The award came after a season that involved a gold medal in the under 16 girls 90 metre hurdles at the Australian All Schools Championships in Adelaide last November. Adams took out the final in a time of 12.71 seconds.

Jye Shumack and Maya Bos-Woods were named male and female jumpers of the year after impressive performances on the high jump mat.

Shumack cleared the elusive two metres on the way to a silver medal at the NSW Junior Championships and a fourth place at the Australian Junior Championships.

Fifteen-year-old Bos-Woods jumped a height of 1.60m to claim gold at the NSW Junior Championships. The clearance marked an improvement of 10 centimetres on the height she cleared to win the Country Championships in January.

Emerging walker Jake Attwell was named walker of the year after claiming third place at the NSW Junior Championships in the under 17 boys 5000m race walk. Attwell then finished ninth at nationals after recording an impressive two-minute personal best. 

Joshua Smith was named under 12 athlete of the year after a string of outstanding performances throughout the summer.

The 11-year-old showed his versatility at the Country Championships, winning bronze in the under 13 boys 80m hurdles final and high jump, and silver in the javelin. Smith also recorded top-eight finishes in middle-distance and sprint events. 

Jake Babian was named most promising distance athlete after an impressive debut season at the club. The youngster tried his hand at some of the toughest events on the athletics program, including the 2000m steeplechase.

The summer of athletics may be over, but Illawarra Blue Stars will continue to run events throughout the winter, with Beaton Park to play host to winter meets on Sunday mornings.