There have been some illustrious names to take out the Illawarra Academy of Sport athlete of the year in the past and now dual sports athlete Grace Tracey is looking to become the next big thing after claiming the award.
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Sally Fitzgibbons, Emma McKeon and Blake Govers have all taken out the honour in the past and have gone on to big things. Now the 15-year-old from Wollongong is looking to do the same.
Tracey claimed the DRB Tobin family award at the IAS presentation night after a stellar year in both netball and Aussie Rules.
In the last 12 months, Tracey has been selected into the Australian All Schools netball team and the Australian All Schools AFL side.
On top of this, she has been been picked in the NSW State titles netball ID program as well as the Swans AFL U-18 Academy.
Her accolades did not stop there. Tracey was the joint winner of netball athlete of the year along with Sally Werfel.
She previously told the Mercury that she had enjoyed every moment of the past year.
"The tournaments were just amazing experiences, playing against the best U15s AFL and netball players really tested my skills. It was such a good challenge. I feel like I've learnt so much just from the two weeks I was away," Grace said.
"There were so many highlights, including being named captain of the NSW AFL team and vice captain of the NSW netball team - it was just such a privilege to lead a great bunch of girls.
"Being named in both All Australian teams was fantastic.
"It was just such an insane and unreal experience. I felt honoured to be recognised for my sporting abilities and all my hard work I've put in behind-the-scenes.
"It was also a pleasant surprise to be named joint best and fairest at AFL nationals.
"Other highlights included helping NSW secure bronze medals in both AFL and netball. Both bronze medal games had such big build-ups and we knew we had to come out and win.
"Everyone out on the court and field put everything into it and to just come out on top with my teammates was really special."
The Tobin Family Award is awarded to an athlete who displays exceptional level of sports performance, a commendable attitude to competition, persistent dedication to learning and strong community focus.
Other award winners at the IAS presentation night are as follows:
Tobin Family award - Grace Tracey
Volleyball athlete of the year - Mireille Smith
Triathlon athlete of the year - Skye Bell
Netball umpire of the year - Rhiannon Evans
Netball athlete of the year - Grace Tracey and Sally Werfel
Indigenous athlete of the year - Blake Mete
Lonestar athlete of the year - Ivy Miller
Hockey athlete of the year - Tessa Body
Vic Burrows award - Sienna Clarke
Cycling athlete of the year - Lucy Allen
Mountain bike rider athlete of the year - Alix Luckman
BMX athlete of the year - Blake Mete
Para athlete of the year - Jack Gibson
Athlete leadership and excellence award - Leon Davis-Cook
Coaching leadership and excellence award - Ben Bell
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Jordan Warren
Illawarra Mercury sports journalist. Feel free to get in touch jordan.warren@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
Illawarra Mercury sports journalist. Feel free to get in touch jordan.warren@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
