We start off the new year with a look at some of the amazing performances over the summer break.
Cycling
Luke Plapp has won his third consecutive National Road Race title. Luke now joins a select few riders who have win the National title 3 or more times. It was also Luke’s first win for his new professional team Jayco AlUla.
Plapp and teammate Chris Harper won in a way never seen before over 21 editions of the race in Ballarat, a teammate one-two finish, with Harper crossing the line together with Plapp for the silver medal, 103-kilometres after the two went it alone at the front of the race.
As the two cruised down the final straight celebrating in tandem, it was Harper who drifted behind Plapp, allowing the two-time defending champion to become the fourth Australian to win a trifecta of elite road race national championships.
Golf
Steph Bunque finished at 4 over in the Victorian Open played at 13th Beach Golf Course. Steph started the 4-day tournament 2 under after a solid 70 on the first day but a day 2 score of 80 sent her down the leader board. Steph showed great resilience to recover on the final two days with a 71 and 72 finishing 16 shots off the winner.
Seabill Leong also competed in the Vic Open as a 15yo amateur after winning the Victorian Ladies Order of Merit. Seabill finished 9 over after the first 2 rounds and missed the cut.
Cricket
Fergus O’Neil had a fantastic summer finishing with a major in at the Australian Cricket Awards. Fergus took out the Young Cricketer of the year award, played the BBL Season with the Renegades and capped it off the season by taking 5 wickets for the Bushrangers in their Shield Match against South Australia. Tom Rogers also played in the BBL Competition with the Stars as an opening bat.
Congratulations to Pearl Kapoor and Mia Gordan who played for the Vic Metro Under 16 Girls cricket team over the summer break. The team won the National Championships. Mia won the MVP for the tournament while Pearl was the Vice Captain of the team.
Baseball
Robinson Smith and Jayden Kim were part of the Gold Medal winning team at the Baseball Australia National Youth Championships claiming the U18 title. Victoria defeated WA 5-4 in the final game to win the title with Robinson catching the final out of his own pitching. Both player have also been selected in the Australian U18 squad to play a series of games in America in September and October.
Soccer
Connor Metcalfe has been playing for the Socceroos over the past few weeks in the Asian Cup. Australia was knocked out in the quarter final stage losing to Sth Korea 2-1. It was Connor’s first major tournament with the Men’s national team.
Hockey
Connor Otterbach and Cooper Burns have made it onto the squad of 19 for the National Development Hockey Squad. The Men’s National Development Squad (NDS) has expanded for 2024 with four more spots added in preparation for what will be a huge year, headlined by the Olympic Games in Paris.