Carrol at the Australia Day awards ceremony on Sunday. The pair are pictured with Cobar Shire Council’s Janette Booth and
Australia Day ambassador Dr Clio Cresswell. Right: Nominees for this year’s Services to Sport Australia Day award Peter ‘China’ Brien and Bianka Jacobson are pictured with Services to Sport award winner Narelle Kriz and Cr Abbott.
The prestigious Kerrigundi sporting achievement award, presented each year on Australia Day, was won this year by 17 year old Hannah Carrol.
The award, which recognises achievement by a local athlete at a state, national or international level, was presented to Hannah in recognition of her achievements in netball and Athletics Track & Field.
Last year Hannah represented Cobar at the NSW State Championships Netball carnival.
From there she was selected in the Australian Indigenous School Girls Netball team which competed at the Nationals competition in Melbourne and also in New Zealand.
Hannah was also a member of the Far West Academy of Sport netball team.
In addition to playing netball, Hannah represented Cobar High School in Athletics Field events at State level and was selected for an Australian Sports Travel Athletics tour to compete in Canada.
Cobar High School athlete Ben Griffiths was named as the Sports Person of the Year.
In 2019 Ben had great success competing in athletics at local, interstate, national and international level.
At last year’s Dubbo Open Carnival, Ben ran Australian Athletics Championship qualifying times in his 100m sprint and 100m Hurdles events and on his Australian Sports Travel Athletics tour competing in Canada in June, Ben won gold, silver and bronze medals in both track and field events.
He also represented Australia in the Rugby 7’s Dream Big Time Tour with the Indigenous School Boys team in New Zealand.
Golfer Narelle Kriz was awarded the Services to Sport accolade for her contribution to various sporting groups, in particular golf.
Over the past year Narelle has mentored junior golfers and acted as secretary for the Cobar Ladies Golf Association.
Narelle is also a long term volunteer with the Cobar Little Athletics Club.
