Motorsport, cycling, hockey, rugby and adventure racing feature amongst the eight Southland finalists for the One NZ junior sportsperson of the year award.

This year’s category winner will be unveiled at the ILT Southland Sports Awards on June 7 at Ascot Park Hotel, along with six other categories and the coveted BDO Services to Sport acknowledgements.

Last year’s category winner Cormac Buchanan is again a finalist after defending his New Zealand Superbike Championship title, the first rider to do so and despite being the youngest in the field. His rookie season in the Junior GP world championships in Europe returned a best-placed finish of fourth, qualifying on the front row twice.

One of New Zealand’s most promising young drivers, Invercargill’s Alex Crosbie was runner-up in the rookie standings and fifth overall in the Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championships, amongst an international field of 22 drivers from nine countries.

After leading the New Zealand under 21 hockey team to sixth place at the Sultan of Johor Cup tournament Benji Culhane made his senior Black Sticks debut against Australia and Great Britain.

Cyclist Marshall Erwood has made an impressive transition from the junior ranks to through to elite. A junior world track cycling representative, Erwood claimed the New Zealand under 23 road title and was the best local rider on debut in the SBS Bank Tour of Southland.

A key member of the Southland Boys’ High School first XV which claimed an historic Top Four national title, Kiseki Fifita was the side’s only representative in the New Zealand secondary schools team selected to tour Australia.

Despite being a first year representative at the 2023 junior world track championships in Colombia, Invercargill cyclist Caitlin Kelly became the first New Zealander to win an individual sprint medal in 12 years at the event when she raced home for bronze in the keirin.

Lumsden’s Fynn Mitchell led the FEAR Youth team to seventh at Godzone and ninth at the Adventure Racing world championships, a remarkable feat for a team which was the youngest to ever compete at the event. Mitchell was also the youngest, and just the fifth person ever, to complete The Revenant ultra event.

Waimumu rugby player Jack Taylor has continued a remarkable rugby rise since leaving Southland Boys’ High School. A member of the Highlanders and New Zealand under 20 teams, Taylor played in all 10 games for the Stags in his rookie season and made his Super Rugby debut with the Highlanders.

 

The ILT Southland Sports Awards are presented by Active Southland on behalf of the Southland Amateur Sports Trust and are New Zealand’s longest-running regional sports awards.

Article added: Wednesday 05 June 2024