Top gong for Sarah as sport stars recognised

She's tackled hundreds of kilometres on foot, including on the international stage and through the Goobang National Park. Now distance runner Sarah Hartin is the Parkes Shire Sportsperson of the Year for 2024. Recognising the shire's most outstanding sportspeople on Sunday during the Australia Day celebrations, the 32-year-old was awarded the top gong ahead of her fellow talented nominees Jack Westcott in hockey and last year's winner Danielle McDonald in motorcycle racing. Relatively new to the sport, Sarah completed her first half marathon in 2020 only 16 months after her first daughter was born, igniting her passion for long-distance running. She won her first trail race last year and finished in the top 10 of her first international 100km race. She also established the Parkes Running Group (PRG), a supportive, inspiring group of locals who train together every week. During 2024, Sarah planned and completed a 130km endurance run through the Goobang National Park, which included members of the Parkes Running Group pacing with her as she moved through six stages of the run. She also had a film crew accompany her journey and there are plans for the film called Project Goobang to premiere in Parkes in April. "I was doing 100km training weeks," Sarah said. "It was mainly to put Goobang National Park on the map... to showcase what's out there. "It's super untouched, not many people have been there or know what's there." Sarah also trains a number of young athletes, including Ryker Moore who has taken out this year's Junior Sportsperson of the Year. "For the establishment of a new sport in Parkes, her running achievements and willingness to help out our young aspiring runners, Sarah is a worthy winner," Sarah's award nomination read. Ryker Moore was up against 18 other junior athletes vying for the Junior Sportsperson of the Year title. "By far this is the largest field of nominees and the most difficult category from which to select a winner," Parkes Sports Council chairperson Al Gersbach said. "This category was bristling with very talented and outstanding sports stars of the future including three national champions in Riley Horsbrough for clay target shooting, Henry Kross for squash and Ryker Moore." Ryker has excelled in the field of athletics as a sprinter in the 200m, 400m and 800m, winning multiple state titles and most recently coming first in Australia for the 400m and 200m mixed relay at the Australian Athletics Championships in Adelaide, where the relay team set a new championship record. TEAM OF THE YEAR This year there were many outstanding team efforts. In this category the nominees were Parkes Marist U16s (rugby league), Parkes Boars Ladies (rugby), the Parkes Spacemen (rugby league) and winners the Parkes Under 16 Boys Hockey Team. The Parkes Under 16 Boys were named joint winners at the NSW State Championships in Division 1. They made it to the semi-final and showed determination in claiming the win, 1-0 over Newcastle. Unfortunately, due to the fields being flooded and deemed unplayable for the final, the boys were declared joint winners with Northwest Sydney. In the round games Parkes and Northwest Sydney played out a 0-0 draw. "The Under 16 Boys were punching above their weight at state, and Parkes punches above its weight in hockey," team coach Ian Westcott said. SENIOR SPORTSPERSON OR TEAM This category is once again dominated by hockey players and included the Casey Miles, Maureen Massey, Denise Gersbach, Dean Powter, Mandy and lan Westcott, and Lee Hodge. With the award going to Lee this year, she's managed to fit a lot into 2024 as a player, manager and coach. On the back of bringing home a gold medal with the NSW Over 70s and a bronze with the NSW Over 40s teams, both in an assistant coach role, Lee represented Australia Masters as a player in the Over 45s team at the Indoor World Cup in Nottingham and as an assistant coach with the Over 55 Women's Team at the World Cup in Auckland. Locally, Lee has coached and mentored juniors through to masters players for many years and this year facilitated training for Parkes' masters players in the lead up to state and national championships as well as the World Cups. Lee was an integral member of the Parkes team that took home the Division 2 Indoor State Championships as well as being a member of the Parkes Over 45s Team that finished joint state champions and the Parkes Masters Team that finished on top of the Western Masters League competition. "It is for her all-round contribution to and participation in women's masters hockey that the committee recognises Lee as the Senior Sportsperson for 2024," Mr Gersbach said. COACH, TRAINER OR MANAGER OF THE YEAR This award recognises excellence in coaching, training or managing a team in a team sport, with nominees including Jason O'Bryan (junior rugby league), Lee Hodge for hockey and Angela Bottaro-Porter for soccer. Angela was recognised for her service to soccer in 2024 when she was awarded life membership of the Parkes and District Amateur Soccer Association. She's been involved with Parkes Soccer for more than 20 years starting as a player and being a valuable referee, coach and committee member. Angela was also awarded the Female Regional Coach of the Year at the recent Football NSW Coaching Conference. An emotional Angela proudly accepted her award on Sunday. "I love my sport," she said. She added that she would like to see and that she always strives to get more people involved in volunteering. REFEREE, UMPIRE OR OFFICIAL OF THE YEAR This award recognises excellence and dedication, encouraging those who take on this crucial role in sport. And this year's recipient is Chris Reynolds for touch football. Chris is passionate about and dedicated to the sport of touch football, in particular officiating as a referee. He spends many hours dedicated to supporting, encouraging and developing younger referees at grass roots level within the Parkes Touch competition. He's a certified level 6 referee (the highest possible grading) and has represented the Parkes region at many tournaments, most notably being selected to referee at the Masters Touch Football World Cup in England in 2024. "Chris is Parkes' most recognised referee in recent times, having received this award numerous times in the past for touch and last year for rugby," Mr Gersbach said. Chris said at the awards presentation that volunteering is still well alive in Parkes. LONG SERVICE AND DEDICATION Finalists in this category included long-time coach and previous award recipient Helen Magill and Barbara Weaver for swimming. The award went to Barbara for her five decades of service to Parkes Swimming. As a qualified and accredited coach, Barbara has played a crucial role in developing swimmers' skills and helping them achieve their goals, including qualifying for state and national championships. She's been instrumental in organising events and activities, such as the 'come and try' days, which aim to attract new members and provide opportunities for prospective swimmers. Her mentorship has led to numerous successes for the club's swimmers, including representing their schools in various competitions and achieving state qualifiers. "Barbara's commitment to the Parkes Swimming Club and her efforts to nurture young talent have made her a respected and valued member of the local swimming community," Mr Gersbach said on Sunday. "In fact many of us here today have been taught to swim by Barbara." Barbara said swimming is a life skill and something she's been very passionate about for 50 years. "I could have done anything but [there's] joy and a wonderful feeling of teaching children to swim," she said. "I encourage all the grandparents, you can be as old as me and still get that wonderful feeling." ADMINISTRATOR OF THE YEAR This award recognises excellence in sports leadership and administration, with finalists including Rachel Rice and Andrew Thomas who both oversaw growth in touch and junior league, and Wayne Osbourne in soccer. This award recognises Wayne's leadership at the helm of Parkes Soccer over a number of years, which culminated in his life membership award in 2024. Wayne has been a driving force for Parkes Soccer who have seen some major improvements in its facilities including changeroom upgrades, drainage, parking and a new storage facility.