Winter Best and Fairest award winners, Season 2021

Former and current Maribyrnong Sports Academy students have once again led the way in best and fairest counts, from the top flight competitions to the local junior leagues, in our winter sports for 2021

Let’s have a look at some of the sports.

AFL

Claiming a second career NAB League best and fairest was 2020 MSA graduate Georgie Prespakis. Georgie claimed seven best on grounds in her 21 votes for the Calder Cannons defeating Northern Knights player Ava Jordan by 7 votes.  During the season she averaged 23 disposals and 9 tackles per game.

"It's a massive honour, going back two years ago to my first year of Cannons I can't even remember what that season was like – this year was a really good result, not only for me but for the Calder Cannons as a group," Georgie Prespakis, who has just relocated to Geelong, told AFL.com. 

Also prominent in the voting was current MSA student athlete Charlotte Baskaran who polled 9 votes.  Both Georgie and Charlotte were also named in the Nab League Team of the Year to top off their stunning seasons.  It is to be remembered that Charlotte is only 16 years old.

Congratulations also to the following students who won senior and junior best and fairest for their respective leagues.

·      Kym Bays WRFL Senior Women’s Div. 1 winner

·      Piper Dixon WRFL U14 Div. 5 (boys comp) winner

·      Kobe Williams WRFL U14 Div. 1 3rd

·      Alex McBride-Loane EDFL U14 Div. 1 Girls winner

·      Thomas McGuane EDFL U14 Div. 1 winner

·      Blair Marsden EDFL U14 Div. 2 winner

·      Camryn Bux EDFL U16 Div. 1 Girls winner

·      Sierra Grieves WRFL U18.5 Div. 1 Girls winner

Meanwhile year 12 student athlete Olivia Manfre was the EDFL Senior Women’s Premier Division Leading goal kicker for season 2021 and was named in the EDFL Women’s Premier Division team of the year alongside fellow year 12 student athlete Ella Nickolaus.

Golf

Our golf program students continue to perform at an extremely high level  in competitions and are now once again able to access the Medway Golf Course for training.  Congratulations to George Carasavidis, finishing 3rd (2 over, 74 off the stick) at the SSV senior boys golf finals at Metropolitan Golf Club while Louise Baliton finished 2nd (6 over, 80 off the stick) in the senior Girls competition.

Congratulations to all our students on their performances in the winter of 2021.

MSA ANNOUNCES NEW PARTNERSHIP

MSA ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH KOOKABURRA SPORT

MSA is delighted to announce a new partnership with Australian icon Kookaburra Sport which will allow our Student Athletes and staff to upgrade their Cricket and Hockey gear at heavily reduced prices.

Kookaburra Sport was established in 1890 and has a long and successful history in both cricket & hockey. Kookaburra cricket balls have been used at the Test and First Class level in Australia for over 100 years and Kookaburra equipment is also of extremely high quality.

 MSA will join a number of organisations and athletes who currently have partnerships with Kookaburra.  These include Greta Hayes & Mariah Williams who represented Australia at the Tokyo Olympics in Hockey and Australian cricket heroes Glenn Maxwell & Marnus Labuschagne who all proudly use Kookaburra equipment.

The partnership has many benefits for both MSA & Kookaburra which include;

·       Kookaburra balls being exclusively used in the MSA Cricket & Hockey Programs,

·       MSA facilities, programs & student-athletes being involved in Kookaburra product & innovation testing,

·       Kookaburra prizes being awarded as part of the MSA Awards Night, and

·       MSA student-athletes and staff receiving a 40% discount for all Kookaburra product purchased on-line.

To find out more about Kookaburra Sport and view the products available please visit https://www.kookaburrasport.com.au/

For any queries or for further information about the partnership please contact the MSA Office on 9091 8160.

MSA SENDS 5 ATHLETES TO TOKYO

The Maribyrnong Sports Academy/Maribyrnong College  is delighted to announce that 5 of its alumni are heading to Tokyo competing in 5 different sports!   The state-funded specialist sports school was established in 2007 and takes promising teenage talent and teams it with the best coaching. The results speak for themselves.

The Maribyrnong Sports Academy (MSA) Honour Roll continues to grow.  The upcoming Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic games are topping off an amazing few years of success for current and former student-athletes from the Academy.

