Geraldton Guardian Mid West Sports Awards: the emerging and existing sporting stars who have dominated in 2023

The pinnacle of Mid West sport’s night of nights is the junior and sports star of the year. With sports playing such a pivotal role in the regions, the best of the best become renowned local celebrities, and the sports star of the year awards are the highest form of recognition for these athletes. In the 2023 Geraldton Guardian Mid West Sports Awards, the junior category has attracted 14 nominations across 10 sports, with the field looking strong. The winner from 2022, athletics young gun Nevaeh Hill, is back in the mix after following up last year with a strong 2023, claiming gold in the 100m and 400m hurdles at the WA Open Track and Field Championships. Representing athletics in the category as well is Christi Bestry, who earned silver at School Sports WA Cross Country Championships, and Ella Batten, who took home six medals from the Athletics WA Country Championship and broke the under-17 girls high jump record. While on the cricket pitch Kian Smit earned himself a nomination after a strong season and playing in Geraldton’s country week side. A pair of soccer stars from Chapman Athletic are both in the mix with Finn Preston and Serenity Bate. Cody Nelson’s nomination comes off the back of his trip to Queensland where he represented the State at the National Youth Championships for touch rugby. While the longest traveller was Khyan Townsend, who went to Kazakhstan for the Taekwondo World Championships, winning against South Africa at the tournament. Back in the mix again is Eric Kyanga, who won a silver medal in the U19 Boxing National Championships. Brothers Allen and Bob Griechen will compete for the award as both have been stars in their respective sports. Allen Griechen was part of WA’s first ever 12 and under all boys netball team, while Bob Griechen was in the Buccaneers championship team and named the WA Basketball High Performance athlete of the year. Mille Gerreyn comes in as another emerging basketball star, being named MVP in the Geraldton Amateur Basketball Association last year. Surfer Edel Rodden managed to reach the finals in the U16 WA junior title, along with finishing runner-up at the Yallingup Shred Fest. One of the youngest nominees, 12-year-old Leah-May Labuschange, is used to competing against older competitors, and she was chosen to represent WA in the hockey national championships for a second straight year. The Mid West Sports Awards now have a range of different accolades, but it began more than 50 years ago with just one — the senior sports star of the year. Each year the winner has their legacy cemented in the Mid West, and in 2023 there are 11 nominees looking to join the elite group. One contender has already taken home the award previously, with ironman super star Caroline Ashby winning the top gong in 2018, and is now looking to add a second to her collection. As with the junior category, another pair of Chapman Athletic soccer stars are in the running for the award — men’s league player Braiden Page and women’s league captain Ebony Wheatland. Co-winners of the JJ Clune Medal — Flynn Dillon and Kim Schofield go against each other again for the senior sports star award. Many of the nominees have had a successful year, and Gemma Dix might have one of the most impressive 2023 resumes. On the footy field, Dix was co-awarded the GNFLW’s fairest and best, and helped lead Brigades to a premiership, winning best on ground in the grand final. Dix then dominated at country week to be voted the tournament’s best player and named in the all-star squad. A competitor who could feature prominently on awards night is Johny Narkle, who shot to national stardom this year. After winning his second straight sixth man of the year award, Narkle helped the Buccaneers win the NBL1 West grand final and was named MVP in the match. He then went on to dominate at the national tournament and was named in the all-star team, then went on to play in the NBL1 West select team against the Wildcats. The category is filled with a range of competitors, including Dirranie Kirby who was named player of the tournament at the hockey country week, and won bronze with the State 45s masters side, which she captained. Jy Thustun was named in both the State and national squads for softball, while Clayton Bruce-Cherry claimed local cricket’s highest honour, the Doug Hogue Medal, in recognition of a dominant year. On the netball court, Deborah Bone was named the Geraldton league’s fairest and best player and helped the Aztecs win the cup. With such a diverse and long list of nominees, judges had their hands full picking just one winner for each category. Winners will be announced on Friday, November 17 at the Geraldton Yacht Club.