Posted 16 February 2018 by John Sparks in Sport News
The 21st Annual Blues evening involves the presentation of awards and recognition of the top students in all sports from NSW Catholic Secondary Schools and Colleges.
The evening was staged at St Paul’s Catholic College, Manly on Monday 12 February. Over 50 students were recognised on the evening with 8 students from the Wollongong Diocese acknowledged.
The two highest achieving boys and girls from each sport are judged by the NSWCCC Blues committee taking into account their 2017 achievements which often involves NSWCCC, NSW All Schools and Australian representation. The Blues Awards is the culmination of a busy year and a great advertisement for the sporting pathways available to students in Wollongong Diocese Schools.
2017 NSWCCC Blue Award winners from Wollongong Diocese were:
| 1. Jorja Barrett | Softball | St Patrick's College, Campbelltown |
| 2. Lucy Cliff | Triathlon | Holy Spirit College, Bellambi |
| 3. Lachlan Dent | Basketball | Holy Spirit College, Bellambi |
| 4. Hannah Preeo | Cross Country | St Mary Star of the Sea College, Wollongong |
| 5. Mia Repac | Tennis | Holy Spirit College, Bellambi |
| 6. Courtney Schonell | Hockey | St Benedict's College, Oran Park |
| 7. Amy Sligar | AFL | St Patrick's College, Campbelltown |
| 8. Maddison Smith | Hockey | St Joseph's Catholic High, Albion Park |
Special mention to Courtney Schonell from St Benedict’s, Oran Park who was awarded the Vince Villa award for the most outstanding female athlete across all sports for 2017.
Courtney has represented NSWCCC and NSW All Schools Hockey for past three years being named captain in 2017 and acknowledged as the most valuable player of the tournament. Her outstanding performances resulted in her selection in the Australian Schools team for both 2016 and 2017. Courtney was a worthy recipient of this most prestigious award and responded with some inspiring words on behalf of all athletes on the evening.
Manly National Rugby League player Joel Thompson was the guest speaker on the evening. Joel a former NSWCCC rugby league representative spoke of his early years in school sport, the importance of hard work and the value of family and friends in an athlete’s sporting journey. Joel provided some strong messages to our athletes and parents showing the importance of setting goals and working to overcome setbacks.
The evening was well supported, with four Diocesan Directors in attendance, many school Principals and all NSWCCC conveners and Diocesan sporting representatives. Peter Turner presented awards to our Wollongong student winners.
The evening was a great advertisement of the sporting talent we have in our schools and we congratulate our Wollongong students on their fine achievements.
