-talented Kamryn Dunemann is a former representative rugby league and touch football player, but it's the golf course where the talented 15-year-old TACAPS student is now making her mark.

Dunemann plays off a handicap of two at Toowoomba Golf Club where she is a junior member with her equally talented golfing step-brother Quinn Croker.

Dunemann's rise at state and national level continued this year when she represented Queensland at the 2018 School Sport Australia under-17 golf championships in Coffs Harbour where she helped the team to a gold medal win in matchplay and bronze in strokeplay.

Dunemann will next compete in the Jack Newton Junior International in the New South Wales Hunter Valley from October 1-5.

18. Quinn Croker

St Joseph's College student Quinn Croker is not only making great strides in the national junior golf ranks, he is also a two-time senior champion.

The 16-year-old this year sealed a unique piece of history when the two-marker claimed his second successive open stroke-play championship against all-comers at his home Toowoomba Golf Club.

Croker's other credits include his selection in the Junior Golf Queensland High Performance squad while he has also represented Queensland against New South Wales at State of Origin level.

His 2018 highlights include helping Queensland secure a matchplay gold medal at the 2018 School Sport Australia under-17 golf championships in Coffs Harbour.

Croker will next compete with his step-sister Kamryn Dunemann at the Jack Newton Junior International in the Hunter Valley from October 1-5.

19. Miah and Addison Hickman

Taking up "the whistle” can be a thankless and at times unpopular task.

The future of officiating looks bright in Toowoomba though as long as the likes of Addison and Miah Hickman are involved.

The teenage siblings both love the responsibility and challenge of running games.

Miah can be found around the region's netball courts umpiring anything from under-9 to State League matches while Addison looks after local and GPS rugby games.

The Hickman siblings are two of several referees on our Rising Stars list and a great sign that sport is in safe hands.

20. Gerome Burns

It seems to be a matter of when, not if Burns cracks it into the top grade. To date the Valleys Roosters junior was a member of the Broncos 2017 Auckland Nines team and the National Youth Competition in the same season. He's had a taste of the NRL level in trial matches and recently Burns played a leading hand in the Norths Devils premiership run in the Hastings Deering Colts competition alongside Southern Suburbs junior Cory Paix. The 2016 Queensland U18 and 2017 U20 representative has a bright future ahead of him.

21. Lily Baguely and Keely Geiger

Toowoomba has a proud history of producing strong, confident and successful female athletes.

The latest additions to that list being martial artists Lily Baguely and Keely Geiger.

Reserved, quietly spoken and humble Geiger, 14, took up Brazilian jiu jitsu as a 10-year-old to boost her self-confidence after being bullied.

Now the Toowoomba teen and Galeb Brothers BJJ athlete has several major wins under her belt having claimed Queensland under-15 open girls gi gold, QLD U15 girls no gi silver and bronze in U15 girls at the Australian championships.

In the space of just seven months Baguely has risen from a rookie training at Galeb Brothers BJJ to winning a silver medal at the Australian Championships. The next part of her journey continues at the Pan Pacific Games in October, taking on some of the best in her class. With natural improvement to continue with her development, there's no telling how far Lily can make it in the field of BJJ.

Originally published as Who made The Chronicle's inaugural 21 Rising Stars list?