Kyabram P-12 College saw incredible success at the School Sport Victoria Lawn Bowl State Championships, with their junior team consisting of three talented Year 8 students walking away with a state championship under their belts.
Six students from Kyabram P-12 College made the long journey to Sunbury on Tuesday, May 7 to battle it out for the title of Lawn Bowls State Champions.
The championship winning junior team consisted of Year 8 students Liam McInnes, Jacob Cartwright, and James McKeown, and the senior team was headed by Year 12 students Joshua Cartwright and Hayley Hancock, and Year 7 student Stephanie Locke.
So, how did the junior skippers climb their way to the state champion position?
Long before the fated state competition, the two teams of dedicated student bowlers began training weekly on Monday nights at the Kyabram Bowls Club, led by coach and seasoned lawn-bowls player David Cartwright.
Both teams were successful in their successful age groups at the Campaspe competition held at the Golden Square Bowls Club on March 7, beating out all necessary teams to project themselves to the state level competition.
Once the state championships rolled around, it was perfect weather for a day on the green – a great omen for what was to come.
The day started out with a scare from McKinnon Secondary College, but the junior boys kept their composure and came back and won 7-5.
Their composure continued, with the boys comfortably winning against Phoenix P-12 Sebastopol with a steep margin of 14-1 – a feat, considering the opposing side had a state representative bowler in their midst.
With confidence and comfortable wins in their back pockets, they advanced into the semi-finals with a stride in their step, winning against Vermont Secondary College by 14-3.
Bated breaths and fingers crossed were unnecessary for the junior team that moved full steam ahead on the green against Maribyrnong College for the grand final, securing their well-deserved State Championship title with a comfortable 13-5 margin.
The senior team went down in the semi-finals in a close match to FCJ College Benalla, but the team were happy to see their junior side progress further into the competition.