Gerringong’s Josh Mayo and Grace Stewart look set for higher honours after helping their respective NSW under 21s teams claim gold at the outdoor national championships.
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Mayo, 20, recently claimed his first Australian gold medal since 2012 when he helped the NSW under 15s indoor team to victory in Perth.
“The original NSW squad of 30 players was selected following the state championships last year,” Mayo said.
“Following that, we went to a camp at the start of the year, where all the players attended and competed against one another.
“From that, they selected the final 18, which I was very excited to make.”
The squad was put through an intensive eight week training block, which included one or two sessions a week up in Homebush.
“That prepared us perfectly for the week long tournament,” he said.
During the 10-day tournament at the Illawarra Hockey Centre, Mayo’s team defeated Tasmania (8-1), Queensland (4-3), South Australia (11-1), Western Australia (2-1) and Victoria (2-1) on the way to the decider against Queensland.
“It was a tough week, where we were forced to grind out a results in a couple of close games,” he said.
“Despite that, we managed to go through undefeated, defeating Queensland 4-3 in the final.”
Likewise, Hockeyroo Grace Stewart’s NSW side went undefeated throughout their campaign, winning matches against ACT (10-1), Western Australia (1-nil), Tasmania (2-nil), Queensland (2-1) and South Australia (6-nil) before edging out Western Australia 2-1 in the decider.
Stewart, who scored both her team’s goals in the final, topped the competition’s goal-scoring list with seven for the week.
Currently recovering from a broken hand, Mayo hopes to follow in the footsteps of his friend Stewart and pull on the green and gold.
But he is more focused on a couple of short term goals beforehand.
“After breaking two metacarpal bones in my left hand, I’m now out for the rest of the season,” Mayo said.
“But once I complete my recovery, I’m aiming to be picked again in the under 21 men’s indoor team, which play in January.
“We claimed the silver medal last year, so it would be great to go one step better and claim gold next year.
“I just want to keep pushing myself and striving to reach the highest level of hockey I can.”
Courtney Ward
Sports Journalist for South Coast Register and Milton-Ulladulla Times, who loves all things sport and travel. All views are my own.
Sports Journalist for South Coast Register and Milton-Ulladulla Times, who loves all things sport and travel. All views are my own.
