THERE were plenty of highlights for North West teams in state carnivals yesterday, with local gymnasts, lawn bowlers and touch players in action.
On day two of the CHS gymnastics carnival at Glendale, there were some personal best performances.
Glen Innes’s Courtney Martin scored a PB on the beam in D division while Inverell High’s Caitlyn Culhane, despite carrying a wrist injury, and Brianna Williams also tried their best.
In C division, North West had six gymnasts in action.
Duval’s Courtney Sim, Alice Rummery and Eva Rummery, Terri Ezzy from Macintyre High, Inverell’s Tahlia Irwin and Armidale High’s Krystal Martin all performed well without success, with Alice Rummery producing a personal best score on the floor.
In today’s final day of competition, Inverell High’s Lona-May Dennis will compete in the B division.
North West had a mixed day in the CHS lawn bowls state carnival at Warilla, with a loss to reigning champions South Coast and a good win over Sydney East.
South Coast won both rinks, 17-9 and 22-6, but North West bounced back in the second match.
It led Sydney East 15-3 in one rink before giving up a few shots to win it 15-9.
The other rink saw the Sydney side take a 6-nil lead but North West fought back to draw it 11-all and earn a half point for the team.
“Things didn’t really go our way today,” team manager Dale Smith said.
“Against South Coast, every time they touched the jack it would roll to where they had two or three.
“It always went where we weren’t.”
But the Sydney East result was a lot better and Smith said all of the North West bowlers were performing well.
He said Braden Sole from Guyra, Tom Inman from Duval and Inverell’s Trent Alexander are leading the way.
They have two more matches today and a two-rink win over bottom-placed Hunter this morning would give North West every chance of making the semi-finals.
At Parkes, the North West girls were kept busy at the PSSA touch carnival with five games on day one.
They finished with two wins and three losses after a tough start.
They drew last year’s finalists in the opening two games and went down 4-nil against both Hunter and MacKillop.
“I was happy with that considering the experience of the teams,” NW manager Kerry Floyd said.
In game three, North West beat Sydney South West 3-1 before going down to Western 5-2.
The last game provided a 5-1 win over CIS that gave the girls a boost going into day two.
“They learned a lot through the day and got a lot of confidence,” Floyd said.
“They understand the intensity required to play at this level more now than at the start of the day.
“Captain Kate Mapham (Glen Innes) worked so hard and led by example.
“Tyla Endemi (Tamworth PS), her speed has been a bonus.
“One particularly amazing dive save prevented a try.
“And our two wingers, Ashlea Brindley (Tamworth PS) and Sophie Cracknell (Ross Hill), have been very safe and steady.”
North West has five more games today.