The following former MSA student-athletes will be competing in Tokyo;

- Connor Metcalfe – Football

- Nathan Pellissier – Para-Table Tennis

- Luke Plapp – Cycling

- Gronya Somerville – Badminton

- Reba Stewart – Taekwondo

Luke Plapp said, “I’m so excited to become an Olympian in Tokyo.  It’s a dream come true.  I couldn’t have done it without the Maribyrnong Sports Academy.”

MSA’s first and only Olympian prior to this year’s event was Boxer, Ibby Balla, who competed in the 2012 London Olympic Games. 

MSA’s impact isn’t limited to Olympic sports with numerous alumni currently competing at the elite level of their sport.  MSA has provided the AFL and AFLW with 27 Athletes include AFL stars Touk Miller and Zak Butters and AFLW Stars Monique Conti and Ellie McKenzie. Seb Pasquali, Aaron Anderson and Polly Doran are just 3 of the 11 players who have been signed by A-league or W-League teams, Joe Medew-Ewen made his Sheffield Shield Cricket debut this year and Zac Triplett was recently signed by NBL champions Melbourne United.

A full list of MSA Athletes who have represented their country or played at a professional level can be found on our On-Line Honour Wall

 These former students all benefited from the MSA environment which provides the perfect mix of education and sport.  They also developed with support from the talented MSA staff which includes 7 former Olympians on its teaching and coaching staff to guide. 

 MSA staff includes the following Olympians; Ryan Carneli (Taekwondo), Kellie Lucas (Badminton), Georgia Nanscawan (Hockey), Tania Paterson (Diving - New Zealand), Ross Smith (Badminton), Andrew Smith (Hockey), Erin Walklate (Badminton) and Glenn Wharfe (Badminton).

 Other MSA staff who have also competed at the highest level include Scott Lucas (AFL), Clint McKay (Cricket) and Eloise Southby (Netball).

MSA Director Mark McAllion said “MSA is set up to help kids achieve their sporting dreams.  Amazing facilities are one thing but the experience and expertise of the staff that student-athletes work with every day, is key. 

We’re very proud of our alumni who will become Olympians and Paralympians in Tokyo – they’re fantastic examples of kids who made the most of the resources they had access to while part of the program.”

MSA through its High Performance Preparation classes, High Performance Coaching program and student support initiatives continues to prepare student-athletes for life after high school.  MSA looks forward to continuing to punch above its weight and provide more athletes to Australia’s Olympic, Paralympic and other elite sporting teams in the future. 

MORE ABOUT THE ATHLETES ….

Lucas Plapp:  Luke finished his time at MSA in 2018 before making his way to the AusCycling’s high performance centre in Adelaide.  Since Luke has left MSA he has won 2 Junior World Championships and is set to have a big Olympics with the Cycling team.

Gronya Somerville: Gronya has represented Australia at 2 Commonwealth Games and now adds an Olympics Games to her CV.  With her doubles partner Gronya finished 4th in the Commonwealth Games at the Gold Coast in 2018 and has medalled many times in tournaments right around the World.

Reba Stewart: Reba has been selected in the Australian Olympic Taekwondo Team in the Women’s +67Kgs Women’s division.  Reba is the youngest of our four Athletes having finished her time at MSA in 2019.

Connor Metcalfe: Connor arrived at MSA from Newcastle back in 2013 and his dedication to his sport was noticed back then. This year he has debuted for the Socceroos in World Cup Qualifiers, won a A-League premiership with Melbourne City, was selected in the A-League Team of the year and will become an Olyroo in Tokyo.

Nathan Pellissier: With his eye’s fully focused on the 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games in the sport of Table Tennis, Nathan Pellissier has had an amazingly busy 24 months, making sure his dream of representing Australia at the Games is realised.  Born with cerebral palsy, life has presented many challenges to Nathan over the journey, which he has overcome. Nathan sees making the Paralympic team as just another one of those challenges. Nathan graduated from MSA in 2014.

MORE ABOUT MSA ….

The Maribyrnong Sports Academy (MSA) is Victoria’s only State Government funded Specialist Sports High School with 575 student-athletes on Government Scholarship. 

Entry to the program is via an application and selection process which considers high performance sport potential and suitability for the balance between sport, academic performance, effort and behaviour. Student athletes applying for a place in MSA are NOT required to live in the local area.

The Program has an individual development focus and includes High Performance Coaching, Strength & Conditioning, Performance Psychology, Nutrition Education, Athlete Development (such as media training, specific career counselling, etc), Injury Management and Rehabilitation.

MSA is a high performance sports program for emerging teenage athletes delivered within Maribyrnong College.