Goss reins supreme at awards
Sarah Goss has gone from sevens sister to the queen of the Manawatu sporting world.
The captain of the Olympic silver medal-winning New Zealand Women’s Sevens team was named the supreme winner at the Manawatu Sports Awards last night.
Apiti’s Goss was also crowned Manawatu sportswoman of the year at the ceremony at the Arena.
Along with her Rio Olympic success, Goss also made her debut for the Black Ferns last year and is one of the best sevens players in the World Series circuit.
On a night where Olympians ruled, Black Sticks hockey player Hayden Phillips from Levin won the sportsman of the year award.
Phillips was a surprise name in the Black Sticks’ Olympic squad as an 18-year-old fresh out of Palmerston North Boys’ High School.
But his performance throughout the tournament impressed.
The men’s Black Sticks finished seventh at Rio, but suffered an agonising last-minute 3-2 defeat against eventual bronze medal winners Germany.
Retired women’s Black Sticks captain Kayla Whitelock and Football Ferns defender Anna Green, who both went to the Olympics, were given merit awards.
Team of the year went to the dominant Manawatu women’s sevens team, who won the three major sevens titles last season, the Central region tournament, the Mount Maunganui competition and the national championship.
The team’s coach Wesley Clarke picked up the coach of the year title.
Along with his success with the Manawatu women’s sevens, he was co-coach of the national co-ed champion Feilding High School 1st XV and assistant coach of the Black Ferns, who went unbeaten in 2016.
Badminton line judge Greg Busch won the official of the year award for the second time.
The veteran official went to the Olympics and umpired the men’s doubles gold medal match.
Football referee Matt Conger, who also went to the Olympics, was given a merit award.
The masters sportsperson also went to an Olympian, with dressage rider Julie Brougham taking that crown.
Olympic kayaker Anna Cairns was given a merit award.
Cyclists Campbell Stewart and Michaela Drummond picked up the junior sportsman and sportswoman of the year titles respectively for the second consecutive year.
Stewart, who was picked up the emerging talent award at the Halbergs last month, won two golds and a silver at the Junior World Track Cycling Championship in Switzerland.
Drummond won two silvers at the same event.
Swimmer Chris Arbuthnott won the physical disability sportsperson person of the year award, while shot put specialist Jack Lewer won the intellectual disability category.
Manawatu Junior Rugby Board chair Mark Andersen won the sports administrator of the year.
The Marist man was a finalist at the New Zealand Rugby Awards for volunteer of the year.
There were two inductees into the Manawatu Legends of Sport, with Manawatu hockey stalwart and umpire Dave Craven and golfer Aileen Nash
Nash won the New Zealand amateur championship in 1954 and toured Britain in 1959 as part of the New Zealand team to the Commonwealth
tournament.
She represented Manawatu in golf, tennis, badminton, basketball and squash.
Craven is now the patron of Hockey Manawatu and once served as its chairman and Hockey New Zealand’s umpires council chairman.
He rose up the umpiring ranks to the international level and then became a tournament director.