By Nick Creely
“The more experience you get, the more you acknowledge what’s around during a fight – but I’m like a radio, I’m just tuned into my coach, and I just turn on his channel, I don’t hear anyone else.” – Jayden Wright
In what has been another monumental year of sporting achievements in the local area, the word inspiring comes to mind when reflecting on all the stories the Gazette covered in 2017.
None more so than Officer kickboxer Jayden Wright, who in every sense of the word is a fighter, with his tale of bravery and resilience something to truly marvel at.
The 26-year-old bounced back from a devastating ice addiction in his young adult life that very nearly could have killed him, into a professional athlete who recently won a Victorian state title in an epic fight against Mini Nachar.
“I remember everything about the fight – the more experience you get the better, that’s why I had a big amateur career – sparring in your gym, and sparring in front of a crowd of 1000- plus people is so different, you could bash the person in the gym, but in front of the lights you can freeze up and forget everything,” he said of the fight.
“The more experience you get, the more you acknowledge what’s around during a fight – but I’m like a radio, I’m just tuned into my coach, and I just turn on his channel, I don’t hear anyone else.”
Young Casey Cavaliers basketballer Ava Beck was another moving story of sheer determination, with the 10-year-old proving that epilepsy wouldn’t hold her back in playing the sport she loves.
And with the support of the local community in the form of Purple Day on 26 March – a global initiative dedicated to raising epilepsy awareness – Ava is battling in the public arena to help others in a similar position.
“We thought we’d just buy a couple of T-shirts and wear purple on the day but a couple of the parents suggested a Purple Round at basketball and having her team all decked out in purple,” her mother Lisa said.
“That’s how it started.”
One of the stories of winter sport was the stunning efforts of the Pakenham Warriors, who fell agonizingly short of claiming their first ever Big V championship banner – losing to the Collingwood All-Stars in game two of their best-of-three Division 2 men’s grand final series.
But nonetheless, the excitement is building for the Warriors’ Division 2 side, as they look to break through for glory in 2018.
“We’ve made a couple of changes – we’ve lost a couple of big name guys – but hopefully we’ve added some more big names, and a few familiar faces who’ve been around the club are returning,” coach Brent Russell said.
“There’s definitely unfinished business after last year.
“We’re looking to build and hopefully get that championship next year.”
Cranbourne North teenager Felicity Jouvelet overcame some significant recent injuries to win the Girls’ 100m Handicap, the Little Athletics version of Australia’s richest professional footrace, the Stawell Gift.
Felicity and her siblings, older brother Lochlan and younger sister Monique, have been travelling to Stawell for years without success, but not anymore.
Pakenham cyclist Tylah Meunier was another success story, with the St Francis Xavier College student earning selection for the Brisbane National Championships, to stunning success. Tylah has lofty ambitions as he looks to continue to build further up the rankings in the world during 2018.
Gridiron in Melbourne’s south-east entered a new and exciting era in 2017, with the Pakenham Silverbacks and Berwick Miners merging to form ‘Casey Cardinia United’.
The move came after weeks of discussions between the two clubs about the best way to move forward.
“After examining all our options moving forward it didn’t take long for us all to be excited by this,” Silverbacks secretary Ashlee Trimble explained to the Gazette.
“It’s the logical progression for both clubs.
“Together we’ll have the committee, the resources, the players, and the facilities and we also have the drive.”
Pakenham’s Gracie Elite Brazilian Jiu Jitsu once again shone in the bright lights of the international stage, with members Tony Trimble and Steve Williams walking with a series of medals from the Asian Open in Tokyo.
“To go over there and compete was fantastic and I think the opportunity was really good for me because the level of competition was vastly different compared to what it is in Australia, it’s fair to say,” Williams said, with Trimble adding: “That’s not to denigrate here, but over there it’s a much bigger sport. They compete every weekend.
Lynda Edwards – a Pakenham mother – was crowned Australian, Oceania, Pacific Rim and World Cup Masters Weightlifting champion, after claiming gold medals in all four events on the Gold Coast, where she snatched and clean-and-jerked her way to a dominant victory.
“I want to travel more around the world to compete in the Masters and win more gold medals, and I’ve just matched the record on the Gold Coast so I want to beat that as well,” said the ambitious Lynda.
Volleyball fanatic Nathan Dowsett – a 13-year-old from Berwick and Haileybury College – proved he has plenty of tricks in the bag in a range of different sports, by representing Victoria in the Australian Junior Volleyball Championships on the Gold Coast.
Another youngster – 14-year-old Cranbourne North athlete Keenan O’Hanlon – continued his stunning wave of success in the long jump and triple jump. Keenan is part of the sports academy program at Alkira Secondary, and now has 11 state or national medals next to his name.
And as he explained, he hates losing after getting a taste of success.
“Coming second so many times played a really big part in it,” Keenan said of his astonishing success.
“Once I won once, I had to keep winning. I hate losing.”
Officer basketball sensation Maighan Hedge only recently signed an athletic scholarship with Cameron University, with the Dandenong Rangers talent set to jet off the USA in August 2018.
The 18-year-old could not be more excited to begin college life, after years of hard work and dedication has made her into one of Victoria’s most exciting talents.
“I’m extremely excited; it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time – for it to be finally over, and for the process to be finished, it’s very exciting,” she said.
“I’m looking forward to the professionalism – all the extra training and the way they go about things is exciting.”
It’s been another truly incredible year in the Gazette sports team, with so many different, unique stories all coming together at various stages throughout 2017. From basketball, athletics, kickboxing, jiu jitsu, cycling and state representatives in a number of other sports, the talent in the region is as strong as ever.
Who knows what 2018 will bring, and the Gazette is looking forward to seeing the next wave of success come through.
