Tamworth water polo gun Mikayla Gross and emerging Armidale cricketer Sophie Parsons have taken out the top gongs at the 2019 North West Schools Sports Association Awards.
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Gross was named the most outstanding secondary athlete and the sportsperson of the year, while Parsons was named the most outstanding primary athlete.
The awards were held at the Mercure Hotel in Tamworth on Friday.
Starting on Sunday, Gross will play for the Australian Schoolgirls against the New Zealand Schoolgirls in a three-Test series in Austinville, Queensland.
In September, the Tamworth High School year 11 student was named in an Australian junior water polo squad ahead of the 2020 FINA Youth Championships.
In November, Sophie - who attends Ben Venue Primary School - was selected in the NSW primary schools team for the School Sport Australia 12 years-and-under cricket championships.
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Her selection came after a series of impressive performances at the NSW PSSA Cricket State Championships in November.
Gross said winning the award was a "really good feeling", given the people she had seen win North West Schools Sports Association gongs in the past.
"It was obviously something I really aspired to, and I think it's really awesome to get that," she said.
It does keep you motivated.
- Mikayla Gross on winning the award
"It's something to keep you going. And it does keep you on the right track.
"When you put the effort in at training, day in, day out, it's good to get rewarded with things like that: it does keep you motivated."
Gross said now that she had achieved her goal of making an Australian team, she wanted to play for the national team at the highest level.
Meanwhile, the service award went to steeplechaser Henry Sindel, of Armidale Secondary College.
The award recognises "repeated representation, high performance, good character and sporting ideals".
