Sporty students in a class of their own
SPORTS stars at Gateshead College are celebrating their most successful season ever – with a record number of team and individual achievements across a wide range of disciplines including football, basketball, rugby, boxing, netball and athletics.
The students, who all study at the college, also train and participate in one of eight specialist sport academies at the Academy of Sport.
In football, both the men’s and women’s teams achieved incredible success both as groups and individually.
Coached by Melanie Reay, the women’s team was crowned the Association of Colleges League champions and Premier Cup winners as well as triumphing in the English College’s FA play-off final.
Neve Herron and Jess Brown were called up to the England under-19 team while Libbi Mcinnes was selected for the national under-18 squad.
Rebecca Ferguson secured her place in the England under-17 side and Abby Towers was also invited to join the England Colleges Football Association squad.
Gateshead’s under-19s men’s team was crowned National League Youth Alliance North Division champions and League Cup winners for the first time.
The under-17s won the English College’s FA Yorkshire Men’s Football Invitational League.
The development squads performed strongly too – team one was double winners, becoming North East Colleges League Development champions and also cup winners, while the third development team claimed their NECL Development League too.
Under-18 player Connor Pani collected a winner’s medal with Gateshead FC as a National League North title winner. He also made the ECFA England squad and represented the team in all three games against ISFA, Wales and Chelsea – scoring against Wales and Chelsea.
In men’s basketball, the first team coached by former Eagles player Drew Lasker became 2021-22 Aoc’s national champions.
In netball, the college’s first team won the Aoc’s North East League, the second team securing the runners-up place.
Georgia Grey and Holly Jones were selected for the AOC national netball squad, with Jones being named their player of the year and Grey the most improved player of the year.
Jones was also selected to play in the under-19s’ North East regional squad and to train with the Wales senior and under-21 squads .
A number of the college’s netball players were also picked for regional squads – Hope Jobling for Northumberland Under-17s and Anna Thomas and Georgia Grey for North Durham Under-17s.
In rugby, promising star Niamh Swailes was called up to captain both England Under-18s and the
North East and Cumbria Centre of Excellence squad.
Four of the male players represented the college in regional squads – George Dafter for Durham Under17s and Nelson Da Silva, Noah Fleming and Ben Harris for Northumberland Under-17s.
Sam Suka was chosen to represent Newcastle Falcons in the Under-17s League last season.
In the boxing ring, George Peacock became the under-64kgs MTK Box Cup champion for the third time.
Dionne Mannion is the 2022 under-54kgs youth cadet national champion as well as being selected for the England Boxing Talent Pathway.
Zoe Macdonald won the under69kgs MTK Box Cup and the 2021 under-69kgs Female Youth Development national title.
It was also a successful year for the college’s athletes, with Elli O’halloran finishing first in shot put and Reece Slater winning the 1,500m at the AOC’S Northern Athletics event.
Competing at the North Eastern Counties Athletics Championships, triple jumper Tom Patterson claimed the gold medal and Lexi Brown won silver in the long jump.
John Deary, head of department at the college’s Academy for Sport, said: “Huge congratulations to our students and their coaches for their phenomenal success this year.
“To achieve what we have collectively done as a college is incredible, especially following the long-term disruption caused by the pandemic.
“Our success across the board in a variety of sports demonstrates the opportunities the college can provide to budding young sports stars and those who want to establish and enjoy a career in sport.”
TO find out more about courses on offer at The Academy of Sport, visit www.gateshead.ac.uk/ academy-for-sport